Comment

“Edo” is the old name for Tokyo, and it’s also the name for the period in Japan known as the early modern period. Before 1868, there was a samurai government, and Japan had not yet made a change-over to the Western type of modern state. It was here that townspeoples’ culture, such as kabuki and ukiyo-e, grew and flourished, at that time, in this city. Also, there were a lot of Japanese food items still popular today, such as sushi and soba, since it was at that time that they took their present form.
In this way, although the food on the plates is still reminiscent of “Edo”, the city’s landscape has changed completely, and it is difficult to find actual remnants of the past. To such a degree that even Japanese who live here today, easily forget that they are living in the same land as Edo people did.

The bearing mark on the ceiling is from a map of the Edo period, and they show the exact direction of this room. This time, on the original theme of “Edo-Tokyo”, I painted three Tokyo landmarks – Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower, and Nihombashi, on the walls. Each wall points to the direction of the landmark.

In the foregrounds of the paintings, I used scenes from ukiyo-e. From the pictures of famous places by Hiroshige, a master of color woodblock prints who was active in the late Edo period, I continually tried to choose ones of the same place viewed from the same angle. Edo and Tokyo. It is surprising that the two views with a time difference of 160 years would seem to be two completely different places.

In this room, while looking at the overlapping landscapes of Edo and Tokyo, please enjoy taking a leisurely time trip across one and a half centuries. Also, I’d be delighted if guests who stay in this room have an opportunity to discover even a little bit about the history of this town that lies behind its modern veneer.

Hidetaka Furukawa