Waltz on the Western Edge: Exhibition at Sasebo’s Shimanose Art Museum runs till Nov. 30

(Photo by David R. Krigbaum)

Sasebo’s Shimanose Art Center opened its latest exhibition, “Waltz on the Western Edge,” on Oct. 31, and runs till Nov. 30.

As a coastal city, the ocean has always been vital to Sasebo’s livelihood and its place on Kyushu’s western edge has put it in contact with foreign influences through trade, religion, and conflict. Waltz on the Western Edge conceptually explores this relationship over 40,000 years through artifacts.

The “Circulating Sea” covers prehistory and shares artifacts from Japan’s earliest civilizations, the Jomon and Yayoi. This 10,000-year time span is illustrated with skeletal remains, pottery, jewelry and tools. While many of these came from Sasebo, such as a 6,000-year-old tomb with human remains, they are displayed alongside artifacts from that era found around Japan.

bils, goggles, poettery, different kinds of tools

(Photo by David R. Krigbaum)

(Photo by David R. Krigbaum)

human remains (Photo by David R. Krigbaum)

The next section, “Dividing Sea,” covers an aspect of Japanese history unique to Kyushu, the Hidden Christians. Many people in what is now Nagasaki Prefecture had converted to Christianity before it was banned in the early 17th century. Its followers were required to recant their faith or face a gruesome public execution via means such as boiling alive or crucifixion. Pockets of Christians continued to worship in secret, especially on Sasebo’s remote islands. They hid Christian iconography in everyday items such as crosses in sword guards, and even Buddhist statues were given a secret Christian bend. This section displays these Christian items as well as the edict banning the religion and a map of Japan.

sword guard (Photo by David R. Krigbaum)

The last history section is the “Swirling Sea,” which covers Sasebo’s history as a military port from the base’s opening in 1889 to the post-World War II era. Broadly, this is split between calligraphy by people associated with Sasebo such as Admiral Togo Heihachiro and a display of Japanese World War II artifacts. Togo’s relationship with Sasebo goes back to 1883 when he commanded a ship which brought navy surveyors to Sasebo Bay. He would return as Sasebo Naval District commandant in 1899 and his vessels sortied from Sasebo during the Russo-Japanese War, were he became a national hero. A special addition is a display of atomic bomb artifacts from Nagasaki, including a clock stopped when the bomb detonated at 11:02.

Whether you’re interested in archeology, military history or Japanese culture in general, this exhibition is an opportunity to see a little of each and how they relate to the port many service members, civilians and retirees call home.

Also on display are two photo exhibitions on the mezzanine. One is an underwater World War II ship wreck photo collection taken at Bikini Atoll, where many warships were sunk in the 1946 Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests. The other is a collection of smiles from around the world.

Upon entry, visitors are greeted by the “peace cannon.” This home-made cannon can blast rice and smell delicious doing it. It’ part of the ground floor “Interactive Sea” portion of Waltz on the Western Edge, which focuses on exploring themes of peace through contemporary art and music.

The entire exhibition is in Japanese but I used Google Translate and had no issue understanding the artifact descriptions and floor summaries. Tickets are 1,200 yen.

Article author David R. Krigbaum loaned a portion of his Japanese Home Front collection to the museum for this exhibition.