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Dates 12 November 2024, 9:30AM - 20 April 2025, 5:00PM
Event Details Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery

The advent of burial mounds coincided with the emergence of a specific kind of tomb sculpture, called haniwa. These sculptures are assumed to have played an important role in ancient funerary rites, and were a common feature of burial mounds until the practice declined after early societies abandoned the construction of colossal, keyhole-shaped burial mounds. This section of the gallery features house-shaped tomb sculptures, which were the dominant type during the 5th century. The lineup also includes illustrative examples of three other types of tomb sculptures: those in the shapes of weapons and household items, cylindrical sculptures, and wooden sculptures.

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Dates 12 November 2024, 9:30AM - 20 April 2025, 5:00PM
Event Details Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery

Haniwa are terracotta figurines that were stood up on ancient burial mounds called kofun. Around the 3rd century at the end of the Yayoi period, pedestal-shaped terracotta objects that were placed on burial mounds began to change form. By the time keyhole-shaped burial mounds were first created in the latter half of the 3rd century, these objects had developed into cylindrical and pot-shaped haniwa.

The earliest representational haniwa, which depicted houses, were created in the mid-4th century, followed by those portraying armor, shields, quivers, and parasols, as well as ships and fowl. Despite increasing variety and changes in the way haniwa were positioned on burial mounds, house-shaped ones were always placed in the center, therefore playing a unique and important role. From the mid-5th century, new haniwa in the shapes of various people and animals were also created. These included shrine maidens, horses, warriors, boars, water fowl, and dogs. They were positioned around the perimeters of burial mounds as though depicting stories. These various representational haniwa, which evolved from simple cylindrical ones, are believed to have played important roles in funerary rituals.

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Dates 12 November 2024, 9:30AM - 16 February 2025, 5:00PM
Event Details Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 13

The Baloch people speak the Balochi language and are based mainly in Balochistan, a region that spans across Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Some of the Baloch people are nomadic and move from place to place by season together with their animals such as goats, sheep, camels, and donkeys in search of pasture. They make rugs and bags that they would use for everyday life.

This exhibition sheds light on the lives of the Baloch people. It introduces their weaving techniques, characteristics of the patterns on their textiles, as well as the relationship between textiles and nomadic lives in general.

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Dates 12 November 2024, 9:30AM - 20 April 2025, 5:00PM
Event Details Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery

Terracotta statues known as haniwa were placed on large burial mounds that were created in great numbers during the Kofun period (ca. 3rd century–ca. 7th century). Most haniwa of women show them from the waist up, making this full-length depiction unusual. This woman appears to be wearing a sleeveless garment with wave-like patterns over a plain, long-sleeved one. Her legs are hidden by a skirt decorated with vertical lines. Women of the preceding Yayoi period (ca. 5th century BC–ca. 3rd century AD) wore clothes similar to one-piece dresses. In the Kofun period, however, garments separated into top and bottom sections as seen here were introduced from China and Korea.

Her outfit is also more elaborate than it first appears: Her hair is made up in a topknot unique to women of the time and is held in place with a comb. She also wears a headband and two large earrings with a cluster of beads above each one, as well as a beaded necklace and bracelets. A knife or something similar is at her hip. Judging from the lavish attire, this haniwa probably depicts a woman of a high social standing who is participating in some kind of elaborate ceremony such as a funerary procession or rite.

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Dates 1 October 2024, 9:30AM - 2 February 2025, 5:00PM
Event Details Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 5

This section of the gallery focuses on bronzes, mainly from the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–ca. 1100 BC) to the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), including ritual vessels, musical instruments, weapons, and horse tack. It also features mirrors and other bronzes from Northern China, tracing the development of early Chinese aesthetics.

TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM

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