Events
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Limited timeThe Yamato Kingdom and the Production of Symbols of Authority Until 6 May 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 6 May 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
From the 4th century, Chinese-style bronze mirrors were created in Japan and placed in burial mounds. These large mirrors were finely-crafted with unique designs, and, as this burial practice suggests, held special meaning in the Yamato Kingdom. Jasper, bronze, and stone copies of various ornaments were also buried in these mounds. They included distinctive hoe-shaped stone objects modeled after shell bracelets that were valued in the preceding Yayoi period. The Yamato government began creating such objects to show its political and religious authority. Moreover, certain objects, such as those made of jasper, were created with the aid of provincial clans.
Use of these objects and the construction of burial mounds for high-ranking rulers (these mounds featured stone chambers that were sealed from the top) spread from the Yamato Kingdom to the west. It is believed that provincial clans used these objects as evidence of their alliance with Yamato and as symbols of their own prestige.
The establishment and expansion of the Yamato Kingdom was also related to political developments in other East Asian countries. In China, the fall of the Western Jin dynasty ushered in the Sixteen Kingdoms period (316–420), while the three kingdoms of Korea – Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla– began to annex neighboring regions.
25 result(s)
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Limited timeNetsuke: The Prince Takamado Collection Until 24 February 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 24 February 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) The Prince Takamado Collection Room
This exhibition displays contemporary netsuke, which was collected by the late Prince Takamado with her Imperial Highness Princess.
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Limited time
The Yamato Kingdom and the Production of Symbols of Authority Until 6 May 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 6 May 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
From the 4th century, Chinese-style bronze mirrors were created in Japan and placed in burial mounds. These large mirrors were finely-crafted with unique designs, and, as this burial practice suggests, held special meaning in the Yamato Kingdom. Jasper, bronze, and stone copies of various ornaments were also buried in these mounds. They included distinctive hoe-shaped stone objects modeled after shell bracelets that were valued in the preceding Yayoi period. The Yamato government began creating such objects to show its political and religious authority. Moreover, certain objects, such as those made of jasper, were created with the aid of provincial clans.
Use of these objects and the construction of burial mounds for high-ranking rulers (these mounds featured stone chambers that were sealed from the top) spread from the Yamato Kingdom to the west. It is believed that provincial clans used these objects as evidence of their alliance with Yamato and as symbols of their own prestige.
The establishment and expansion of the Yamato Kingdom was also related to political developments in other East Asian countries. In China, the fall of the Western Jin dynasty ushered in the Sixteen Kingdoms period (316–420), while the three kingdoms of Korea – Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla– began to annex neighboring regions.
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Limited timeThe Rise of Provincial Clans and the Development of a Unique Culture Until 6 May 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 6 May 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
Local production of weapons, armor, and horse tack, which had originally been brought from Korea, began around the end of the 5th century. While gold and silver were often used in Korea, production in Japan was characterized by the extensive use of gilded bronze plates. From around the mid-6th century, unique metal objects such as large ornamental swords were also created. It is believed that these objects were distributed to provincial clans as proof of the Yamato Kingdom’s authority and as signs of an alliance.
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Limited timeObjects Excavated from Edo Until 9 March 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 9 March 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
Tokugawa Ieyasu became the shogun of Japan in 1603, establishing his government in Edo (present-day Tokyo). Edo then became the political and cultural center of Japan, with 70% of its land occupied by residences for feudal lords and members of the Tokugawa clan. In addition to these residences, temples, shrines, commoners’ homes, and post towns with accommodations for travelers were sectioned into different areas around Edo Castle, while the castle itself served as the shogun’s residence and place of business. Large fires occurred frequently in Edo because of the dense concentration of wooden buildings. After each fire, land was divided and reassigned, sometimes to create open spaces to prevent future fires from spreading. Land reclamation and other projects for coping with a rising population were also undertaken, with Edo developing into one of Asia’s largest cities.
The appearance of Edo has come to light in recent years through excavations. In particular, large-scale excavations have shown where the residences of feudal lords were located and how they were laid out. Moreover, unearthed objects have revealed the luxurious lifestyles these lords enjoyed, made possible in part by a monetary system based on gold, silver, and copper coinage, which led to the increased distribution of goods. In fact, goods from across Japan were brought to Edo for consumption. This section features excavated objects that vividly illustrate the lifestyles of Edo people.
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Limited timeExcavated Gold Coins of the Edo Period Until 9 March 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 9 March 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
In February of 1957, a man harvesting shellfish about 250 meters off the coast of Tokyo’s Izu Ōshima island accidentally discovered koban coins on the sea bed. Following this incident, a total of 103 koban and 63 ichibukin, which are smaller and rectangular, were found. The reason for why these gold coins were lost at sea is still a mystery.
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Limited timeEgypt and Western Asia Until 2 March 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 2 March 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 3
This section of the gallery features ancient art and artifacts from regions that gave rise to some of humanity’s earliest civilizations, including West Asia, Egypt, and the eastern Mediterranean. The Egyptian collection includes stoneware and earthenware objects from Pre-dynastic Egypt (circa 6000–3150 BC) as well as reliefs, mummies, and decorative art from Dynastic Egypt. Other objects frequently on view include Bronze Age burial goods from West Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, tablets bearing cuneiform script from Mesopotamia, and sculptures and pottery from ancient Iran.
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Limited timeThe Advent of Chinese Civilization Until 15 June 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 15 June 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 4
This section of the gallery traces the development of Chinese civilization through ancient pottery, jade objects, texts, and bronzes. The collection includes Neolithic pottery from the Loess Plateau, a range of stone tools from Northern China, jade objects and oracle-bone inscriptions from the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–ca. 1100 BC), and roof tiles from each era.
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Limited timeKorean Ceramics Until 25 May 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 25 May 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 10
This gallery introduces Korean ceramics from the Proto-Three Kingdoms period (ca. 1st century BC–3rd century AD) to the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). The development of Korean ceramics during the Proto–Three Kingdoms period was influenced by the Lelang Commandery, an outpost established by China’s Han dynasty in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Rulers of powerful states struggled for supremacy during this period, resulting in a rich variety of distinct ceramic aesthetics in each region. Under Chinese influence, a blue-green glaze called celadon began to be produced in Korea during the Goryeo dynasty (935–1392). Over time, celadon wares took on a distinct gray-green coloring that came to be known as Goryeo celadon. The production of pottery then diversified during the Joseon dynasty to include white porcelain and Buncheong ware, a type of stoneware often featuring designs in white slip and iron pigment.
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Limited timeSoutheast Asian Ceramics Until 25 May 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 25 May 2025, 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.
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Limited timeKanjō-ban (Banner for Kanjō ceremony) Until 20 April 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 16 December 2024, 9:30AM - 20 April 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures Room 1
The Kanjō-ban (gilt bronze banner for the Kanjō ceremony) is one of the most outstanding items of The Hōryūji Treasures. It is believed to be the item listed as "one gilded Kanjō ceremony article" in The History of the Buildings of Hōryūji and The Inventory of the Temple’s Properties compiled in 747. The original is displayed here together with another metal banner, the “Small Gilt Bronze Ban”.