SUPPORT THE EXHIBITION ‘COOL JAPAN’ IN THE TROPENMUSEUM AMSTERDAM

The National Museum of World Cultures is looking for exclusive partners to support the spectacular exhibition Cool Japan in the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam in 2018 and 2019.

Cool Japan is an exhibition about Japan’s worldwide pop culture. A previous edition of the exhibition in Leiden attracted large numbers of young new visitors and became the museum’s most successful presentation ever. When this show launches in Amsterdam in September 2018 it is expected to attract over 200,000 visitors. The exhibition’s media value in 2017 was €756,000.

The exhibition Cool Japan features the acclaimed plastic room by Japanese artist Sebastian Masuda. Masuda is the Godfather of Kawaii and his colourful artworks brim with plastic figures and toys. Masuda has also developed his own fashion label 6%DOKIDOKI. Click here to read more about Cool Japan.

Please contact Linda van de Kamp (Coordinator Development) via linda.vandekamp@wereldculturen.nl if you are interested in a partnership with the National Museum of World Cultures/Tropenmuseum to make the exhibition Cool Japan in the Tropenmuseum an even bigger success. Linda can also provide you with tickets for the festive opening night on the 27th of September.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WORLD CULTURES

Franz von Siebold opened his unique Japanese collection to the public in Leiden in 1837. It developed into the foundation for today’s National Museum of World Cultures. The Japanese collection, which focuses on the Edo period, is recognised as a world-class collection. It includes works by many great Japanese artists such as Hokusai, Hiroshige and Keiga.

A little-known, absolutely unique gem by the Japanese artist Kawahara Keiga (c.1786-c.1860) was recently discovered and acquired by the National Museum of World Cultures. Curators found a head-high screen in a private collection in the Netherlands. On it is depicted the bay of Nagasaki where in 1836 the Dutch trading post was located on the island of Deshima. It is a key exhibit in the Japan collection in Leiden.

The View of Deshima in the Bay of Nagasaki screen is a bird’s-eye view painted on silk. It comprises eight panels spanning a surface area of 171 cm high by 470 cm wide. The screen was probably commissioned by a wealthy resident of Deshima.

Click here to read more about the unique Japanese folding screen.

The unveiling of the folding screen by Hiroshi Inomata, the Ambassador of Japan and Henri Lenferink, the Mayor of Leiden at the Museum of Ethnology. Photo credit: Kirsten van Santen.