Lords of the Samurai

Description

The Lords of the Samurai: Legacy of a Daimyo Family exhibition is on view at the Asian Art Museum from June 12, 2009 – September 20, 2009. The samurai culture and code of conduct, bushido, have long captivated the imaginations and aspirations of young and old in the Western world. More than just professional warriors, Japanese samurai of the highest rank were also visionaries who strove to master artistic, cultural, and spiritual pursuits. Lords of the Samurai takes an intimate look at the daimyo, or provincial lords of the warrior class in feudal Japan. The Hosokawa clan, powerful military nobles with a 600-year-old lineage, embodied this duality of fierce warrior and refined gentleman. The exhibition features more than 160 works from the Hosokawa family collection housed in the Eisei-Bunko Museum in Tokyo, and from Kumamoto Castle and the Kumamoto Municipal Museum in Kyushu. Objects on view include suits of armor, armaments (including swords and guns), formal attire, calligraphy, paintings, tea wares, lacquerware, masks, and musical instruments. View related lectures from the symposium on June 14, 2009, sponsored by the Society for Asian Art in conjunction with the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley as part of the Lords of the Samurai exhibition.