Travel Tip

Bakumatsu Nippon: Exhibit at the Tobacco & Salt Museum

 

Cultural News November 2007 Issue

 

Ukiyo-e “Ikoku kotoba – rango (Foreign words- Dutch)” by Ochiai Yoshiiku. (Public domain)

 

By Yuko Itatsu

 

TOKYO --  Edo is hot now. The energetic lifestyles of the Edo-period urbanites have obviously struck a chord with people in the 21th century. Whether it is out of nostalgia or people just grasping anything they can to break out of the rut that society at large is feeling, people don’t seem to be able to get enough of Edo in Japan. 

 

   An exhibit showcasing the last decades of the Edo period will be held at the Tobacco and Salt Museum in Shibuya, Tokyo from Nov. 23 until Jan. 14, 2008.

 

   “Bakumatsu” usually refers to the last 15 years of the Edo period (1603-1868), a time of frenzy, triggered in part by the Black Ships, trying to deal with foreigners. Next year U.S. and Japan will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce.

 

    The exhibit showcases archival material about Townsend Harris, the first U.S. ambassador to Japan, ukiyo-e prints and photographs to illustrate the tumultuous ending of an era. The highlight of the exhibit is a document newly found. It is a firsthand record by Kuwana Domain (currently part of Mie Prefecture) samurais about their stay in Edo from 1861-1864.

 

   The permanent tobacco exhibit also warrants a stroll. European missionaries introduced tobacco to Japan around the end of the 16th century. The exhibit shows how the Japanese tobacco traders invented a refinement process unique from anywhere in the world. Hip Edo urbanites competed over the “coolness” of their accouterments such as pipes, tobacco leaf holders, and lighters. 

 

    The museum is run by Japan Tobacco, Inc, privatized in 1985 from being a government agency. Interestingly, the Tobacco industry came under state monopoly in 1904, in an attempt to collect higher tax to fight the Russo-Japanese War.

 

    The Tobacco and Salt Museum is a 10-minute walk from Shibuya Station. Admission: 100 yen. Open Tues-Sun 10-6. For more, see http://www.jti.co.jp/Culture/museum/Welcome.html

 

   Yuko Itatsu is a Ph.D. Candidate in History at the University of Southern California and a part-time lecturer at Tsuda College, Tokyo.