Events
-
Limited timeThe Eta Funayama Burial Mound and the Advanced Culture of Provincial Clans Until 1 February 2026
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 4 September 2025, 9:30AM - 1 February 2026, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
Eta Funayama, which is located in Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan, is a keyhole-shaped burial mound with a length of 77 meters. The numerous objects excavated from this mound include a now-famous sword with inscriptions in silver inlay, jewelry and other ornaments made of gold, silver, and gilt bronze, imported bronze mirrors, horse tack, and weapons. As prime examples of objects excavated from a burial mound in Japan, they were designated National Treasures in 1965.
The jewelry and accessories, in particular, which are made from precious metals, are equivalent in quality to Korean accessories related to prestigious governmental ranks. Moreover, the gilt bronze crowns and ornamental shoes served as models for objects created later in Japan, and led to the custom of wearing metal accessories in the 6th century. Horse tack was also excavated from this mound and shows that the Japanese had acquired the technique of horseback riding.
Furthermore, unique Japanese armor, which was made in the Kinai region, suggests that the entombed individuals were advanced and had strong connections with the central Yamato Kingdom.
These excavated objects shine light on the activities of provincial clans in Japan, which interacted with Korean kingdoms such as Baekje.
10 result(s)
-
Limited timeSwords Until 24 November 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 4 September 2025, 9:30AM - 24 November 2025, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 13
Room 13 features selected swords and sword–fittings from the Heian to Edo periods, including Blade for a Long Sword (Tachi), Named "Ima Aranami", By the Ichimonji school.
-
Limited timeAncient Art | Ca. 11,000 BC–7th century AD Until 21 December 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 4 September 2025, 9:30AM - 21 December 2025, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 1
Japan has some of the earliest pottery in the world, dating back about 13,000 years. It was created by the people of the Jōmon period (ca. 11,000–400 BC). These people built permanent settlements and relied on hunting, fishing, and gathering.
At the height of their culture, they made pottery with richly sculpted forms and figurines with distinctive shapes.
In the Yayoi period (ca. 4th century BC–first half of 3rd century AD), people from Northeast Asia (now China and Korea) immigrated to Japan. They brought knowledge of how to farm rice and make objects with bronze and iron. More food became available and people started making tools, weapons, and ritual objects with metal.
In the Kofun period (ca. second half of 3rd–7th century), regional rulers seized power and resources. They formed an early state and the imperial line became its central authority. These rulers had giant tomb mounds built for themselves, with clay sculptures placed outside and valuable objects buried inside to express the rulers’ authority even after death.
-
Limited time
The Eta Funayama Burial Mound and the Advanced Culture of Provincial Clans Until 1 February 2026
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 4 September 2025, 9:30AM - 1 February 2026, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
Eta Funayama, which is located in Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan, is a keyhole-shaped burial mound with a length of 77 meters. The numerous objects excavated from this mound include a now-famous sword with inscriptions in silver inlay, jewelry and other ornaments made of gold, silver, and gilt bronze, imported bronze mirrors, horse tack, and weapons. As prime examples of objects excavated from a burial mound in Japan, they were designated National Treasures in 1965.
The jewelry and accessories, in particular, which are made from precious metals, are equivalent in quality to Korean accessories related to prestigious governmental ranks. Moreover, the gilt bronze crowns and ornamental shoes served as models for objects created later in Japan, and led to the custom of wearing metal accessories in the 6th century. Horse tack was also excavated from this mound and shows that the Japanese had acquired the technique of horseback riding.
Furthermore, unique Japanese armor, which was made in the Kinai region, suggests that the entombed individuals were advanced and had strong connections with the central Yamato Kingdom.
These excavated objects shine light on the activities of provincial clans in Japan, which interacted with Korean kingdoms such as Baekje.
-
Limited timeEthnic Cultures of Asia: The Kris: A Mysterious Weapon from Indonesia Until 16 November 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 September 2025, 9:30AM - 16 November 2025, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 13
The kris is a dagger that was used widely on the Malay Peninsula and the surrounding islands in Southeast Asia. A kris consists of a blade, a hilt, and a sheath that are made of different materials, and each of these components is distinctively shaped. Kris blades are either straight or wavy, and many of them have unique patterns created through their forging process during which multiple types of metals were wrought.
Kris daggers were believed to possess magical powers, granting their owners protection and serving as symbols of the owners’ prestige. Even today, kris daggers are worn by Indonesian men around their waists as part of their traditional attire at ceremonial occasions such as weddings. They are not only weapons, but also works of art, as well as objects symbolizing their owners’ spirituality and social standing.
-
Limited timeWoodwork, Lacquerware, Incense Woods, and Measuring Instruments Until 24 November 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 4 September 2025, 9:30AM - 24 November 2025, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures Room 4
Wooden and lacquered objects include examples of Buddhist ritual implements, furnishings, musical instruments, stationery, measuring tools, and arms & armor, which range in date from the 7th to 17th century. Among these are notable pieces from the 8th century like the Bamboo Cabinet, which was donated by the famous Hōryūji priest Gyōshin, and a sutra box decorated with marquetry that shows the beautiful grain patterns of its jinkō wood. The Seven-stringed Zither is also valuable for its ink inscription, which tells us it was produced in China’s Sichuan Province in 724. The inscriptions on the pieces of incense wood in this collection also have revealed important facts about Persia’s involvement in the trade of such wood. Through these works one can not only see the culture of Japanese decorative art but can also get a sense of the cultural exchanges that occurred within East Asia centuries ago.
-
Limited timeThe Niizawa Senzuka Tombs and Exchange with the Asian Continent Until 1 February 2026
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 18 July 2025, 9:30AM - 1 February 2026, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
Created in the 5th century, burial mound no. 126 is one of approximately 600 that make up the Niizawa Senzuka tumulus cluster located in the Nara Basin. Rectangular in shape and 24 meters in length, excavations revealed that it contained a rich variety of objects from other cultures. These include gold, silver, and gilt-bronze accessories, glass bowls and plates, bronze clothing irons and small mirrors, carved semi-precious stones, and weapons. Among these, the gold and silver crown decorations, jewelry, glass bowls, decorative glass beads, and other objects are equivalent in quality to items excavated from tombs of the Silla Kings in Korea.
-
Limited timeSculptures from India and Gandhara Until 21 December 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 18 July 2025, 9:30AM - 21 December 2025, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 3
This gallery introduces Buddhist and Hindu sculptures from India and Gandhara. Buddhist art flourished in northern India during the Kushan dynasty (1st–3rd century). The production of Buddhist statues began in Gandhara (northwestern Pakistan) and Mathura (northern and central India) around the 1st century, with a particular emphasis on sculptures depicting the life of Gautama Buddha in Gandhara.
-
Limited timeKhmer Sculpture Until 19 April 2026
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 18 June 2025, 9:30AM - 19 April 2026, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 11
Cambodia’s Angkor period (ca. 9th century–15th century) saw the development of a unique Khmer culture, as epitomized by Angkor Wat, a huge temple complex built from the end of the 11th century to the 12th century during the golden age of the Khmer Empire. This section introduces Khmer sculpture, with a focus on Buddhist and Hindu statues and reliefs from Angkor’s temples. These were acquired in 1944 through an exchange project with the French research institute the French School of the Far East.
-
Limited timeChinese Buddhist Sculpture Until 19 April 2026
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 8 May 2025, 9:30AM - 19 April 2026, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 1
Buddhism began to spread in China around the turn of the first millennium, about 500 years after its founding in India. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the number of Chinese Buddhists rapidly increased and numerous temples were established. This gallery presents Buddhist statues created from the 5th to 9th century, a golden age in the history of Chinese sculpture.
-
Limited timeGilt Bronze Buddhist Statues, Halos and Repoussé Buddhist Images Until 19 April 2026
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 8 May 2025, 9:30AM - 19 April 2026, 5:00PM
-
Event Details
The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures Room 2
All of the 48 works of gilt bronze Buddhist statues in the Hōryūji Treasures are no more then 30–40 cm in height, and many of them are believed to have been used for private worship by local rulers. The halos date from around the same time as these gilt bronze statues, but they are displayed separately.
Repoussé Buddhist images could be mass-produced by placing a thin sheet of bronze over a relief image of a Buddhist divinity and hammering it into shape. In Japan, repoussé images flourished from the second half of the 7th to the early 8th century and were mostly hung on the walls of temple halls or kept in small shrines for private worship. The repoussé Buddhist images among the Hōryūji Treasures are a very important collection, not only in terms of age and number, but also for the variety of images.
※ 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.