Report on the Edo-Tokyo Museum Reopening Special Exhibition "Ooh Edo Raisan": Approaching the Full Scope of Edo through Ukiyo-e by Utamaro and Hokusai, as well as Arms, Performing Arts, and Commoner Culture
The report introduces the Edo-Tokyo Museum reopening special exhibition and explains the full picture of Edo’s urban formation and diverse culture through ukiyo-e, arms, performing arts, and related materials.Summary
The Edo-Tokyo Museum reopened after about four years and launched the special exhibition "Ooh Edo Raisan." Using approximately 160 selected works and previously unpublished materials from the museum’s collection, the exhibition elucidates the full scope of Edo—a world-class metropolis with a population of one million—from perspectives including ukiyo-e, arms, performing arts, and commoner culture. It first outlines how Edo transformed from a vast, desolate landscape in the eastern regions into a warrior capital through urban formation. It then explains how weapons, in an age of peace, changed from practical tools to symbols of samurai authority, and describes samurai life centered on the Tokugawa shogunate and the development of the townsman economy that supported it. Building on this, the exhibition introduces the entertainments and culture that blossomed with the rise of townsman economic power—including sumo, kabuki, and the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter—as well as famous ukiyo-e works by Utamaro and Hokusai, collectively conveying the rich lifestyle and artistic achievements of Edo.
(Source：Tokyo Art Beat)