[Tokyo] Japan's oldest museum, Tokyo National Museum

Japan's oldest museum

The Tokyo National Museum, located in Ueno Park in Taito Ward, Tokyo, is a museum that collects, preserves, and exhibits Japanese and Asian cultural assets, and is operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, an independent administrative institution

Photo by i_yudai – Tokyo National Museum(2007) / Size-adapted.

In 1872, Japan's first exposition was held at the Taiseiden Hall of Yushima Seido in Yushima, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, and this year is considered the year of the Tokyo National Museum's founding, making it the oldest museum in Japan

Since the end of World War II, new exhibition halls have been constructed, and the current complex consists of the "Main Building," "Horyuji Treasure Hall," "Oriental Gallery," and "Hyokeikan." Today, the collection comprises over 100,000 items, including national treasures and important cultural properties, and also houses approximately 3,000 items on loan. The
"Main Building," which opened in 1938, is a blend of Japanese and Western architecture, similar to the Meiji Jingu Treasure Hall. Rooms 1 through 10 on the second floor display the "flow of Japanese art," including "Noh and Kabuki," "Buddhist art," and "Samurai attire," while rooms 11 through 16 on the first floor exhibit sculptures, metalwork, swords, and folk materials.

The main building also hosts special exhibitions such as the "Berlin Treasures" exhibition, which are held for a limited time several times a year

The Museum of Horyuji Treasures, which opened in 1964, aims to preserve and exhibit over 300 "Horyu-ji Treasures" that were donated by Horyuji Temple to the Imperial Family. It opened in 1999, the same year as the Heiseikan, as the second museum in its series, the current Museum of Horyuji Treasures

The Oriental Gallery, which opened in 1968, has 13 exhibition rooms displaying art pieces from China, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Egypt, and other countries. There is also a museum shop here that sells merchandise designed based on cultural assets

Hyokeikan opened in 1909 to celebrate the marriage of Emperor Taisho. It is a neo-baroque building designed by court architect Tokuma Katayama and is designated an Important Cultural Property. From the end of World War II until the opening of the Heiseikan, it exhibited archaeological materials, and was later used as a space for educational outreach, but is currently closed for the purpose of improving the exhibition environment

By the way, the number of collections is referred to as "items" rather than "number of items" because even if there are over 100 items excavated from ruins, they are counted together. If we were to count them by "items," the number would be enormous

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