Highlight of the week – details confirmed for Oriental Museum event
The SCR Committee is pleased to be able to invite you to a visit to the Durham University Oriental Museum, which will take place on Thursday 27 January at 5.30pm.
The visit will include a 20 minute tour of the new Silk Road Gallery, and we will be the first group to see a new temporary exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints, known as “Monogatari” (see below). The tour will be followed by a 40 minute object handling session, which will enable you to have a close up experience of some objects in the collection.
In order to sign up for this event, please contact the SCR Treasurer, Martin Brader, by email at [email protected]. There are limited places available, so please email as soon as possible to secure your place!
Editorial
I hope this message finds you well. Welcome to a new term, and to a new-look bulletin, which will hopefully help to keep you in touch with the activities of the SCR and its members on an ongoing basis. I’m keen for this update not to just be a list of forthcoming events (useful though that is!), but also to include more news notes, and extended articles on topics which might be of interest to members. So, if you have any contributions or news, please get in touch via the SCR email address – [email protected]. I hope you enjoy the delve into our activities in the weeks to come! Richard
Action time!
This section highlights activities where action would be useful, for instance events with open sign-ups and registrations.
The first SCR Buffet Lunch of term will take place on Wednesday 26 January. Sign-up for this event closed at midday this Friday, 21 January using the online form at https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=i9hQcmhLKUW-RNWaLYpvlCqBEsZpT2dHrDDQ_witNEtUMlA4MTZaUkZYTEIxUko5STJZSUNZUkVKSy4u
We’re still working to plan our introduction to new members, but if this is something you’d like to attend, please send us an email to [email protected].
Upcoming events
Events open to SCR members in the next fortnight…
SCR Lunch: Van Mildert College – 26 January 2022 – 1 pm
SCR Visit: Oriental Museum – 27 January – 5.30 pm
SCR Introduction to New Members (online) – Date TBC
Burns Night Formal: Van Mildert College – 3 February 2022 – 6.45 pm
Exploration
A chance to find out a little bit more about something related to someone – or something – to do with the SCR.
Our SCR visit next week takes us to the Oriental Museum, where we will see a new exhibition on the theme of Monogatari.
But what are monogatari? – Preview with thanks to Durham University Oriental Museum
Monogatari are a traditional form of Japanese literature. Some are stories of romance and fantastical events, others are tales of intrigue or war, often drawing on historical events. The most famous example is Genji Monogatari, the “Tale of Genji”, which is a story depicting the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period in Japan. Over time monogatari were replaced by other forms of novel and serialised storytelling but the Japanese love of epic tales never faded.
Woodblock printing has been used in Japan since the 8th century CE but art form flourished in the Edo period in the 17th Century. Ukiyo-e, the ‘picture(s) of the floating world’ made during this period transformed the use of woodblock print art from its focus on religious texts and images to popular art featuring beautiful women, famous actors, travel scenes, landscapes and celebrated tales. Epic stories for Japanese folklore were recreated in prints, giving them new life. As Japan opened up to the West in the latter half of the 19th century, the same artistic techniques were applied to new, more contemporary events.
The Oriental Museum’s exhibition, created in partnership with the National Museum of Japanese History, draws on the JP Scott Collection, donated to the Oriental Museum in 2019. It highlights Japanese stories, real and fictional, and how they were told through the art of woodblock printing. The SCR will be one of the first groups to see the exhibition, as it opens to the public the day after our tour, so remember to sign up if you’re intrigued to find out more!