Samurai to Manga: Japan across the centuries
15 December 2005 – 8 February 2006
Room 3
Exhibition closed
Once a faithful dog brought the paper to you.
Today, if it doesn’t read the latest headlines in Spanish, it's
just not Japanese.
Revolutionary stuff? Not when you consider
that Japan has been making robots for more than 300 years. And a
millennium earlier, precision-crafting the lightest, strongest,
most lethal weapon in the world – the samurai sword. It’s the same
precision which goes into drawing contemporary Manga, although
Manga’s roots actually date back to the seventeenth century.
At almost every level, in fact, Japan is set
apart by reinvention and continuity - perhaps because it has never
been invaded. At least that's one way of looking at things - which
is precisely what the Asahi Shimbun Displays are all about. One
fascinating take on a small selection of British Museum
objects.
The renovated Japanese Galleries reopened in
September 2006 showcasing one of the most dynamic collections of
historical and contemporary Japanese objects in the world.
Image: Set of armour from Japan. Momoyama
period, late 16th century (cuirass and sleeves; Edo period, 17th
century (helmet), 18th-19th century (remainder)