Special Exhibition “Formosa Orchids Blossom – Tokyo Edition”

→Press Release: PDF file［1.9MB］

The JP Tower Museum INTERMEDIATHEQUE (IMT) will be holding a special exhibition “Formosa Orchids Blossom – Tokyo Edition.” This special exhibition unravels the academic narrative of Taiwanese orchids from both the Taiwanese and Japanese perspectives. The University Museum, The University of Tokyo (UMUT) has previously hosted two exhibitions on orchids at IMT: “Orchids Blossom,” which focused on the botanical illustrations of Japanese orchids from the University of Tokyo’s collection, and “Cattleya Rhapsody,” which explored botanical illustrations of Colombian orchids. The “Formosa Orchids Blossom” serves as the Taiwanese version of those prior efforts as the result of the academic exchange agreement established in 2024 between UMUT and the National Museum of History, Taiwan (NMH).

●Key Information
Title: Special Exhibition “Formosa Orchids Blossom – Tokyo Edition”
Dates: February 15 – June 8, 2025
Opening Hours: 11:00 – 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays)
*Opening hours may change.
Closed: Mondays (or the following Tuesday if Monday is a National Holiday; however, the museum is open on April 28)
Venue: Intermediatheque 2F [GREY CUBE]
Admission: Free of charge
Organizers: The University Museum, The University of Tokyo (UMUT) + National Museum of History, Taiwan (NMH)
Cooperation: Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo; University Library for Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo; Cultural Resources Studies, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the University of Tokyo; Herbarium of the National Taiwan University; National Taiwan University Library; Herbarium of the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute; National Taiwan Museum; National Museum of Taiwan History; National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art; National Library of Public Information; Kaohsiung Museum of History; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Address: KITTE 2-3F, 2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
Access: JR lines and Tokyo Metro Marunouchi line Tokyo Station (Marunouchi South Exit). Nijubashimae Station (Exit 4) on the Chiyoda Line (about 2 minutes on foot).


●Main Exhibits

1. Bletilla formosana (Hayata) Schltr.
Collected by Tashiro Yasusada / September 1896 / Dried specimen / Near Pa'ilaSen aboriginal village (current day Hualian prefecture), Taitung / L425 × W294 mm / UMUT (TI00190930)

2. Dendrobium aurantiacum Rchb.f. (as D. flaviflorum Hayata)
Collected by Segawa Kōkichi / June 18, 1933 / Dried specimen / Cyubus village, Chunan county / L450 × W300 mm / UMUT (TI00298684)

3. Vanilla somai Hayata
Hayata Bunzō, Icones Plantarum Formosanarum, Vol. 6, Plate XVI
1916 / Illustrated by Hayami Fusomu / Taipei: Bureau of Productive Industries, Government of Formosa / Print on paper / L263 × W195 × D 27 mm / UMUT

4. Anoectochilus formosanus Hayata
Original drawing for plate 25–01, Illustrations of Japanese Orchids, 2012
Illustrated by Nakajima Mutsuko / Ink on paper / L357 × W254 mm / UMUT (TI00089002)

5. Cymbidium sinense (Jackson ex Andr.) Willd.
Illustrated by Yamada Toshio / 1930s / Ink and watercolor on paper / L342 × W255 mm / “Hōsai (from Taiwan)” on thin paper / UMUT (TI00083582)

* Items 1 and 5 are scheduled to be on display during the first half of the exhibition, items 2 and 4 during the second half, and item 3 for the entire duration.

●Exhibition Page
https://www.intermediatheque.jp/en/schedule/view/id/IMT0283

●Contact
+81-47-316-2772
From Japan: 050-5541-8600 (NTT Hello Dial Service)

●Interview application
press@intermediatheque.jp