Tokyo National Museum

What to know

The Tokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館, Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan) is the oldest and largest of Japan's top-level national museums, which also include the Kyoto National Museum, the Nara National Museum, and the Kyushu National Museum. Originally established in 1872 at Yushima Seido Shrine, it moved to its current location in Ueno Park a few years later.

The Tokyo National Museum boasts one of the largest and finest collections of art and archaeological artifacts in Japan, comprising over 100,000 items, including nearly a hundred national treasures. At any given time, about 4,000 different pieces from the permanent collection are on display. The museum also regularly hosts temporary exhibitions. Good English information and audio guides are available.

The sprawling museum complex consists of six separate buildings, each large enough to be a museum in its own right, specializing in different types of art and exhibitions. The main Honkan building, opened in 1938, showcases a variety of Japanese artwork from ancient times to the 19th century, including antique Buddhist statues, painted sliding doors, scrolls, ceramics, and maps, as well as cultural items such as masks, costumes, armor, and weapons.

To the left of the Honkan stands the Hyokeikan, the oldest building on the grounds, built in 1909 to celebrate the Taisho Emperor's wedding. The Hyokeikan is a representative example of Western-style architecture from the Meiji Period and is registered as an important cultural property. It is primarily used for temporary exhibitions and has undergone several renovations to maintain its structure.

To the right of the Honkan stands the Toyokan building, designed in 1968 by Japanese architect Taniguchi Yoshiro. It features galleries displaying Asian art and artifacts from China, Korea, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, India, and Egypt. Behind the Honkan is the Heiseikan, a relatively recent addition built to commemorate the then Crown Prince's wedding in 1993. It houses exhibitions on ancient Japanese cultures as well as large-scale special exhibitions.

The museum's newest building, the Horyuji Homotsukan (Gallery of Horyuji Treasures), was built to house a collection of religious objects, mostly small, intricate statues and copper relief images donated by Horyuji Temple in Nara. The building was designed by Taniguchi Yoshio (son of Toyokan architect Taniguchi Yoshiro), whose minimalist style can also be seen in his other projects, including the Heisei Chishinkan at the Kyoto National Museum, the Sea Life Aquarium at Tokyo's Kasai Rinkai Park, the Mimoca Art Museum in Marugame, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.