First Korean Exhibition of Japanese Court Culture Opens at National Palace Museum
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
The National Palace Museum in Seoul is hosting "A Millennium of Time: Japanese Court Culture," on display through Feb 22. This is the first exhibition of Japanese court culture in Korea, featuring 39 items loaned by the Tokyo National Museum, including paintings, crafts, costumes, and musical instruments. Highlights include a folding screen depicting 32 Chinese sages that decorated the throne hall (Shinden) and furnishings from a hikyōsha (retainer’s chamber). Traditional court robes worn by officials and attendants — often layered with long trailing skirts — plus court music (gagaku) and dance (bugaku) related costumes and instruments are shown. The show traces development from Japan’s adoption of Tang (China) systems in 701, through the Heian golden age, decline under the Kamakura samurai, and revival in the Edo period. Daily docent tours at 2 PM and special lectures on Japanese court culture and global royal cultures will be offered on Jan 20 and Feb 3. The exhibition marks the first result of a cultural-exchange agreement with the Tokyo National Museum and celebrates the museum’s 20th anniversary and 60 years of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations.
