Samurai treasures in Palanga – a unique exhibition of Japanese decorative art

Palanga Amber Museum of the LNMA invites all fans of Japanese culture and art to see a rare display of decorative art Samurai Treasures: Artistic Elements of Japanese Swords and Miniature Sculpture from the Collection of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts.  The exhibition presents the world of the Japanese warrior caste, their lifestyle and the forms of cultural expression which have not only survived over the course of centuries, but take new meaning in the context of contemporary art. Exhibition opening is at 4 pm Friday, 16 May. The exhibition will be on until 15 September. 

A selection of rare artefacts from the Edo period (1603 – 1868) have arrived in Palanga from the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts in Kyiv. The artworks reflect samurai culture and aesthetics: among them are examples of thoroughly detailed décor of Japanese swords and miniature sculpture pieces of fascinating subtlety and multiple meanings. 

“This exhibition at Palanga Amber Museum of the LNMA continues the presentation of artefacts from the rare collections of our cherished Ukrainian friends and partners of the Khanenko National Museum of Arts, which was started by the LNMA in 2023. The visitors will be able to see the premium Japanese art – the fabulous samurai swords (katana), their handguards (tsuba), and miniature sculptures carved of ivory (netsuke) from over 200 years of the so-called Tokugawa, the Edo period of peace. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the museum director Juliya Vaganova and her colleagues who dedicate so much of their time and strength towards collaboration with our museum in such a trying time for their country. This exhibition would not have been possible without dedication by my colleague Skaitis Mikulionis, who, with his friends, Lithuanian riflemen, set out on a dangerous journey to transport these artefacts from Kyiv to Palanga,” Arūnas Gelūnas, director general of the LNMA, notes.  

“We are happy to provide, this year also, quality cultural content to our museum’s summer-time visitors. This certainly enriches the seashore time for every holidayer, and hopefully invites them to enquire about the up-coming events at the museum. We have planned additional events to accompany the display, educational events and exhibition tours, facilitating a closer familiarity with the culture of the far-away country. We are linked with Japan via amber, and there are specimen of Japanese amber work on display at the museum,” Dr Sigita Bagužaitė-Talačkienė, director of Palanga Amber Museum of the LNMA, says.  

Japanese craftsmanship: art, function and aesthetics in details

A literal translation of the term “samurai” is “the one who serves others”. Samurai were Japanese warriors who shaped the feudal structure and culture from 1200 until 1868. Initially, as fighters they acquired a special status following the split up of feudal Japan into smaller regions, which needed military people, leaders for provinces. The samurai caste emerged as key part of Japan’s ruling mechanism – their duty was not only fighting, but also safeguarding their rulers, land management, town administration and solving legal issues.  

Samurai were also influential political players taking part in the life of the country and cultural development. Their elite could change the dominant relationship set up in the country, while their code of honour ensured for them the status of warriors and also of cultural symbols. The epoch of samurai came to an end following the Meiji Restoration, but the importance of their cultural and political legacy for the identity of Japan continues today. 

Samurai strictly adhered to Bushidō – the code of conduct of the warrior, stressing the virtues of honour, loyalty, courage, faithfulness, and protection of the family. They were educated, they learned martial arts, literature, calligraphy and other cultural practices. Their main symbol was the sward – katana, which besides performing a practical function, became a deeply personal and cultural object loaded with symbolical value. In the life of samurai, aesthetics and functionality merged into a harmonious whole, and the art of handguards or the miniature sculpture netsuke, despite being so small, nevertheless contained deep symbolical meanings. 

Carefully selected relics of samurai world 

“From the first days of war against Ukraine, the national Ukrainian cultural treasures were started to evacuate to Lithuania. This is the fifteenth Ukrainian exhibition held in Lithuania. We brought the exhibits from Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv and Zaporizhzhia. Many Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Polish institutions contribute to these projects, help coming from tens of people, so that it is almost impossible to mention all of them. The exhibits of this event were transported from Kyiv to Palanga by the members of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, Tadas Gečauskas and Romas Klapatauskas”, Skaistis Mikulionis, cocurator of the event, places the exhibition into context. 

From the collection of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts in Kyiv, totalling at 500, a few tens of exceptional artefacts have been selected for Palanga Amber Museum exhibition, and they represent the samurai world from artistic details of Japanese swards, katana, to the subtle miniature figurines, netsuke. All the artefacts are dated by the Edo period (1603–1868), the peak of the samurai culture aesthetics and technical accomplishment. 

The fragments of Japanese sward fittings, handles and tsuba (handguards) witness to the superior technical virtuosity of the craftsmen, and at the same time, they witness a subtle harmony of functionality and aesthetics, characteristic of the traditional Japanese culture. For samurai, their sward was integral of their identity – far more than a weapon but a symbol for honour, spirit, loyalty and heritage. Each detail was painstakingly worked out, from artistic inlays to symbols of complexity of meanings.  

Not less important is the other part of the exhibition, a collection of netsuke, miniature figurines which embody the aesthetics of everyday on a small scale. These tiny, hand carved figurines, which earlier performed a practical role of clothing accessories, are amazing in their variety of theme, precision of form and meticulous technique. Humans, animals, mythical creatures or scenes of everyday life captured in them speak volumes not only about the artists’ imagination, but also of the personalities of their owners. The exhibition also enacts the principle of Japanese aesthetics of “the greatness in small” – the ability to embrace the entire world in a small object. These exhibits attract to contemplate these perfect forms, and to reflect on that deep relationship of an object, its creator and user in the culture, where every tiny element is of enormous significance. 

The opening of the exhibition Samurai Treasures: Artistic Detail in Japanese Swords and Miniature Sculpture from the Collection of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts is at 4 pm 16 May. It will be on until 15 September.  

Organizers: Palanga Amber Museum of The Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts

Project partners: Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Poland, Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, Customs of the Republic of Lithuania, State Customs Service of Ukraine, Patrol Police of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine 

Project patrons: Culture Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Šarūnas Birutis, Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine Mykola Tochitsky

Project leaders: Director General of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art Dr Arūnas Gelūnas, Director General of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts, Juliya Vaganova

Exhibition curators and coordinators: Sigita Bagužaitė-Talačkienė, Katerina Baranovska, Olha Honcharenko, Regina Makauskienė, Skaistis Mikulionis, Olha Novikova

Exhibition architect Vladas Balsys

Exhibition designer Dovilė Valužytė

Conservators: Rasa Bieliauskaitė-Mikolaitienė, Rimvydas Derkintis

Translators: Džiulija Elena Fedirkienė, Ruslanas Skrobačas

Language editor Ieva Puluikienė

Supporters: UAB AD Rem, CLS Brokerage Company, UAB Bunasta, UAB Nova Post Lithuania

General supporter BTA

Information supporter Palanga Tourism and Information Centre

Donar Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania in the Region of Luhansk Robertas Gabulas

Special thanks to: Ambassador Valdemaras Sarapinas, Ambassador Inga Stanytė-Toločkienė, Romas Klapatauskas, Renata Kanarskaja, Marijana Kozak, Narimantas Savickas, Tadas Gečauskas, Valdas Dovydėnas, Rita Grochovskienė, Agata Voleiko, Tomas Ivanauskas, Andrius Šulskis, Liubomir Demjanchuk, Svitlana Naumenko, Volodimir Chornogor, Andrij Chernega