Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum, one of Japan’s few specialized fashion museums, is a fashion-focused institution originating from Bunka Gakuen, a comprehensive fashion education organization. Located on the university campus just a few minutes’ walk from Shinjuku along the Koshu Kaido road, it boasts excellent accessibility.
The university’s theme is pioneering “new beauty”
Bunka Gakuen University, founded in 1923 with the founding principle of “creating new beauty and culture,” is a distinctive university with over 100 years of history. As a pioneer in fashion studies and lifestyle design, it has led and created fashion culture from its central Tokyo campus. Even someone unfamiliar with fashion like me knew its name well. I thought it was truly impressive that they established their campus in the heart of the city with such a keen awareness.
Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum
The Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum opened in the year celebrating the 60th anniversary of Bunka Gakuen’s founding. The Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum is a specialized university-affiliated museum with the theme “Understanding Japanese and World Cultures Through Clothing.” It is open to the general public, hoping that its exhibitions will also be useful for creative endeavors such as clothing production and design.
Graduation Exhibition
When I visited, an exhibition was being held featuring costumes used in a comprehensive stage production that fused fashion with performing arts like ballet and dance. This production served as the culmination of learning for all senior year students in the International Fashion Culture Department.
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There
This year’s theme was “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There”, a sequel story to Alice in Wonderland.” Colorful costumes were on display. The graduation event is apparently a required course, with students handling everything from planning and scriptwriting to costume production and stage direction. The explanations noted that the costumes were designed for ease of movement on stage.
The stage production created by graduates of all three courses—Stylist & Coordinator, Producer & Journalist, and Film & Stage Costume Designer—working together as one sounds exciting, doesn’t it? This unique initiative by Bunka Gakuen University has been a graduation tradition since 2007, featuring annual performances based on world fairy tales, literature, and novels.
When I visited with a German visitor interested in fashion, they were thrilled. They were also surprised to learn that stage production is a required graduation subject. The museum is located just a short walk from Shinjuku Station, it’s definitely worth a visit.
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Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building, 3-22-7, Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo
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