The mysterious parking: a lost piece of Osaka discovered!

The mysterious parking: a lost piece of Osaka discovered!

A fascinating look into the past comes from Styria, where a valuable paravent from Japan was discovered. This historical work of art, which has been serving as a wall decoration in Castle Eggenberg for about 250 years, shows the city of Osaka in a unique perspective before the catastrophe of 1614/1615. After a devastating fire, Osaka, once an economic center of Japan, was completely rebuilt. Scientists from the Universal Museum Joanneum and the universities in Cologne and Osaka have found in a research project that this paravent is still one of the few known representations of the city from that time. Marko Mele, Scientific Managing Director of the Universal Museum, described the discovery as significant and recalled that similar works of art have been lost, while this paravent survived in a wonderful way in Europe, as orf.at reported.

art and dialogue at the world exhibition

The paravent is now the scene of cultural encounters: At the upcoming world exhibition in Osaka 2025, Styria will present two unique work inspired by Styrian artists. Studio Asynchrome's installation "Pixel Paravent. Time Travels in Clouds" invites visitors to explore the stories behind the representations in an interactive way. Artist Michael Schitnig emphasizes that the use of playful elements enables people to deal with the history of Osaka. In addition, Tom Lohner's work "Okurimono", which depicts current sights in Styria, is presented as a modern business card for the region. These two works are intended to promote a transcultural dialogue to deepen the relationship between Styria and Japan, as on the website of Universal Museum "> Universal Museum"> Universal Museum " Joanneum is explained.

The research also gave exciting historical insights. The paravent is not only art, but also a document of a decisive phase of Japanese history when Osaka rose among the Toyotomi rulers and rose to the cultural center. After a time of the war, however, the city was completely destroyed at the famous summer battle of Osaka in 1615. The survival art of this parave is therefore particularly valuable, since it is one of the few remaining evidence from this "Golden Age of Japan", according to the experts. In the coming months, the paravent will be shown in the folklore museum in Graz before leaving to Osaka from June 19th.