Ryūkyūan Art Treasures from European and American Collections

On occasion of the 20th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ) has brought together landmarks of Ryūkyūan art and culture from European and American Collections. The institute aimed to illuminate the long history of cultural and political contacts between European countries and the kingdom of Ryūkyū, as well as the rich treasures of this culture found especially in European collections. The catalogue has 169 entries in the following fields: history of international contact, lacquer, weaving and dyeing, and ceramics. Studies (in Japanese with summaries in English) by European and Japanese scholars provide an introduction to these themes and to the
Ryūkyūan tradition of art.