Living with Courage
July 2012
Banner photo: Playing basketball at Nkhulambe Secondary School in Blantyre District, Malawi [© Alfredo Caliz/Panos Pictures]
Treasures from the Forbidden City
The Court Dining Table from the Palace Museum [© Seikyo Shimbun]
From March 29 to May 8, the exhibition "The Palace of Heaven on Earth: Works from the Palace Museum in Beijing" was shown at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (TFAM) in Hachioji, Tokyo, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China. The opening ceremony was held on March 28, and some 600 guests attended, including representatives from 15 embassies.
The exhibition depicted the eventful lives of women, including empresses and women of the court, who lived in the Imperial Palace in Beijing, once known as the Forbidden City and currently the Palace Museum. It also shed light on the life of children within the Imperial Court and the teachings of child-rearing set forth in The Four Books and Five Classics. Special displays depicted nine scenes of the virtues and education of women according to Confucian philosophy. On display were some 200 items from the Palace Museum ranging from paintings, crafts, clothing and accessories to jewelry. One feature was a recreated dining scene from the Qing Court with tableware used by empresses such as the Empress Dowager Cixi and concubines.
The Palace Museum is the world's largest palace and was home to 24 successive emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties that ruled China over a span of 550 years from 1368.
TFAM was founded by SGI President Ikeda in 1983. It is widely recognized for its active role in promoting international cultural exchange, and in 1990 it received an official commendation from the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs.
