Give it to Tenoha to create a memorable event with its stunning visuals! If their previous exhibition “Fantasmi e Spiriti del Giappone” was really good, the design for “Storie di Donne Samurai” was absolutely fantastic. It truly felt like walking through a forest in ancient Japan. What I really liked about their interactive experiences is that, despite having completely different structures, in my opinion they still possessed some sense of similarity.

Let me explain. In “Fantasmi e Spiriti del Giappone”, you crossed the Red Bridge and you had to walk along a precise path because the rooms and interactive experiences were set in a certain order. However, in "Storie di Donne Samurai" there was no strict path and visitors could freely roam the exhibition grounds in whichever order they wanted. Personally, I still felt like I should follow a certain order, which is why I mentioned they seemed similar although different. 

I was lucky enough to pick a time-slot where there weren’t many people around, so I was able to enjoy my nature walk without the place being too crowded, while taking lots of pictures and videos, and I got the chance to have a mini photo-shoot with some of the props available to all visitors! (don’t forget to check out my Instagram!)

As the title suggests, the exhibition was focused on and portrayed the stories of the onna-bugeisha—women samurai—who had a significant impact on Japanese history and culture.

Not only could you learn about their stories thanks to the enchanting illustrations—located throughout the exhibition grounds—by French artist Benjamin Lacombe, but you could also have a closer look at these courageous women and their tragic stories thanks to entire rooms dedicated to them. 

Women such as Tomoe Gozen, who was a skilled archer and whose story influenced several generations of samurai. Or Yamamoto Yaeko, whose help during the Boshin war earned her the nickname Nightingale of Japan.

Unlike last time—where I left my purse in a locker at the entrance and wasn’t able to buy anything from the pop-up gift shop—I planned ahead and put my wallet in a tote bag I brought and got quite a few things (that I wouldn’t have been able to purchase in the Tenoha shop). Obviously I couldn’t leave without the book—which contains a special signed print—but I also got a couple of buttons, some postcards, and a bookmark. Don’t these look absolutely stunning? *insert dreamy face*

If you’re wondering what that rectangle-shaped thing at the bottom is, it's called Goshuin Book. If you’re familiar with Japanese culture, you’ll recognise this as a lot of train stations in Japan have a corner where you can get your book stamped. It’s really fun to collect stamps, so of course I had to do that as well! It kinda felt like recording a memento of my experience of this exhibition, so I’m really glad I did that. 

Overall, this has been an amazing experience, and I strongly recommend anyone with an interest in Japanese culture to visit this exhibition as soon as possible. It will remain open until the end of November, so make sure you don’t miss this opportunity! 

Thank you, once again to Tenoha Milano for the chance to attend this excellent Japanese interactive experience!

次回まで。♥

Written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji is an iconic piece of Japanese Literature, this book the very first translation in English by Kencho Suematsu. As explained in Suematsu’s introduction, the original work of Genji Monogatari—the Japanese title—is composed of fifty-four chapters, whereas this version contains the first seventeen. 

I’ll admit that it took me a little bit to get used to the way the story was told—in reference to some terminology, and the conversations in verses—however, soon I was enamoured with this tale. The many footnotes not only certainly helped me understand some of the terminology, they also gave me interesting insights into how life in the Imperial Court in Heian Japan worked, providing an explanation on customs, clothing, as well as piquing my interest in Chinese poetry (often mentioned throughout the story) and art. The political intrigues, the secret romances, and the travels reminded me a lot of the Korean period dramas I like to watch, so it was easy for me to picture what I was reading, and soon, I was really invested in the life of Prince Genji. Obviously life at court is not all rainbows and unicorns—well, life in general isn’t either—so I felt for Genji through his difficult moments, and I can’t deny I favoured certain characters over others. It’s a shame I’m not able to read the rest of the story, as I’d be curious to know if there is any change of style (it is said that the last ten chapters or so were written by somebody else), or if it’s noticeable at all. 

Forbidden romances, political intrigues, and secret progeny make The Tale of Genji the perfect book to add to your Japanese literature collection.