東京国立博物館 | |
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 The Honkan (Main Gallery) | |
 Interactive fullscreen map | |
| Established | 1872 (Yushima Seido Exhibition) 1873 (permanent display) 1882 (present location) 2007 (present administration) |
|---|---|
| Location | Ueno,Taitō,Tokyo, Japan |
| Coordinates | 35°43′08″N139°46′35″E / 35.7189°N 139.7764°E /35.7189; 139.7764 |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collection size | 110,000 |
| Visitors | 2,180,000 (2017)[1] |
| Public transit access |
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| Website | tnm.jp |
TheTokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館,Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan) orTNM is anart museum inUeno Park in theTaitōward ofTokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums[a] operated by theNational Institutes for Cultural Heritage [ja], is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, preserves, and displays a comprehensive collection of artwork and cultural objects fromAsia, with a focus on ancient and medievalJapanese art and Asian art along theSilk Road. There is also a large collection ofGreco-Buddhist art. As of April 2023, the museum held approximately 120,000 Cultural Properties, including 89National Treasures, 319Horyuji Treasures, and 649Important Cultural Properties.[2] As of the same date, the Japanese government had designated 902 works of art and crafts as National Treasures and 10,820 works of art and crafts as Important Cultural Properties,[b] so the museum holds about 10% of the works of art and crafts designated as National Treasures and 6% of those designated as Important Cultural Properties.[3]The museum also holds 2,651 cultural properties deposited by individuals and organisations, of which 54 are National Treasures and 262 are Important Cultural Properties.[4] Of these, 3,000 cultural properties are on display at one time, with each changing for between four and eight weeks.[2] The museum also conducts research and organizes educational events related to its collection.
The facilities consist of theHonkan, holding the Japanese Gallery; theHeiseikan andHyokeikan, holding special exhibitions; theToyokan, holding the Asian Gallery; theGallery of Horyuji Treasures, holding important relics originally preserved atNara'sHoryu Temple; theKuroda Memorial Hall, holding a collection of works byKuroda Seiki; and theResearch and Information Center. There are restaurants and shops within the museum's premises, as well as outdoor exhibitions (including theKuromon) and a garden where visitors can enjoy seasonal views.
The Tokyo National Museum is one of four museums operated by theNational Institutes for Cultural Heritage; the other three areKyoto National Museum,Nara National Museum, andKyushu National Museum. The Tokyo National Museum is a representative museum that comprehensively exhibits Japanese cultural assets, but other national museums are more complete in specific areas, such as cultural assets from theMeiji era in the 1800s to the present. The Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, operates seven museums[c] specializing in specific fields, including those focusing on modern art and Japanese crafts and those focusing on Western art. Two museums[d] managed by the National Institutes for the Humanities focus on folklore. TheMuseum of the Imperial Collections, managed by theImperial Household Agency, focuses on cultural assets donated to the nation byJapanese imperial family.
The museum went through several name changes. The original 1872 exhibition was known as the "Museum of the Ministry of Education".[5] The compound in Uchiyamashita-chō was initially known simply as "the Museum" (Hakubutsukan)[6] before becoming the "Sixth Bureau of the Home Ministry", after which it was again known as the Museum and then the "Museum of the Museum Bureau".[6] It was renamed theImperial Museum in 1888, reflecting its change of ownership of the imperial household.[7] As other museums opened, this changed to the more specificTokyo Imperial Household Museum in 1900.[5] Following thegovernment reforms imposed afterWorld War II, it was renamed the "National Museum" in 1947[5] and the "Tokyo National Museum" in 2001.[5] The museum is also sometimes known as the "Ueno Museum".[8]
The Tokyo National Museum is the oldest national museum in Japan.[9] It considers its origin to have been theYushima Seido orShoheizaka Exhibition, a public exhibition of imperial artwork and scientific specimens held by theMinistry of Education's Museum Department from 10 March to 30 April 1872[10][5] during the 5th year of theMeiji Era. The items' authenticity had been ascertained by the recent Jinshin Survey, which catalogued and verified various imperial,noble, andtemple holdings around the country.[11] Directed byShigenobu Okuma,Tsunetami Sano, and others,[12] the 1872 exhibition expanded on an 1871 exhibit at theTokyo Kaisei School (today theUniversity of Tokyo) in order to prepare for an international exhibition at the1873 Vienna World's Fair celebratingFranz Joseph I's 25th year asemperor.[10] Japan decided to honor their invitation primarily in order to raise the international standing of Japanese manufactures and boostexports; 24 engineers were also sent with the delegation to study cutting-edge Westernengineering at the fair for use inJapanese industry.[12] The most important products of eachprovince were listed and two specimens of each were collected, one for display inVienna and the other for preservation and display at a new museum.[12] The 1872 exhibition, held at theTaiseiden Hall of the formerConfucian temple atYushima Seido in the Shoheizaka neighborhood, was open daily 9 am to 4 pm and ultimately admitted about 150,000 people.[10] The 1873 exhibition in Vienna, apart from the collection of regional objects, also included a fullJapanese garden withshrine, a model of theformer pagoda atTokyo's imperial temple, the female goldenshachi fromNagoya Castle, and apapier-maché copy of theKamakura Buddha.[12] The next year, Sano compiled a report on the fair in 96 volumes divided into 16 parts.Gottfried Wagener, a German scientist then working in Tokyo, wrote its reports on "The Art Museum in Respect to Arts and Various Crafts" and "The Establishment of the Tokyo Museum", arguing strongly for the creation of a museum on western lines in the Japanese capital.[12]
While the Vienna World Fair was going on, the locally-held objects were organized by the Exposition Bureau into a temporary display at a compound in Uchiyamashita-chō (now 1-Chome inUchisaiwai-chō), immediately southeast of theImperial Palace, in March 1873.[6] It opened on 15 April and was open to the public for the next 3½ months, after which it opened on the days in each month ending with the numbers 1 or 6.[6] A special exhibition in 1874 focused on new technology in medicine, chemistry, and physics. On 30 March 1875, the museum was moved under theHome Ministry.[6] By this time, it included seven buildings—including agreenhouse—with displays covering Japanese antiques,agriculture, and thenatural sciences; the grounds had an area for livestock and a room forbears.[6] The museum continued to be connected to industry and was closely involved with the national industrial exhibitions held in Ueno Park in 1877, 1881, and 1890.[13]
Ueno Park was founded in 1873 on land that had been held by themetropolitan government since the destruction of most of theKaneiji Temple during theBoshin War that established theMeiji Restoration,[7] partially following the example set by theAmerican government atYellowstone the preceding year.[14]Hisanari Machida, the museum's first director, had advocated the use of the spacious park for a wide-ranging museum as early as 1873 but parts of it were used for themilitary andeducation ministries until 1875, when the Home Ministry acquired complete control.[7] The museum's early conception was based on theSouth Kensington Museum (now the Victoria & Albert Museum) inLondon,[15] but important changes were made. The museum collections were divided into the eight categories of fine arts, nature, agriculture & forestry, history, law, education, industry, and land & sea.[5] The ministry gave the entire park to the museum in January 1876 but its facilities there weren't completed until 1881, when the originalHonkan was completed in time for the Second National Industrial Exhibition; the smaller brick building used by the first National Industrial Exhibition in 1877 was incorporated into this as a wing.[7] In April 1881, the museum was moved from the Home Ministry to theMinistry of Agriculture and Trade. It began construction on the associatedzoo[7] and added theAsakusa Bunko collection to the museum as its book department.[16]
A ceremony attended byEmperor Meiji opened the museum and zoo on 20 March 1882; the library was reopened on September 30.[7] The facilities were open to the public every day except Mondays and two days around theNew Year.[7] In 1888[7] or 1889,[5] theimperial household took over ownership of the museum, focusing its operations on cultural and scientific pursuits and ending its direct involvement with trade and industry.[7] The original Honkan was severely damaged in theGreat Kanto earthquake of 1923,[5] and exhibits were moved to the undamaged Hyokeikan.[17] The structure having originally been promoted as having "solidity... matched by no other" in Japan, its collapse led to disillusionment with the architecture and style it represented.[18]
Upon the marriage ofHirohito in 1924, the entire Ueno Park—along with the museum and the zoo—were returned to theTokyo Municipal Government as a present.[17] While the main building's reconstruction was being discussed, the natural science collections were removed from the museum in 1925 to form the separate Tokyo Museum of the Ministry of Education (the present-dayNational Science Museum).[5] An Imperial Museum Innovation Promotion Committee was assembled the next year following the ascension of Hirohito as emperor,[19] which ultimately decided to replace the former building. In 1931, they held a design contest[19] and selected theImperial-Crown plan fromJin Watanabe.
The present Honkan was opened to the public in 1938,[5] having reorganized its collection to dissolve the history department and classify its holdings as art.[19] In November 1940, theShosoin were publicly displayed for the first time to celebrate the supposed 2600th anniversary of the ascension of thefirst emperor of Japan. 400,000 came to see them during the 20-day exhibit.[19]
The museum saw attendance begin to fall after 1925;[17] it was closed in 1945 during the final phases of the Second World War.[citation needed] It was placed under the Ministry of Education in 1947,[5] theIndependent Administrative Institution National Museum in 2001 (merging its administration with theKyoto,Nara, and—in 2005—Kyushu National Museums),[20] and theIndependent Administrative Institution National Institutes for Cultural Heritage in 2007 (merging the IAINM's administration with the national institutes for cultural preservation in Tokyo and Nara).[21]
From October 18, 2022 to December 11, the Tokyo National Museum celebrated its 150 year anniversary by displaying all of its 89 national treasures in a single exhibition for the first time.[22]
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TheHonkan (本館, Main or Japanese Gallery)[23] houses the museum's main display ofJapanese art from prehistory to the late 19th century. It has two floors and a basement with a totalfloorspace of 21,500 m2 (231,000 sq ft). It is designed to befire- andearthquake-resistant.[19]
The Honkan is located on the former site of the main hall of theKaneiji Temple, which was destroyed during theBoshin War.[7][5] The first Honkan incorporated a brick structure used as the main hall for the first National Industrial Exhibition in 1877. Construction on its replacement began the next year, following plans drawn up by the English architectJosiah Conder. The two-story brick hall incorporatedAnglo-Indian architecture, with two greenonion domes surmounting the towers flanking the main entrance. It was completed in 1881. This building was ruined by theGreat Kanto earthquake of 1923.[7]
It was replaced byJin Watanabe'sreinforced-concrete structure in theImperial Crown Style,[23] with aneoclassical base andJapanese roof. It was completed from 1932 to 1938[17] at a cost of 7 millionyen. It opened on 10 November 1938 with a ceremony attended byEmperor Hirohito.[19] The building was designated anImportant Cultural Property of Japan in 2001.[5]
The rooms are ordered beginning with the SE corner of the second floor, passing clockwise around the second and first floor, and ending with the SW corner of the first floor.[23]
| Second Floor | First Floor | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Room | Title | Room | Title |
| 1 | TheDawn of Japanese Art andRise of Buddhism | 11 | Japanese Sculpture |
| Jomon,Yayoi,Kofun | |||
| 2 | National Treasure Gallery | 12 | Lacquerware |
| Various periods | |||
| 3 | Buddhist Art,Courtly Art, andZen &Ink Painting | 13 | Metalwork and Ceramics |
| Heian,Muromachi | |||
| 4 | The Art ofTea Ceremony | 14 | Thematic Exhibition |
| Various periods | |||
| 5 | Attire of the Military Elite | 15 | Records of History |
| Heian,Edo | |||
| 6 | Attire of the Military Elite | 16 | Ainu andRyukyu |
| Heian,Edo | |||
| 7 | Folding Screens and Sliding Door Paintings | 17 | Conservation and Restoration |
| Various periods | |||
| 8 | TheArts of Daily Life and Developments in Painting andCalligraphy | 18 | Modern Art |
| Azuchi-Momoyama,Edo | |||
| 9 | Noh andKabuki | 19 | Education Space |
| Various periods | |||
| 10 | Ukiyo-e andFashion in theEdo Period | 20 | Giftshop |
| Edo | |||
The basement holds another educational space.[23]
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_-_Jutsushin_(Dog_General)%2c_Kamakura_period%2c_13th_century%2c_wood_with_polychromy%2c_cut_gold_leaf%2c_and_inlaid_crystal_eyes_-_Tokyo_National_Museum_-_DSC05352.JPG)
TheHeiseikan (平成館,Heisei Gallery) hosts regular special exhibitions in the four large galleries on its second floor; the first floor includes the Japanese Archaeology Gallery, another space for temporary exhibits, a spacious lounge and café, an auditorium, and lecture and orientation rooms. The first floor also holds the gallery of majordonors to the museum.[24]
The Heiseikan was first opened in 1999.[5] Its name reflects theregnal era of its creation, the rule ofEmperor Akihito, which lasted from 1989 to 2019. The building was erected to commemorate the wedding ofCrown Prince Naruhito toMasako Owada (now Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako) on 9 June 1993.[24]
The Japanese Archaeology Gallery introduces the use ofarchaeology to date excavated objects and includes a display of various finds from Japanese sites, includingJomon linear appliqué pottery, some of theoldest pottery in the world.[e]
![Incipient Jōmon pottery (radiocarbon dated to 12500 ±350 BP)[25]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aJomonPottery.JPG)
TheTōyōkan (東洋館,Eastern Sea or Asian Gallery) displays the museum's collections ofChinese,Korean,Indian, andSoutheast andCentral Asian art. It also includes a display ofEgyptian objects. There is a theater in its basement and a dinner to its side.[26]
The Toyokan was designed byYoshirō Taniguchi, opened in 1968, refurbished in the early 2010s, and reopened in January 2013.[26] It is three stories tall but employs its basement and a spiral arrangement ofmezzanines and stairs to spread its collection over six floors.[26]
| Floor | Room | Name |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | 11 | Khmer Sculpture |
| 12 | Gilt Bronze Statues from Southeast Asia Archaeology of India and Southeast Asia Southeast Asian Ceramics | |
| 13 | AsianTextiles Indian Miniature Paintings Ethnic Cultures of Asia | |
| 1 | 1 | Chinese Buddhist Sculpture |
| 2 | 2 | Oasis2 Education Space |
| 3 | Sculptures from India andGandhara Art of the Western Regions Artifacts from West Asia andEgypt | |
| 3 | 4 | The Advent of Chinese Civilization |
| 5 | Chinese Bronzes Burials in China Chinese Ceramics Chinese Textiles | |
| 6 | Oasis6 Education Space | |
| 4 | 7 | Stone Relief Carvings of China |
| 8 | Chinese Painting Chinese Calligraphy Chinese Literati | |
| 5 | 9 | Chinese Lacquerware Decorative Art of the Qing Dynasty |
| 10 | PolishedStone Tools andMetal Tools of Korea The Rises and Falls of Kings in Korea Korean Ceramics Buddhist Art of Korea Art of the Joseon Dynasty |
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TheHōryū-ji Hōmotsukan (法隆寺宝物館, Gallery of Horyuji Treasures) is a two-story building housing the museum'scollection of relics from theHoryu Temple inNara.[27] The 319 items were given to the Imperial Household by the temple in 1878, then placed at the National Museum for safekeeping and preservation.
The building was designed byYoshio Taniguchi[27] and opened in 1999.[5]
| Floor | Room | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Banner for theKanjo Ceremony |
| 2 | Gilt BronzeBuddhist Statues, Halos,Repoussé Buddhist Images | |
| 3 | Gigaku Masks | |
| 2 | 4 | Wooden andLacquer Works |
| 5 | Metalwork | |
| 6 | Painting,Calligraphy, andTextiles |
A mezzanine between the two floors holds a Reference Room[27] with a digital archive of the treasures, allowing visitors to view the entire collection with explanations in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, English, French, and German.[citation needed] There is a restaurant on the first floor.[27]
TheHyōkeikan (表慶館, Congratulatory Gallery)[28] was opened in 1909.[29] Its name reflects its construction in honor of the wedding ofCrown Prince Yoshihito andSadako Kujo (later Emperor Taisho and Empress Teimei) on 10 May 1900.[28] As an example of the Western-influenced architecture of the lateMeiji Era, it was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1978.[5] It is closed to the public except during special exhibitions.[28]
The Kuroda Memorial Hall (黒田記念館,Kuroda Kinenkan) holds a collection of works by the important Western-style (yōga) artistKuroda Seiki. Its collection presently comprises 126 oil paintings and 170 drawings, as well as sketchbooks, letters, &c.[30][31] Located northwest of the main museum compound, it has free admission and separate hours of operation (9:30 AM–5:00 PM, with the last admission at 4:30).[32]
Designed byOkada Shinichirō, the hall was built in 1928 as part of Kuroda'sbequest to use part of his fortune "to fund projects to promote art".[32] In 1930, it became the headquarters of the Art Research Institute, which became theTokyo Research Institute for Cultural Properties. The TRICP moved in 2000, with the Kuroda Memorial Hall reopening as a public gallery the next year. In 2007, its administration was transferred to the Tokyo National Museum, which renovated it before reopening it on 2 January 2015. Admission was originally restricted to two-week periods in January, Spring, and Autumn[30][33][31] but it is presently open whenever the main museum is.[32]
The exhibition on the second floor consists of 4 rooms: the Kuroda Memorial Room, the Reading Room, the Audiovisual Room, and the Collection Highlights Gallery. There is also a cafe on the first and second floors.[32]
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TheShiryōkan (資料館, Research and Information Center) holds books, magazines, images, and other documents relating to history, archaeology, and the fine and applied arts in Japan, Asia, and the Middle East.[34]
The Research and Information Center was opened in 1984.[34] The floor open to the public includes two reading rooms, an exhibition area, and counters for requesting items held in the archives on the other floors.[34] Free access is available without admission to the rest of the museum through the compound's west gate.
The Japanese government's cultural budget is consistently low compared to similarly developed countries: in 2017, the cultural budget was one-fifth that of France and one-third that of South Korea.[35] The Tokyo National Museum's annual budget is ¥2 billion,[36] which is one-seventeenth that of theLouvre, one-fifth that of theBritish Museum, and one-third that of theNational Museum of Korea.[35] By 2023, the museum was struggling to delay repairs to cultural assets and pay utility bills for its facilities due to rising electricity and other costs. The museum has asked the government to increase its budget, but the request has not been granted. The museum's director often complains about its plight in the media.[36]
The museum has published a number of books about its collection and special exhibitions, including the following:
JUJKJYJJGHUeno Station (withJR East andTokyo Metro)
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