President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of October 16 with Japan's Tokyo National Museum (TNM) Executive Director Masami Zeniya and Kyushu National Museum (KNM) Director Karoku Miwa. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, welcomed the heads from the two museums to Taiwan and said he was looking forward to successful exhibitions of objects from Taiwan's National Palace Museum (NPM) next year in Japan.
In remarks, President Ma stated that the TNM was founded in 1872 and has an illustrious history, being known especially for its collection of important items from the Japanese imperial court. Meanwhile, the KNM offers the most advanced climate controlled environment of any museum in Japan, he noted. The heads of the two museums have made a special trip to Taiwan to sign an agreement with the NPM to lend collections on a reciprocal basis for exhibitions in each other's country. The president said he was quite pleased by these developments.
President Ma stated that the NPM has carefully selected 231 exquisite items from its collection to be displayed at the TNM and the KNM in June and October of next year, respectively. Several of the NPM's most well-known items, such as the Jadeite Cabbage and the Meat-shaped Stone, are included on the list, which highlights the importance that Taiwan is placing on this exhibit, commented the president.
President Ma further stated that in order to promote interchanges of cultural objects between Taiwan and Japan, the TNM and the KNM will display several of their most treasured items at the NPM Southern Branch (scheduled to open in 2015) in October 2016. They include a painting of the deity Mahamayuri vidyaraja (Kujaku Myoo), the Writing Box with Eight Bridges (a rectangular box with rounded corners), Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses (a painting with a vast waterside, willows, a boat carrying two people among the lotuses), and long swords created in the Kamakura period. This, he said, will enable the people of Taiwan to better understand the beauty of Japanese art.
The president stated that over the past 22 years, the NPM has exhibited items from its collection in the United States, France, Germany, and Austria. Each one of these exhibitions was an enormous success, attracting an enormous amount of attention, he said. In particular, when the exhibition in France was held at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, lines to get in to see the collection wound around the museum three times, he noted. Former French President Jacques Chirac, who has a love for Eastern arts and culture, visited the exhibition on three occasions. President Ma said that this shows that the works from the NPM attract great interest in both Asia and the West. He expressed confidence that upwards of a million people will see the upcoming exhibit in Tokyo. The president also recalled that he served as Minister of Justice the year that the NPM exhibited its works in the United States, and before the items left Taiwan he discussed many issues with then Minister of Education Kuo Wei-fan (郭為藩) to be sure that no legal issues would arise while the items were on display overseas. President Ma noted that any possible problems were successfully averted.
The president stressed that the ROC should play the role of "promoter of cultural ties" and "standard-bearer of Chinese culture" in the international community, and the exhibition of the works from the NPM overseas will help to achieve these objectives. President Ma also pointed out that these exhibits in Japan will mark the first time that works from the NPM have been displayed in Asia outside of Taiwan. He expressed confidence that this will mark an important milestone in the history of cultural ties between Taiwan and Japan.
Lastly, the president reiterated his appreciation to the Japanese parliament (Diet) for passing the Law Concerning Promotion of Exhibitions of Art Objects from Overseas in 2011, thereby eliminating obstacles to the NPM exhibiting objects from its collection in Japan. He also said he hopes the exhibitions in Tokyo and Fukuoka will be a success and will enable the people of both nations to better understand each other's culture.
The two museum heads were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Association of East Asian Relations Chairman Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) and NPM Director Fung Ming-Chu (馮明珠) and Deputy Director Ho Chuan-hsin (何傳馨) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Jacob Chang (張大同).