A taste of Japan comes to Wales
FROM cars and cameras to household items and animation, Japanese design has changed our world and is now part of our everyday lives. At National Museum Cardiff this summer, visitors can experience a major exhibition on Japan, featuring some objects never seen before in the UK.
Kizuna: Japan | Wales | Design explores how Japanese culture and design has captivated the rest of the world and also looks at how Wales has played its own distinctive part in this fascinating international exchange.
The trilingual exhibition, Kizuna, which means bonds of friendship in Japanese, is free and runs until September 9.
In the exhibition, visitors can learn about the history between Europe and Japan, explore up close the wonders of contemporary Japanese design and enjoy the calm in the Zen garden.
Many of the works of art on display have come from national museums in Japan especially for this exhibition, including:
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Further treasures in the show include modern posters and electronics goods with 20th-century design, colourful woodblock prints, historic and contemporary ceramics, colourful kimonos, contemporary and traditional lacquer work furniture, a tea ceremony collection, Manga comic books and even a 1971 Honda car, the first Japanese car to be exported.
Japanese art and design has been enjoyed in Europe since the 16th century and the exhibition also features some of the best examples of Japanese art from across Wales and the UK, loaned from the National Trust, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, Derek Williams Trust, David Silver Collection, WRU and Hitachi.
One example is a lacquered coffer (box or chest for valuables), which is thought to be the first Japanese object ever to come to Wales. It was made in about 1620 and bought by Sir Thomas Myddleton of Chirk Castle, a founder member of the British East India Company 400 years ago.
Since then people from Wales and Japan have continued to share their cultures and expertise. In the 19th century, steel and iron from Dowlais Works, Merthyr Tydfil, was used to build the developing railway network in Japan. Today, Japanese company Hitachi are providing the new high-speed trains linking south Wales to London.
David Anderson, Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales explains how the relationship between both countries is very much alive today: “Kizuna means bonds or friendship between people, and this exhibition at National Museum Cardiff is a celebration of the relationship between Wales and Japan over four centuries.
“This is an opportunity not to be missed, for new and existing visitors to the museum to enjoy the dynamic global appeal of Japanese contemporary culture, alongside beautiful examples of historic art and design, some of which have never been seen in the UK before.”
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