Today I went to a 特別展 (special exhibit) at the 江戸東京博物館 (Edo-Tokyo Museum) titled: 「写楽幻の肉筆画」 (“SHARAKU and Other Hidden Japanese Masterworks from the Land of Narsicaa”).
This is a collection of Japanese 浮世絵 (woodblock prints) and paintings that were collected by Greek art collectors (mostly the Greek Ambassador to Japan) about 100 years ago.
It seems that records were not kept in Japan about the most of the pieces and even some of the artists. So, when Japanese art scholars learned of these pieces in an art museum in Greece they were very excited and arranged for an exhibit of the pieces back in their “home” (Japan).
This 特別展 (special exhibit) ends next Sunday (2009 Sept 6).
Woodblock prints like this were sometimes used to to decorate 扇子 (Japanese fans)
The 江戸東京博物館 (Edo-Tokyo Museum) is next to the 国技館 (Tokyo Sumo Arena).
Here’s a sign advertising an upcoming Sumo tournament:
The 東京ドーム (Tokyo Dome) area (including the amusement park and 小石川後楽園 (Koishikawa-kourakuen Japanese Gardens)). There happened to be a cosplay event on the day I took these photos:
Yesterday we decided to take our kids to the amusement park at Tokyo Dome City, but on the way we decided to stop at the 国技館 (Sumo Arena) because there was a festival there today.
One of the most popular booths at the festival was the one that had a few sumo wrestlers serving Chanko.
Chanko is Sumo wrestlers’ staple food. It’s kinda like a big soup / stew. It’s quite tasty…and filling!
Here’s a movie I took of the Sumo wrestlers serving Chanko:
From the festival, we took the train to the Tokyo Dome. My kids rode the roller coasters, water flume ride, etc while my wife and I watched (and I took pictures of them).
After that, we had dinner at an 居酒屋 (Izakaya…a Japanese “blue collar” type restaurant). “Izakaya” is a great dining experience…but not so easy to explain—come to Japan and try one.
Tokyo Five 
Recent Comments