I visited the Verkehr Museum last week for a fabulous Kokeshi doll exhibit. Usually, photographs are not allowed in the second floor exhibit area, but I was happily surprised to find that they were for this exhibit. At the end of the photos, I’ve used google translate to change the Japanese program into English, so be sure to go through the whole post.
Exhibit program
My own Kokeshi doll (purchased at the flea market)
The exhibit runs through September 6th, so I might go to see it again.
This is one of my favorite museums and it is walking distance from my apartment. Adult admission is only 400 yen. It has two floors, the permanent first floor exhibit about ships and the history of Shimizu Port, and the changing exhibit on the second floor. The current upstairs exhibit is “The Black Cat Kitan Kohnosuke Sakazaki Collection”.
Kohnosuke Sakazaki is the singer and guitarist of the Japanese rock band Alfee, which was formed in Tokyo in 1973. I don’t know the story of how this collection began, and photos are not allowed on the second floor. I’m guessing there are thousands of cats in this collection. They were made in Japan from the Taisha to the Showa eras and distributed domestically and abroad. Black cats were seen as symbols of good luck and prosperity. The cats on display are small, some are tiny. The cats are in every shape, and form all kinds of decorative purposes. There are post cards, advertisements, toys, vases and tiny boxes, every kind of cute adornment you can think of. There is fabric printed with the cats, cats made of metal and ceramic, and other materials. There are little mother cats attached to tiny kittens with tinier chains. There are dancing cats and sitting cats, sleeping cats and flat cats.
The exhibit is through May 11th. I might have to go again.
The picture above is from the museum website.
The photo above is from the instagram account of Kohnosuke Sakazaki‘s instagram account.
I crossed the street from the museum to see the cruise ship that was in the port. Before the pandemic, it seemed like there were more frequent cruise ships in port. Maybe the cruise ships are coming back again.
The first floor of this local museum is the permanent Maritime or Port display. The second floor displays change. The current display is called Meisen Exhibition Summer, according to the translation of the museum's website.
This is the outside of the museum.
This is the exhibit flyer.
Information from the website (translated, so some things may sound strange).
Photos are not allowed in this area of the museum, but I wish they were so you could see the beautiful kimono collection. The pieces were rather sheer and looked very cool and modern.
Recently I posted about attending the Nutcracker performance of my friend's niece, who danced the part of Clara. This fourth grader is also a talented artist. Yesterday I went to see an art exhibit of area elementary school students (1st - 6th graders), including her painting below.
The theme was Sea Day, a national holiday in Japan.
I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit!
