Amuse Museum
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The , or simply Amuse Museum, was a private museum specializing in Japanese textile culture and ''
ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...
''. It opened on 1 November 2009 in
Asakusa, Tokyo is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known for Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as . History The development of Asaku ...
, not too far from
Ueno Park is a spacious public park in the Ueno, Tokyo, Ueno district of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. The park was established in 1873 on lands formerly belonging to the Buddhist temples in Japan, temple of Kan'ei-ji. Amongst the country's first public parks, i ...
, where multiple other museums are located. The museum was closed on 31 March 2019. The museum housed a collection of everyday clothing and other textiles from the private collection of
folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
Chūzaburō Tanaka. While only about 1500 of the items were on display at any time, the museum rotated through the collection every few months. The talent and entertainment agency
Amuse Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with positi ...
was the owner of the museum.


General information

Amuse Museum was established on 1 November 2009 as a private Japanese textile culture and
ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...
museum in the Asakusa district of the
Taitō is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. In English, it is known as Taitō City. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 186,276, and a population density of 18,420 persons per km2. The total area is . This ...
special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is located just east of
Sensō-ji , is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, ...
. The museum was operated and owned by the talent and entertainment agency
Amuse Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with positi ...
. The concept of the museum curation, , was based on the environmental and social activism of Nobel Peace Prize winner
Wangari Maathai Wangari is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to: * Wangari Maathai (1940–2011), Kenyan environmental and political activist * Catherine Wangari Wainaina (born 1985), Kenyan beauty pageant contestant * Margaret Wangari Muriuki (born 1986), K ...
. The museum's collections were started with over 30,000 everyday clothing items from the collection of the
folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
Chūzaburō Tanaka. Many of the pieces were in disrepair and appeared to be loosely sewn rags. About 1500 of those items were on display at any one time, and the pieces on display were rotated out every few months. The honorary curator of Amuse Museum was Tanaka, and the Chief Curator was Kiyoshi Tatsumi.


Access and environs

Amuse Museum was located about 5 minutes' walk north-northwest of
Asakusa Station is a railway station in the Asakusa district of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tobu Railway, Tokyo Metro, and Toei Subway. It forms one terminus of the original subway line in Tokyo, now the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Ginza Line. Station layo ...
on the
Ginza Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia, having opened in 1927. The line ...
and about 8 minutes from
Asakusa Station is a railway station in the Asakusa district of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tobu Railway, Tokyo Metro, and Toei Subway. It forms one terminus of the original subway line in Tokyo, now the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Ginza Line. Station layo ...
on the
Tsukuba Express The , or TX, is a Japanese railway line operated by the Third-sector railway, third-sector company Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company, which links Akihabara Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The route was ...
line. There are two bus stops within a block of the museum's former location. The
Asakusa Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , it is one of the most famous Shinto shrines in the city. The shrine honors the three men who founded the neighboring Sensō-ji. Part of a larger grouping of sacred buil ...
and
Sensō-ji , is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, ...
are located just west of the former museum site. Other nearby attractions within walking distance included
Kaminarimon The is the outer of two large entrance gates that ultimately leads to the Sensō-ji (the inner being the Hōzōmon) in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. The gate, with its lantern and statues, is popular with tourists. It stands 11.7 m tall, 11.4&nbs ...
, Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Garden, the
National Museum of Nature and Science The is in the northeast corner of Ueno Park in Tokyo. The museum has exhibitions on pre-Meiji period, Meiji science in Japan. It is the venue of the taxidermied bodies of the legendary dogs Hachikō and Taro and Jiro. A life-size blue whale mod ...
, the
National Museum of Western Art The is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition. The museum is in the Ueno Park in Taitō, central Tokyo. It received 1,162,345 visitors in 2016. History The NMWA was established on June 10, 1959 ...
,
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum The is a museum of art located in Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of Japan's many museums which are supported by a prefectural government. The first public art museum in Japan, it opened in 1926 as the Tokyo Prefectural Art Museum and was re ...
,
Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the , is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, prese ...
,
Ueno Zoo The is a zoo, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and located in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is Japan's oldest zoo, opened on March 20, 1882. It is served by Ueno Station, Keisei Ueno Station and Nezu Station, with convenient access from ...
, and
Ueno Park is a spacious public park in the Ueno, Tokyo, Ueno district of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. The park was established in 1873 on lands formerly belonging to the Buddhist temples in Japan, temple of Kan'ei-ji. Amongst the country's first public parks, i ...
(which contains the four museums above, as well as the zoo). A bar was located on the sixth floor of the museum building offering drinks snack items.


Exhibit history

In 2010, Amuse Museum hosted the "Tsugaru – Nanbu Sashiko Kimono" collection, consisting of 768 pieces of
sashiko is a type of traditional Japanese embroidery or stitching used for the decorative and/or functional reinforcement of cloth and clothing. Owing to the relatively cheap nature of white cotton thread and the abundant nature of cheap, indigo-dyed ...
kimonos from Tsugara and Nanbu in
Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
. Cloth culture is at the heart of this presentation of the handicraft of nameless artisans and ordinary women, the exhibit has been featured in media such as NHK's and .


Permanent collection

The permanent exhibit was , based on the donations from Tanaka. The motifs found in the Boro exhibit inspired fashion designers such as
Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...
, Hiroyuki Horihata, Makiko Sekiguchi, Joseph Altuzarra, and
Junya Watanabe Junya Watanabe (born 1961) is a Japanese people, Japanese fashion designer, a protégé of Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo. He continues to work for Comme des Garçons: His atelier is located on the second floor of its Tokyo headquarters, ...
. Vuitton incorporated Boro motifs into his 2013 Spring/Summer Paris men's collection, and Altuzarra incorporated them into his 2014 Spring/Summer New York men's collection. Watanabe, a designer for
Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons (CDG, ) is a Japanese fashion label, founded by Rei Kawakubo in 1969. It is based in Paris, where its flagship store is located. Other than fashion, the label has expanded to include jewelry and perfume (under the brand Comme ...
, used the motif for his Spring/Summer 2015 collection.


References


External links


Where in Tokyo
(review)
Time Out Tokyo
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602211056/http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/venue/2515/Amuse-Museum , date=2 June 2015 (review) Amuse Inc. Defunct museums in Japan Defunct art museums and galleries Art museums and galleries in Tokyo Buildings and structures in Taitō Japanese clothing Ukiyo-e Museum Art museums and galleries established in 2009 Museums disestablished in 2019 2009 establishments in Japan 2019 disestablishments in Japan