A special exhibition spotlighting the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu, also in the public eye through an NHK taiga drama, "Ieyasu, a Life of Ups and Downs!," is on at the National Archives near the Palaceside Building. It draws an image of Ieyasu from former holdings of the Edo shogunate, including the Fujimi-tei Bunko (later Momijiyama Bunko) that Ieyasu founded and that the Archives inherited.
The show introduces Ieyasu from three angles: (1) battles associated with him, (2) the diverse retainers who served him, and (3) publishing and the copying of old records. One document, "Go-jikki," completed in 1843 (Tenpo 14), is the shogunate's official history of each shogun from the first, Ieyasu, through the tenth, Ieharu. Also on view are "Todaiki," a detailed account of domestic politics and the economy from the Warring States period into the early Edo era, and "Kansei Choshu Shokafu," a compilation of daimyo and hatamoto genealogies edited by the shogunate.
The exhibition runs through June 11. It is open every day during the run, and there is no admission fee. With crowds likely to surge at many destinations this Golden Week, the National Archives may be a hidden gem for those who want to avoid congestion. What will you do over the holiday?