News Release: November 10, 1998

Japanese City of Edo is Re-Created in Virtual Reality Computer Program for Visitors to "Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868" at the National Gallery of Art

Washington, DC - A re-creation of life in the city of Edo (present-day Tokyo) during the seventeenth to mid-nineteenth centuries is presented in Exploring Edo, a new virtual reality computer program. Six computer kiosks, located adjacent to the exhibition Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868, on view at the National Gallery of Art, November 15, 1998 - February 15, 1999, allow visitors to venture through a shogun's residence; enjoy a kabuki performance, and other cultural and artistic spectacles of this exhilarating age; as well as shop for fabric, lacquer ware, and books.

Exploring Edo has been developed by the National Gallery of Art and NTT. The exhibition is made possible by NTT.

"The computer kiosks will reinforce visitors' understanding of Edo culture and enhance their experience after viewing Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art.

"NTT is the world's largest provider of telecommunications services. This is just one example of our ongoing commitment to use technology to enhance people's lives," stated Jun-ichiro Miyazu, president, NTT.

The Edo Period comprised 250 years of peace and prosperity, unprecedented in Japanese history. In the belief that its society could be kept from changing if it remained isolated, Japan closed its doors to the West except for limited contact with Dutch traders. Under these conditions, new forms of indigenous artistic expression flourished, including those made for the increasingly prosperous merchant class. Some of these arts, from woodblock prints of Mt. Fuji and kabuki actors to elaborate kimono designs, form our image of premodern Japan.

Exploring Edo features NTT's InterSpace technology, a multiuser, virtual reality platform, which uses three-dimensional computer-generated images, high-resolution digitized photographs, and audio and video clips. Computer-generated models suggest Edo's original architectural splendor, most of which was destroyed by fire. Visitors to Exploring Edo will be able to "enter" one of four areas representing the major artistic achievements and cultural life of the period: 1) Edo Castle, the shogun's residence; 2) Saruwaka, the theater district; 3) Yoshiwara, the pleasure district; and 4) Nihonbashi, the shopping district. All site tours are identified using corresponding prints by the renowned artist Hiroshige.

A free CD-ROM of Exploring Edo will be made available by NTT to classrooms across the United States as well as to individuals for home use. To order a free CD-ROM using the internet, visit www.exploringedo.com.

Dr. Bruce Coats, professor of art history at Scripps College and noted Edo scholar, is providing the historical and educational content for the program.

The Exhibition

Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868 is the first comprehensive survey in the United States of Japanese art of the Edo period. Nearly 300 masterpieces -- including painted scrolls and screens, costumes, armor, sculpture, ceramics, lacquer, and woodblock prints from seventy-five Japanese collections, both public and private -- will reveal the vibrant culture of Edo. Forty-seven of these works have been designated National Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, or Important Art Objects by the government of Japan because of their rarity, historical significance, and artistic quality. Many of the works in the exhibition have never before left Japan. The National Gallery of Art is the sole venue for the exhibition.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, and The Japan Foundation. The guest curator for the exhibition is Robert T. Singer, curator of Japanese art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov. The Gallery is now on Facebook—become a fan at www.facebook.com/NationalGalleryofArt.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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