Special Exhibition “Edo Sceneries on Doro-e from the Polak Collection – Distant Views on the Backdrops”
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The JP Tower Museum INTERMEDIATHEQUE is holding the special exhibition “Edo Sceneries on Doro-e from the Polak Collection – Distant Views on the Backdrops.”
The Western-style paintings known as doro-e (literally “mud pictures”) constituted, along with the ukiyo-e, part of Edo-period popular culture. Considered as mere gifts for the populace, they have long been neglected. However, doro-e are recently being reevaluated, especially in the West, following the same trend as ukiyo-e. Within doro-e considered as a genre of Western-style painting, we distinguish the Edo-style doro-e depicting Edo sceneries. The upper part of the works is covered with a dark indigo sky, while the horizon line is blurred in white. As with the simplified painting of Mount Fuji decorating public baths, doro-e with characteristically stereotyped forms depict the city as a concept transcending time. They can be qualified as abstract landscape painting. Such conceptual images of urban sceneries were bought by provincials upon their return from Edo. Among them, many actually traveled on the Tōkaidō. The present exhibition offers our visitors the opportunity to appreciate such landscapes from the Edo period.
Main Features of the Exhibition
- Some 20 works from The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō series (Christian Polak Collection), with views from Nihonbashi (Tōkyō) to the Great Bridge at Sanjō (Kyōto) will be shown.
- From the University Museum, the University of Tokyo (UMUT) Collection, The Pictorial Scale Map of the Tōkaidō will be exhibited in two copies.
- By combining the doro-e version of The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō series and the woodblock prints of The Pictorial Scale Map of the Tōkaidō, this experimental exhibition offers a comparative survey of Edo-period views of the Tōkaidō, combining landscapes with actual maps.
Key Information
[Title] Special Exhibition “Edo Sceneries on Doro-e from the Polak Collection – Distant Views on the Backdrops”
[Dates] The museum is currently closed to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The exhibition is planned to start when the museum reopens.
[Opening Hours] 11:00 – 18:00 (open until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays) *Opening hours may change.
[Closed on] Mondays (or the following Tuesday if Monday is a National Holiday). May close irregularly.
[Venue] Intermediatheque 2F [GREY CUBE]
[Organizer] The University Museum, the University of Tokyo (UMUT)
[Cooperation] Mr. Christian Polak
[Admission] Free of charge
[Address] KITTE 2-3F, 2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
[Access] JR lines and Tokyo Metro Marunouchi line Tokyo Station. Direct access from the Marunouchi Underground Pathway.
Main Exhibits
1.
Shibakuchi Unpa, Picture of the Visit to the Imperial Palace upon the New Year’s Morning at Kasumigaseki
Late Edo period / Pigments on Japanese paper / 655×1200mm / Christian Polak Collection
2.
From The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō:
Nihonbashi
Late Edo period / Pigments on Japanese paper / 295×378mm / Christian Polak Collection
Hakone
Late Edo period / Pigments on Japanese paper / 295×378mm / Christian Polak Collection
3.
Outside Sakuradamon
Late Edo period / Pigments on Japanese paper / 320×475mm / Christian Polak Collection
4.
Sōyō (ed.), The Pictorial Scale Map of the Tōkaidō
1752 / Orihon (book in concertina-style binding), hand-coloured woodblock prints / 155×90mm (full length 11435mm) / UMUT
Contact
+81-47-316-2772
From Japan: 050-5541-8600 (NTT Hello Dial Service)