Harper Irwin

Our first museum visit during the Cultural Understanding Week (the first week) was visiting the Gotoh Museum. This particular museum visit really stood out and stuck with me because in Tokyo especially in Shibuya (where I’m staying) it’s easy to get hyper-focused on how technologically-advanced Tokyo is with the big-screen marketing, huge shopping malls and high-rise buildings. Travelling to the more quiet-side of Tokyo to learn more about traditional Japan was a nice change. The museum was genuinely so beautiful, the first gallery before you entered the main-exhibition of the gallery there was a huge Budha statue. Without knowing the context of the statue I was admiring and in awe of the statue but didn’t understand the significance as it was all in Japanese writing which I don’t unfortunately understand. Luckily Homma Sensei kindly explained the statue to myself and the other couple students around. He explained how the Budha had lots of arms which held multiple objects and weapons to protect the people. Homma Sensei also explained how the statue had a third-eye which could see your truth. Additionally, how the Budha had a scary-face but a very good heart. Once I knew the true story behind the statue I was so fascinated and interested in the statue, how this statue held such a deep and interesting story which I wouldn’t of understood without Homma Sensei’s explanation which I am beyond thankful for. The galleries was filled with pots, pans, water jugs, bowls and more all preserved from the 17^th century. The art on these pieces was so in-detail and very impressive. The fact that all these pieces were from the 17^th century so all the art was done by hand which would have taken so much time and precision to complete. It was just amazing to see how the Japanese took something (like a water jug) to tell a full story with art, there was drawings of Women in Kimonos, horses, pigs, cows and way more, telling a story that even a tourist myself could understand without knowing fluent Japanese. After the galleries, we were able to explore the garden which was filled with beautiful preserved architecture and nature (as seen within the photos 😊 ).