Japan: Courts and Culture cover ©Royal Collection Trust
News15 November 2020
'Japan: Courts and Culture' - 400 years of British royal contact with Japan
Categorised under: Grants
The Royal Collection Trust’s latest book, Japan: Courts and Culture was launched on 16 May to coincide with the 400-year anniversary of the death of William Adams, the first Englishman to reach Japan (in 1600).
The publication tells the story of 400 years of British royal contact with Japan, exploring how exquisite decorative arts were central both to direct diplomatic relations and to indirect cultural connection.
The Royal Collection contains one of the finest holdings of Japanese works of art in the western world, significant for both the unique provenance and the exceptional quality of the objects. For the first time, highlights from across the collection are brought together in the publication Japan: Courts and Culture, which tells the story of three centuries of diplomatic, artistic and cultural exchange between Britain and Japan.
Exquisite imperial gifts depicted in the book range from an embroidered folding screen sent to Queen Victoria by the Emperor Meiji to mark her Diamond Jubilee in 1897, to a cosmetic box by the great lacquer artist Shirayama Shōsai, presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) on the occasion of her Coronation in 1953.
Japan: Courts and Culture accompanies the exhibition of the same name, which will open at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, at a date to be confirmed. (Information on the exhibition here
An informative short film can be viewed here.
A press release can be found here and via the link below:
Japan Courts and Culture, PDF16 July 2020 Event
On 16 July at 6pm, Rachel Peat from the Royal Collection Trust will be discussing her new book Japan: Courts and Culture with Professor Nicole Rousmaniere. For more information click here.
In spring 2019, Rachel Peat, Assistant Curator, and colleagues from the Royal Collection Trust undertook a two-week research trip across Japan in preparation for the upcoming exhibition, Japan: Courts and Culture. We were delighted to support the trip with a Daiwa Foundation Award.