Visiting the Crafts Gallery in Tokyo
A Small, Select Museum Devoted to Contemporary Japanese Crafts
Jun 26, 2009
Tokyo museums can be an overwhelming experience. The sheer number and size of Japan’s major museums daunts often jet-lagged visitors and demands major commitments of time and attention span.
So it’s comforting and delightful to find a museum whose collection is small and choice, offering the opportunity to sample the very best of artful Japanese crafts in little more than an hour. Located in the northwestern corner of the Imperial Palace grounds in central Tokyo, the Crafts Gallery, an annex of the nearby, much larger National Museum of Modern Art, presents selections from its superb collection in a building that is itself a significant piece of Japanese history.
The Building: Former Headquarters of the Imperial Guards
The Crafts Gallery occupies an impressive two-story Western-style building of red bricks, opened in 1910 as the headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Guards. Designed by army engineer Yasushi Tamura (1878-1942), it holds a unique place in Japanese history.
At 12 noon on August 15, 1945, a recording of Emperor Hirohito announcing Japan’s unconditional surrender to Allied forces was slated to be broadcast over the radio. But late the previous night and early that morning, a group of Imperial Guard officers plotted in the building to storm the nearby Imperial Palace and prevent the broadcast. The coup was thwarted, the broadcast went on, and World War II came to an end.
After the war, the building remained for many years the barracks of the Imperial Guards, who were charged with providing security to Japan’s royal family. Some two decades later, however, it was in disrepair and destined for demolition. In recognition of its architectural and historical significance, a campaign was begun to preserve the structure, and in 1972 it was designated an Important Cultural Property. The preservation team decided to make it an annex to the nearby new Museum of Modern Art. First restored and then simply, tastefully remodeled into exhibition spaces designed by Yoshiri Tanaguchi, architect of the new museum nearby, the Crafts Gallery opened to the public in November 1977.
The Collection: Presenting the Best of Japanese Traditional Crafts
The Crafts Gallery focuses on traditional Japanese crafts—textiles and clothing, ceramics, lacquerware, basketry, woodwork and furniture, metalwork, dolls, and printmaking—produced by artisans in the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition, it includes examples of contemporary crafts from other nations, particularly those influenced by Japanese aesthetics.
The core of the Crafts Gallery collection was originally intended to be a mere 39 objects already in the holdings of the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. But it turned out that Japan’s Agency of Cultural Affairs had also been assiduously buying up other pieces each year at Tokyo’s Exhibition of Japanese Traditional Art Crafts, and it endowed the new annex with an additional 428 works.
Over the past three-plus decades, that impressive collection has continued to grow. Today, the Crafts Gallery has extensive holdings, displayed on a rotating basis in half of its second-floor exhibition space, in groupings based on the type of craft featured. Visitors might behold works by such renowned craftspeople as weavers Rikizo Munehiro or Fukumi Shimura, and ceramicists Jusetsu Miwa and Kozan Miyagawa.
The other half of the space is devoted to changing themed exhibitions also drawn from the collection. Themes are as varied as European crafts and design, “cool” design, and crafts that appeal to children.
Bonuses: Public Areas and The Crafts Gallery Gift Shop
In the spirit governing the entire museum, even its public seating areas exemplify Japanese design. The second-floor landing features a beautiful carved wooden bench by Tatsuaki Kuroda, there for any visitors to take their ease. And a reading room, also on the second floor, invites guests to sit and learn in sleekly designed wooden chairs.
An especially appealing bonus of the Crafts Gallery is its gift shop, a compact array of display cases surrounding the ticket area. Here guests can purchase such handcrafted items as ceramic tableware, textile placemats and coasters, and jewelry at very reasonable prices, along with books and catalogs relating to the museum’s collection and special exhibitions.
A great location and building; a superb, select collection, beautifully displayed; welcoming public areas; and an excellent gift shop: They all add up to one of the best little museums in Tokyo.
The Crafts Gallery is located in Kitanomaru Koen Park at 1-1 Kitanomaru-Koen in the Tokyo district of Chiyoda-ku, in the northeastern corner of the parklands surrounding the Imperial Palace. Nearest subway stations are Takebashi (Tozai Line) and Kudanshita (Tozai, Hanzomon, and Toei Shinjuku lines).
The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a reasonable admission charge of 200 yen (about $2) per person. (Want tips on getting the best sushi while visiting Japan? Check out How to Order at the Sushi Bar.)
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