Events
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Limited timePainting and Calligraphy | 16th–19th century Until 10 November 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 1 October 2024, 9:30AM - 10 November 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 8
A thriving economy, foreign trade, and better education invigorated the development of painting and calligraphy. Previously, ruling classes like the samurai and court nobility were the main patrons of art. But in the Edo period (1603–1868), more people started to benefit from the economy. Successful merchants in particular gained the wealth to support artists and buy their works.
Many painters continued working in traditional styles, while others started looking to outside sources for inspiration. Paintings and painting manuals imported from China were one source. Another was the books and prints that traders brought from Europe, which showed techniques like realistic shading and perspective. As a result, painting in Japan became more diverse in style and subject matter.
Meanwhile, the ancient custom of writing with a brush and ink continued. The literacy rate increased dramatically as schools for different social classes were established, particularly in cities and towns. The publishing industry thrived and more people took up the art of calligraphy.
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Limited timeTOHAKU CHAKAN Until 15 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 30 September 2024, 10:00AM - 15 December 2024, 4:30PM
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Event Details
The Okyokan is a valuable Japanese house that is not usually open to the public. It was built in 1742 as the shoin (study room) of the Meigenin Temple, which was located in the outskirts of Nagoya City. Later, it was moved to the residence of Mr. Takashi Masuda (Donno) located in Shinagawa, Tokyo, who was the first president of Mitsui & Co. as well as a famous tea master. In 1933, the Okyokan was donated to the Tokyo National Museum. A variety of food, beverages, and activities have been prepared for visitors to enjoy Japanese culture while appreciating the (reproduced) fusuma paintings by Maruyama Okyo, one of the master painters of Japan’s Edo period.
We invite you to take this valuable opportunity of a limited time and pay a visit to the Okyokan.
Hours:10:00–16:30 (last order at 16:00)
Closed:Mondays (Tuesdays if Monday is a national holiday)
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Limited timeNew Acquisitions in Fiscal Year 2023 Until 10 November 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 1 October 2024, 9:30AM - 10 November 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Thematic Exhibition Room
This exhibition features 22 select objects that Tokyo National Museum acquired in fiscal year 2023 through donations and purchases. The Museum collects a wide variety of artworks, artifacts, and other cultural heritage ranging from Japan’s prehistory to the 20th century. To present the culture of Japan in a diverse, international context, the Museum is also building collections that represent other regions of Asia.
The Museum’s latest efforts to enrich its collections are represented through the objects displayed here, all of which provide valuable insights into the cultures of Asia.
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Limited time
Painting and Calligraphy | 16th–19th century Until 10 November 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 1 October 2024, 9:30AM - 10 November 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 8
A thriving economy, foreign trade, and better education invigorated the development of painting and calligraphy. Previously, ruling classes like the samurai and court nobility were the main patrons of art. But in the Edo period (1603–1868), more people started to benefit from the economy. Successful merchants in particular gained the wealth to support artists and buy their works.
Many painters continued working in traditional styles, while others started looking to outside sources for inspiration. Paintings and painting manuals imported from China were one source. Another was the books and prints that traders brought from Europe, which showed techniques like realistic shading and perspective. As a result, painting in Japan became more diverse in style and subject matter.
Meanwhile, the ancient custom of writing with a brush and ink continued. The literacy rate increased dramatically as schools for different social classes were established, particularly in cities and towns. The publishing industry thrived and more people took up the art of calligraphy.
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Limited timePolished Stone Tools and Metal Tools of Korea Until 10 November 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 30 September 2024, 9:30AM - 10 November 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 10
This section of the gallery introduces archeological artifacts from Korea, including stone and bronze weapons and sophisticated cast ornamental fittings with animal motifs. It also features mirrors, hooked belt fittings, and other items associated with the Lelang Commandery, an administrative division established by China’s Han dynasty in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.
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Limited timeThe Art of Fashion | 17th–19th century Until 22 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 22 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 10
Japan's traditional clothing, kimono, are based on kosode — the outer wear of the Edo period (1603–1868). At first, the court nobility and samurai wore kosode under other clothing. But from about the 15th century, the samurai began using them as daily outer wear. In the 17th century, kosode became the most common clothing for men and women of all classes.
Wealthy women placed orders for custom-made kosode at luxury clothing stores. They often chose the patterns from clothing design books that were published and widely circulated. Together with these kosode, they wore hairpins and combs to accent their elaborate hairstyles.
In contrast, men wore kosode with understated patterns like stripes or checks.
Their usual fashion accessories were a small case (inrō) and a toggle (netsuke) for securing the case to the sash. This gallery features kosode and accessories, together with prints and paintings (ukiyo-e) showing how people wore them and how fashions changed over time.
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Limited timeDecorative Arts | 16th–19th century Until 22 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 22 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 8
From the late 16th century, changes in society helped artisans to develop the decorative arts. In the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1603), samurai warlords united Japan after more than a century of fighting. The following Edo period (1603–1868) saw economic growth under a new samurai government, with merchants and other people gaining the wealth to buy art.
Potters succeeded in making Japan's first porcelain in the early 17th century. Methods for decorating porcelain and other ceramics then became more diverse, as shown by works with gold, silver, and color enamels. Meanwhile, textiles saw rapid technical advances. The loom was improved to make complex weaves possible, while dyeing became as detailed and expressive as painting.
Items like furniture and dining sets were coated with lacquer and decorated with metal powders, most often gold. Lacquer workers refined this technique, called maki–e, and combined it with new materials for more elaborate designs. Metalworkers also began using a wider variety of base metals and alloys, creating works with greater detail and precision.
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Limited timeArms and Armor of the Samurai | 12th–19th century Until 22 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 22 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Rooms 5 & 6
The samurai ruled Japan for nearly 700 years, from the late 12th to the 19th century. They emulated the imperial court, which was the home of high culture, but also borrowed from the practices of common people. Wishing for divine protection in this life and salvation in the next, they worshipped both Shinto and Buddhist deities. The culture of the samurai was complex and ever–changing, but always reflected their authority as the warrior class of Japan.
This gallery focuses on the most prominent symbols of samurai authority: swords, armor, and other military equipment. These had many purposes. Through diverse colors and materials, they showed the tastes of their owners. Differences in shape and construction reflected differences in rank and social standing. Many samurai passed down this equipment as heirlooms, while high–ranking samurai exchanged it as diplomatic gifts. Swords and armor were also donated to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in prayer for victory in battle.
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Limited timeKabuki Costume Until 22 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 22 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 9
The current exhibition celebrates the season for “face-showing” (kaomise) kyōgen plays in the kabuki theater, in which new actors are introduced. This event happens in the eleventh month in the lunar calendar. Though the kabuki actors were usually all male, a large part of the kabuki costumes in the Museum collection were used by a female kabuki actress, Bandō Mitsue. She had access to the women’s chambers ōoku in shogun’s castle to play kyōgen, a comedic theater. The gorgeous decoration of thick and dynamic embroidery, large design motifs, and rich colors on these costumes reflect the extraordinary and flamboyant characteristics of kabuki plays.
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Limited timeThe Spectacular Luster of Gold and Silver Ceramics Until 1 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 1 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 14
This thematic exhibition features ceramics decorated with gold and silver sheen. On display are works from China, where porcelain was first produced in the world, and works of Islamic porcelain, which used oxidized copper and silver as coloring agents to create a lustrous, metallic shine on the surface. Also on view are gold- and silver-decorated Japanese porcelain and stoneware, which have continued to progress with evolving methods since the 1600s. Through these works, you can come to appreciate the unique and profound qualities of Japanese ceramics.
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Limited timeSoutheast Asian Ceramics Until 1 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 30 September 2024, 9:30AM - 1 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 12
This section introduces ceramics from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, with a focus on objects collected by the Japanese entrepreneur Okano Shigezō.
※ The above information was correct at the time of updating, but there may be changes to actual prices. Please confirm the current prices when visiting.
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