Tour Report on August 19

Thank you so much for joining our tour on August 19 in muggy weather. I sincerely appreciate the participation of 31 friendly guests from almost all the continents and hope some of you enjoyed the instant kimono afterwards. Also it was lucky that we could complete the tour before heavy rain.

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There is a small museum of the Imperial collection(Sannomaru Shozokan)at the East Gardens on our walking tour route. They have nearly 10,000 priceless treasures such as the pictures and art products which have been inherited as the Imperial collection for a long time. Some of them are considered a national treasure class.
The art products held by the Imperial Family were donated to the government in 1989 when the Showa Emperior passed away. This museum was open in 1993 as a facility to preserve, study and display those collections. Many pieces were created by the Imperial Household artists.

The museum is currently showing bonbonniere items (palm-sized candy boxes) until September 10th. In the Imperial Family there is a tradition to present a small confectionary box called bonbonniere since the late 1880’s as a souvenir to the guests to commemorate the auspicious occasions such as the enthronements, weddings of the Imperial Family and also the receptions of the foreign state guests. This custom has been passed down to the present day.

All the items are elaborately designed with the high craft technique by using the materials mostly made of silver, Japanese lacquer and porcelain. Each item can tell the days, features and deep culture from their forms and patterns when they were produced.
This museum is relatively small but worthwhile to visit once. Please be careful of the opening time/hours. Monday/Friday are closed. Opening hours are 9am to 4:45pm now but vary depending upon the time. Making sure of their HP in advance is recommendable.
Perhaps it may be convenient for you to visit the museum before our tour or afterwards.
Free admission!!!

(posted by Yoshi)