Date： Sat. February 10th, 2024 to Wed. March 20th, 2024　
Place：Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama   Lobby, Collection Gallery, Exhibit Room

From “Hachi-ue” to “Bonsai”  – The History of How the Hobbies of the Literati Changed Bonsai

From “Hachi-ue” to “Bonsai”  – Sencha tea parties were a hobby amongst the literati (hobbyists of poetry, writing and painting), who were very common from the Bakamatsu until the Meiji period. These sencha tea ceremonies stood at the crossroads between the gardening culture of the Edo period and modern bonsai culture.

Using the Chinese Qing literati as an example, the literati of the Kyoto-Osaka region used bonsai as an ornament in sencha tea gatherings, which they actively held. The trend of hachi-ue (potted plants) that had been around since the Edo period were baptized through these sencha tea party into the tastes of the literati, definitively transforming them into the modern bonsai we know today.

This exhibition will introduce you to the changes that took place to create the bonsai culture of today from illustrated catalogues of sencha tea parties and materials which show literati culture. It will do this by looking at four changes that occurred to influence the tastes of the literati: how they are called, how they are displayed, the pots used, and the styles of bonsai.  

Period

     Sat. February 10th, 2024 to Wed. March 20th, 2024　

Museum Closed Days

　Thursdays

Venue

　Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama   Lobby, Collection Gallery, Exhibit Room

Hosted by

　Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama

Special Lecture “The Spirit of Sencha and Literati Culture”

Lecturer: Hiroshi Kudo (Former Curator, Iruma City Museum)

Date and Time: Sun. March 10th 14:00~16:00　　

Venue: Lecture Room

Capacity: 30 people (Registration Required)　

Fee: Free　

How to Register: Saitama City Gakushū Jōhō System

Registration Period: Thur. February 1 to Thur. February 29
*Participants are chosen at random. Results will be sent to both those who are selected and not selected via E-mail with three days after registration closes. In addition, we recommend that participants check the Saitama City Gakushū Jōhō System website themselves to check results. If for whatever reason one is unable to find out his or her results via e-mail or the Saitama City Gakushū Jōhō System, please contact this museum.

*Lecture is only in Japanese

Special Exhibition Slide Talk – “Bonsai Culture as seen through Sencha Tea Party Illustrations” 

Lecturer: Exhibition Curator

Date and time: Sun. February 11th 13:30~14:30 

Venue: Lecture Room

Capacity: 30 People *First come, first served　

Fee: Free

*Talk is only in Japanese

Special Exhibition Gallery Talk

Date and time: Sat. Feburary 17th, Sun. March 3rd and Sat. March 16th, from 13:30

Venue: Lobby, Collection Gallery

Guide by: Exhibition Curator　

*Please gather in the lobby once you have purchased a museum admission ticket for the day. Only in Japanese.

Special Exhibition Flyer Download