Japanese Culture Exhibition Opens at the Museum of Dominican Man

Japanese Culture Exhibition Opens at the Museum of Dominican Man
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic  1/19/2012

The Ministry of Culture and the Embassy of Japan inaugurated “Dolls and Japanese Calendars” exhibition at the Museum of the Dominican Man.

Ambassador Soichi Sato explained the significance of the traditional Japanese dolls which are from the northern region of the country where the earthquake and tidal waves hit last March, 2011.

The exhibition, which displayed 73 traditional Japanese dolls known as “Ningyo” and 150 calendars donated by the National Association of Japanese Calendar Publishers, will be opened until February 2^nd.

The opening celebration of the well-attended event was headed by Japanese Ambassador Soichi Sato and Christian Martínez Villanueva, Director of the Museum of the Dominican Man.

Ambassador Soichi Sato explained the significance of the traditional Japanese dolls which are from the northern region of the country where the earthquake and tidal waves hit last March, 2011. “In the old days, agricultural workers used to stop and rest in the thermal baths and on these trips they would buy these dolls as souvenirs. Since then, these dolls have become symbols for people who need rest and recuperation for their body and soul.”

Ningyo, which means “human figure,” dolls are made in several styles including warriors, heroes and gods. They are made from a variety of materials such as clay, wood, cloth, porcelain and paper. “They take on life, through their facial expressions and realistic use of color,” added Ambassador Sato.

The calendars, which also display a large diversity of Japanese culture through their beautiful landscape photos, gardens and scenes of daily life, will be given away to whoever wants them once the exhibition has ended, the Japanese Ambassador said.

Christian Martínez added a comment: “The exhibition of the Japanese calendars, displayed at the beginning of every year at the Museum of Man, is complemented in 2012 by this interesting, thousand year-old tradition of doll-making from the fraternal Land of the Rising Sun.”