The Imperial warehouses
Posted by ampontan on Wednesday, March 5, 2008
THE SMITHSONIAN in Washington D.C. is sometimes referred to as America’s attic. While it is primarily the repository for items of historical value, it is also the storage place for objects that are more curiosity than treasure and part of the country’s cultural legacy only in the aggregate.
There is a group of buildings in Japan that serve a similar function, though they are not open to the public and not widely known. That’s the Gyofu, a cluster of wooden warehouses on the southern end of the Fukiage Gardens in the Imperial Palace.
They were originally used to store the spoils of war. Each of the five buildings in the group has a name that ends with the suffix –fu. In each of the five was kept the booty taken from overseas in military campaigns.
Specifically, the Shintenfu was the repository for items from the Japan-China war, the Kaienfu was for items from the North China Incident (the start of the second war with China), the Kenanfu stored the items from the Japan-Russia war, the Junmeifu held the spoils from the Siberian Intervention (1918-1925), and the Kenchufu was the warehouse for the plunder and souvenirs from the Manchurian and Shanghai incidents.
The Korosei Rock, a symbol of the relationship between T’ang Dynasty China and Bohai (a kingdom that existed in Northern China and the Korean Peninsula from 698-926), was taken from China to Japan during the Japan-Russia War and is still standing in the front garden of the Kenanfu (the building shown in the photo). All the other items from overseas were returned to their countries of origin after the war.
The buildings of the Gyofu still serve as warehouses, however; they are used for the storage of the possessions of the current emperor, some of the art donated to the country by the Imperial Household after the death of the Showa Emperor, and the implements used for palace ceremonies.
According to those who have gotten a glimpse of the interior of these buildings, they just have an open space with no dividing walls or shelving. All the stored items are placed seemingly at random inside.
Though the buildings are old, they were solidly built and are still in good shape. The people responsible for their design and construction were part of the Takumiryo, a group of builders and craftsmen in the former Imperial Household Ministry. That group was also involved with the construction of other parts of the Imperial Palace and the Tokyo National Museum.
The Gyofu are located in a part of the palace grounds where entry is highly restricted, so they are almost never seen by anyone without a reason for being there. But there is one exception: the Suwa teahouse in the East Gardens, a popular site for strollers that is open to the public. The building is actually the Kaienfu, which was moved to this location and rebuilt. It was decided to move it in 1968 when the plans for the East Garden were formulated because its distinctively Japanese appearance was thought to blend in well with the surrounding area.
It’s a shame the rest aren’t available for viewing by the public, but they are just storehouses, so they wouldn’t be the most appropriate place for public exhibitions. Then again, there’s no reason why the Korosei Rock should still be there. It should have been returned to China long ago.
The Chinese would like to have it back, of course, but to their credit, they seem to be asking for the return in the spirit of bilateral friendship rather than making strident demands. Here’s the Japanese-language explanation of the history of the object and the Chinese viewpoint on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, as written by Xinhua. China sent a team to this country to examine the rock, but the Imperial Household Agency, perhaps the most backward government organization in the country, refused to let them see it. They gave the team photographs instead.
It’s an object of historical and cultural importance from China that belongs in China. Why should it be sitting on a plot of land in Japan that most Japanese aren’t allowed to see? Indeed, returning it would be of great benefit to Japan, if only for the positive publicity it would generate among the Chinese.
Keeping it there does not reflect well on the Japanese government. I suspect the Japanese public would agree–if they knew about it.
Durf said
Nothing the IHA gets its wrinkled hands into reflects well on the Japanese government.
MTC said
The stone is one of the relics of the Kingdom of Parhae. The only nation that treated Parhae as an equal–Parhae’s only friend–was Japan.
The legends say that refugees from Koguryo founded Parhae. If accurate, it is possible that some of Parhae spoke a language akin to Japanese. A more direct link probably existed too: many Koguryo refugees settled in Japan following the collapse of that kingdom in 668. It would be likely that some of the ruling class of Parhae had blood relations living in Japan.
As for Japan’s role in preserving the culture of Parhae, is seems the only surviving examples of Parhae poetry are the verses the Ambassador of Parhae wrote during his visit to Japan that are preserved in the records of his host Sugawara no Michizane.
Why do you honor the claims of the sons and daughters of the Tang–Parhae’s oppressors–over the stewardship of stone by the descendants of Parhae’s friends?
ampontan said
Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.
Aceface said
There were many stolen relics from the 15 years war in China and Chiang Kai Shek and GHQ had send delegation to reconfiscate them after the Japanese surrender.This one(along with the others in Natonal Museum in Ueno)were considered as legitimate possesion of Japan.
However,an anti-Japanese activist named 童増Tong Zeng had started making demand for the return of “Stolen Chinese treasure hidden in Imperial warehouse” for a while in the early 90′s.I’ve read a translation of the chinese paper once and he was asked what exactly is the “stolen treaure”and couldn’t answer what it was…
I’m not at all against of sending the rock back to China,but as MTC remotely pointed,there is now a claim in South Korea that Parhae was a Korean kingdom,and not a Chinese regional administration as Beijing had claimed.Which means Parhae can become another point of Sino-Korean dispute just like Koguryo.