鍋島(Nabeshima)

Last weekend I went to Osaka where my family home is. During the trip, I visit a museum called "東洋陶磁美術館"(Toyo-Toji-Bijyutukan). The museum of Oriental Ceramics Osaka). Perhaps, as to ceramics, the museum is greatest in Japan. As I recall, The collection of the museum was possession of a big company and when it became bankrupt, Sumitomo got it and donate or rent the collection to Osaka City.



My purpose is to see 鍋島(Nabeshima porcelains) which is the greatest brand in Japan. The brand was made by a samurai lord who is 鍋島勝茂(Nabeshima Katsushige). Nabeshima clan donated Nabeshima porcelains to Shogun every year. The brand achieved as Japan's best. The brand contributed industrial development of the Nabeshima clan. There are many ceramics designated as important cultural assets of Japan. Many ceramics are really beautiful.



I found a difference of spectators between Osaka and Tokyo. Osakans just enjoyed to see, for example "I want to eat Tenpura with this dish!", "Oh! beautiful! I want to eat sushi with this dish", "I can't use such big ceramic!". I like such reactions because they are very natural. I like to hear them more than explanation. Even though we don't want to use cultural assets to eat, basically ceramics lost touch with eating are boring a little. Poor explanation doesn't look delicious. At least, ceramics make me to want to eat foods, want to practice tea ceremony etc are good one for me. And although their white porcelains are really beautiful, some of them didn't make me to want to eat because they are very old. :-)



The museum's URL is



http://www.moco.or.jp/en/exhi/index.html



Well,



After that I visited the museum, I took a walk a little. The area is where I born in. Accurately, I was born in 堂島(Dojima) which was heart of Japan's economy. There still is air of Edo, Meiji, Taisho era. 大川(Okawa-river) has good air and I looked it for a while.



Once, Osaka called "Manchester of east". The age Tokyo became bigger city than Osaka was only 50 years ago or so, and rivers had very contaminated. These years many fishes including Ayu which is fish lives in limpid stream came back to rivers and now city tries re-make a tideland on 新淀川(shin-Yodo-river). It seems the try became successful, and I look forward to see tidelands all over the river. Many wild birds come there, I think many kind of fishes are also too.



I read a book about China and I learned that now Chinese like to eat Osakan food called Takoyaki and they do enjoy Osakan comedy shows called 吉本新喜劇(Yoshimoto Shinkigeki). Even though news medias mostly report conflict between us, basically Chinese young people longing for Japanese things while they hate. Haruki Murakami is popular in China. One of his book was the first best seller which was chosen by free market process in China. Now "Murakami" is pronoun of "urbanized" in China, according to the book. I don't like Murakami's works, but I understand why he became popular all over the world. Kansai area including Osaka is an area many great figures in literature were born in. Murakami is one of them.



I took the photo at the museum. It is a Nebeshima.