The lively metropolis of Edo (modern Tokyo) grew rapidly around the castle of the Tokugawa shoguns and fostered a new popular urban culture that was distinct from the courtly culture of Kyoto, the traditional artistic center of Japan. Many of the arts we regard today as traditional Japanese expressions flourished in the vibrant culture of the Edo period. Paintings, lacquer, and ceramics selected from the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art present a vivid glimpse of the vitality and energy of Edo Japan.