Regional Origins of osakanoisan in Japan

main exhibited

Bunraku

A Tate-hyogo-style sample wig for a bunraku puppet created
by Nagoshi Shoji

held in the collection of Osaka Museum of History(donated by Ms. Nagoshi Emiko)

A Tate-hyogo-style sample wig for a bunraku puppet created by Nagoshi Shoji

This wig was created as a sample decorative wig for a bunraku puppet by Nagoshi Shoji (1931–2016), a bunraku wig master and holder of a nationally selected conservation technique. Designed for a tayu (the highest-ranked courtesan), this wig is used for the heads of bunraku puppets categorized as “keisei,” or beautiful courtesan. This is a really gorgeous bunraku wig.

Poster for a bunraku play at Yotsubashi Bunraku Theater

June, 1941; held in the collection of Osaka Museum of History (donated by Mr. Nakamura Tomoya)

Poster for a bunraku play at Yotsubashi Bunraku Theater; June, 1941

This is a poster for a bunraku play at Yotsubashi Bunraku Theater. The illustration is created by Saito Seijiro, a researcher of bunraku puppets and painter, and depicts a scene of Shin-yoshiwara Ageya from Gotaiheiki Shiraishi Banashi. Built in the Western style, Yotsubashi Bunraku Theater opened in 1930 and adopted new operation systems to better meet the needs of the times, such as staging bunraku plays from 15:00 to 22:00.

Korean Envoys to Japan

A Pageboy in a Party of Korean Envoys to Japan

Edo period; one piece; held in the collection of Osaka Museum of History (donated by Mr. Shin Ki-Soo)

A Pageboy in a Party of Korean Envoys to Japan; Edo period; one piece

This picture was painted by a renowned genre painter, Hanabusa Iccho (1652–1724), who skillfully depicted the thrilling moment a Japanese man with a sheet of paper approached a pageboy in a party of Korean envoys on horseback, asking him to write something on the paper, even though contact between general Japanese citizens and Korean envoys was not permitted. The Korean envoy in the picture is considered to have visited Japan in 1711. This picture is one of the artifacts recommended for UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

Six-panel screen depicting a boat carrying Korean envoys to Japan

Edo period; six-panel folding screen; held in the collection of Osaka Museum of History

Six-panel screen depicting a boat carrying Korean envoys to Japan; Edo period; six-panel folding screen

The screen depicts a boat with a roofed structure in the center that is carrying Korean envoys on the Yodo River, amid other boats, including a boat with musicians. The boat in the center carries banners with the design of three hollyhock leaves in a circle – the crest of the Tokugawa family. This indicates that the boat was provided by the Tokugawa shogunate. From the shape of the roof and other characteristics, this boat can be further presumed to be a boat named Chutosamaru for Korean officers. A diary of a Korean envoy says that the envoys marveled at the luxuriousness of the boat. This screen is one of the artifacts recommended for UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

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