Japan Travel — Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum is in the Ueno Park, and on the same campus as the National Science Museum and Tokyo National Museum. This museum mainly showcases modern art displays, hence it does not cater to Oriental Art or Ancient Art. This has a few free galleries, but most of the galleries are rented by various bodies for exhibition. I went there to see the bonsai exhibition. This happens once a year in Tokyo and the largest bonsai exhibition in the world.

The English language support in the Metropolitan Museum is very limited. I could not get any guide service also, so the many places I have not understood the displays.

This is the way to the Metropolitan Museum. If you compare my previous pictures of Ueno Park, you will see that the number of people visiting the park on the weekend has increased. This is mainly because of the improvement in weather (less cold).

This is the entrance to the museum.

A couple of views of the building.

I guess that the ball is just a piece of art with no further significance.

This is the view of the bonsai exhibition from above. They did not allow to take photographs. Apart from damaging the exhibits (which I guess can be controlled by not allowing flash), these exhibits have a lot of photograph value too. There were about 250 exhibits. I have a few observations:

1. This is the only bonsai exhibition in Tokyo. There is a bonsai museum though, which is a private museum.
2. Though the ticket cost is 1000 yen (Rs. 400), the crowd is overwhelming. Even the museum is 800. So, bonsai viewing is expensive in Japan.
3. The crowd is mainly the elder generation. When I went, it was exclusively old people. Only towards the afternoon, the younger generation landed up. So, like Sumo bonsai may also be a dying art (however it would take a lot of time to die — one because the plants would live many more years, and the commercial aspect)
4. Most of the prime exhibits rise two to three feet above the ground. The miniature bonsais (the tabletop variety which we are accustomed to seeing) are relegated as a secondary exhibit. I used to feel that bonsai is smaller the better.

Here I move into one of the art galleries. The exhibits in the following pages are mostly amateurish, and I am not too clear as to why they have been exhibited. Many of them see it to be the handiwork of children.

Just wanted to draw your attention, such exhibits are scattered around the place without a security tag. Anybody can pocket it — I could not see any close circuit TV also.

I would have been keen to know what this is.

Here I enter the modern art gallery. Here one would see the paintings on canvas et al using oil, watercolor, etc. Though this is a paid galley, I would not assume that the artists are the first-rate for Japan (Japan is supposed to have the real connoisseurs of art. The most expensive art buyers are mostly in Japan — many of them however used this as an avenue to protect their investments. To my knowledge, sunflower by Van Gough is also in Japan). But they are quite good. I feel that the following paintings would give an idea as to what the young painters in Japan are drawing today.

Note the English. This is to be noted, whenever there is a message in the painting, it is in English. Is it because of a foreign audience?

I guess that the average life expectancy in Japan is 78 years!!

A typical schoolgirl dresses.

Don’t miss the coke!

Scene from the Metro.

Some sketches.