Report of the SAMC trip to Japan from November 25 to December 7, 2024 by Robert Lavayssière.
The trip was prepared by the SAMC office with the help of Madame Manuela Moscatiello, curator specializing in Japan at the Cernuschi Museum, with the intention of making an exceptional trip off the beaten track by combining modern art with the art of ancient Japan. Madame Moscatiello being prevented, Mr. Maël Bellec, chief curator at the Cernuschi Museum, accompanied this trip with all the competence that we know him to be and Mr. Nagano Tomoyuki, Japanese guide speaking exceptional French, brought his knowledge and his kind talent in managing a group of 28 people.
Modern architecture made its entrance straight away with Ando Tadao and the Yumebutai complex, not far from Kobe on the island of Awaji, erected in memory of the victims of the 1995 earthquake. Numerous private museums, sit in magnificent buildings and collections such as the museums of Teshima Island (Teshima Art Museum) and Naoshima Island (Benesse House, Lee Ufan, Chichu Museums), the Miho Museum in Shigaraki, the Museum of Art of Kawaguchiko, the Museum of Art Ceramics in Mashiko, the Okada Museum in Kowakudani near Hakone, or, finally, the new Hokusai Museum in Tokyo.
 The Yumebutai complex of Ando Tadao. Awaji. |
 Dry garden of Tōkofu-ji temple. Kyoto. |
Other places have proven to be more intimate, such as the Shōji Hamada Memorial Museum, which is a collection of houses and workshops designed by the artist on a site which seems animated by a posthumous presence. Ceramics and porcelain were in the spotlight in several places, the opportunity to distinguish the different styles of porcelain (Imari, Kakiemon, Nabeshima, etc.) and the history of developments and interactions with the West, without forget a superb exhibition dedicated to cecidon at the Idemitsu Museum (Tōkyō).
Sanctuaries and temples have not been forgotten, allowing us to approach religions, from the original Shintoism, modernized and imposed in the Meiji era (1867), to Buddhism in all its different Japanese variants, without forgetting Taoism and Confucianism. . Visits to temples served as a reminder of the major influence of China, particularly in construction, with very Chinese lanterns winking at Manpuku-ji...
 Enryaku-ji Temple Pagoda. Kyoto |
 Shōji Hamada. Stoneware bottle with Kaki (iron oxide) cover. Machiko Museum. |
 Karamon Gate seen from Tokugawa Ieyasu Shrine at Tosho-gu. Nikko. |
Rather mild weather, dry and sunny, made it possible to take advantage of the bus journeys to observe the Japanese cities and countryside which are so many breaks with the Western world with strong urbanization of coastal areas leading to gigantic megacities while the mountains insinuates itself everywhere in the landscape. The ferry journeys were an opportunity to admire maritime and mountainous landscapes under beautiful lights and wind, while testing the efficiency of the transport systems. There was no shortage of views of Mount Fuji, quite close in winter weather or in the more or less distant distance.
Another Japanese art, cuisine which could be appreciated in various forms and, as the highlight of the stay, during the gala dinner at the Jisaku Tsukiji restaurant, located in a historic house, formerly owned by the founder of Mitsubishi, in the heart of Tokyo.
 Daigo-ji Temple Pagoda. Kyoto. |
 Mount Fuji-san. |
 The whole group with Maël Belec and Nagano Tomoyuki at the Meiji Memorial. Tokyo. |
A wonderful journey, waiting for the next SAMC trip!
Robert Lavayssiere
