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Living with Japanese Art: Display and Storage
In Japan, works of art have long been brought out, enjoyed for a time and put away again. That rhythm suits both the eye and the object.
Choosing a place
A stable surface, set back from edges and busy passages, is the first step. Avoid direct sun, radiators, fireplaces, air vents, kitchens, bathrooms and damp outside walls. Sudden changes in temperature and humidity are harder on most materials than steady conditions.
How much light
Museums treat light as a budget. The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, for example, limits 19th-century and earlier colour woodblock prints to about three months of display in five years, and lacquer to about six months, at around 50 lux. Ceramics and metals are not limited in the same way. At home, this simply means: keep prints, scrolls, lacquer and dyed baskets out of direct sun, and rest them in turn.
Light and season: seeing each material at its best
A suggestion for looking, not a care instruction.
Glaze. Soft, low side light, such as a north-facing window or a winter afternoon, brings out throwing marks, crackle (kannyū) and pools of glaze that flat overhead light tends to hide.
Metal. Light falling across the surface at a low angle reveals cast and chased detail, and warm evening light deepens the colour of a patina. Metal is not light-sensitive in the way paper is, so you may move it freely.
Printing. View a print briefly under low light from one side: blind embossing (karazuri) and the grain of the woodblock appear. Keep these viewings short.
The seasons. Scrolls in Japan are traditionally changed with the seasons. The custom also limits each work's exposure to light, so it serves both appreciation and care.
Storage
Store works in a stable, dry and dark place, away from attics, garages and basements. A closed cabinet or a well-fitted box helps to even out changes in humidity. Do not seal objects, especially baskets, in plastic bags.
The wooden box
Many works come in a fitted wooden box tied with a flat cord (sanada-himo). Please keep it with the work. Carry the box from below, not by the cord. See Why the Original Box Matters (04).
Before you move anything
Clear a place to set the piece down first, remove rings and bracelets, and move slowly.
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