Museum of the Imperial Collections

Sannomaru Shozokan was built in 1992 in a corner of the Imperial Palace East Gardens and opened to the public on November 3, 1993. Here, artworks such as paintings, calligraphy and crafts handed down to the Imperial Family are kept in a well-managed facility. The gallery owns a wide variety of artworks — 9,800 items in all. These include paintings from the 13th century such as Moko Shurai Ekotoba (”Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasion”); calligraphy from 7th-century Tang Dynasty China; San Luan Tie (”Morning During the Upheaval”) by Wang Xizhi, the Sage of Calligraphy; and a chrysanthemum-patterned cabinet in maki-e and mother-of-pearl inlay from 1903. Access is via Otemon Gate, a five-minute walk from the C13a Exit of Otemachi Station on the Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines. Alternatively, from the 1a Exit of Takehashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line, it's a 10-minute walk to Hirakawa-mon Gate, or a 15-minute walk to Kitahanebashi-mon Gate.