Tokyo National Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tokyo National Museum

東京国立博物館
The Honkan (Main Gallery)
Established	1872 (Yushima Seido Exhibition) 1873 (permanent display) 1882 (present location) 2007 (present administration)
Location	Ueno, Taitō, Tokyo, Japan
Type	Art museum
Collection size	110,000
Visitors	2,180,000 (2017)
Public transit access	JU JK JY JJ G H Ueno Station JKJY Uguisudani Station KS Keisei Ueno Station C Nezu Station

The Tokyo National Museum (TNM) is a famous art museum located in Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan. It is the oldest national museum in Japan and also the largest art museum in the country. It's even one of the biggest art museums in the world!

The museum collects, protects, and shows off a huge collection of art and cultural items from Asia. It especially focuses on old and medieval Japanese art and art from countries along the Silk Road. You can also find a large collection of Greco-Buddhist art here. The museum holds over 110,000 important cultural items. This includes 89 National Treasures of Japan and 644 Important Cultural Properties of Japan. About 10% of all Japan's national art and craft treasures are kept here! The museum also does research and holds educational events about its collections.

The museum has several buildings, each with different exhibits. These include the Honkan (Japanese Gallery), the Heiseikan and Hyokeikan (for special shows), the Toyokan (Asian Gallery), and the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures. There's also the Kuroda Memorial Hall and the Research and Information Center. You can find restaurants, shops, and a beautiful garden to explore.

History of the Tokyo National Museum

The Tokyo National Museum has a long and interesting history. It started with a special exhibition and grew into the large museum we see today.

Early Exhibitions and Beginnings

The museum's story began with the Yushima Seido Exhibition in 1872. This was a public show of imperial artwork and scientific items. It was held by the Ministry of Education. The goal was to prepare for an international exhibition in Vienna in 1873. Japan wanted to show its products and boost its exports.

The 1872 exhibition was very popular, with about 150,000 visitors. For the 1873 Vienna exhibition, Japan sent many items. They even included a full Japanese garden and a model of a pagoda. A German scientist, Gottfried Wagener, suggested creating a museum in Tokyo like those in Western countries.

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  The old Yushima Seido (1830)

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  The 1872 Yushima Seido Exhibition. Ikkei Shosai's ukiyo-e triptych.

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  The male shachi of the Nagoya Castle at the exhibition. Shosai's ukiyo-e print.

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  Directors of the exposition, before the golden shachi in the Taiseiden courtyard (1872)

Moving to Ueno Park

After the Vienna fair, the items were moved to a temporary display in Uchiyamashita-chō in 1873. The museum later moved under the Home Ministry. It grew to include seven buildings, showing Japanese antiques, agriculture, and natural sciences.

Ueno Park was created in 1873. The museum's first director, Hisanari Machida, wanted to use this large park for a museum. The museum's early ideas were based on the South Kensington Museum in London. Its collections were divided into categories like fine arts, nature, and history.

In 1881, the original Honkan building was finished in Ueno Park. A ceremony with Emperor Meiji opened the museum and a new zoo on March 20, 1882. In 1888, the Imperial House of Japan took over the museum. They focused on cultural and scientific items.

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  An engraving of the Art Gallery for the first National Industrial Exhibition (1877)

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  Hiroshige III's ukiyo-e triptych showing its interior (1877)

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  Guide map to the 1881 Second National Industrial Exhibition

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  Hiroshige III's ukiyo-e triptych of the second NIE (1881), showing the original Honkan

Changes and New Buildings

The first Honkan building was badly damaged in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Exhibits had to be moved to the Hyokeikan building, which was not damaged.

In 1924, Emperor Shōwa gave Ueno Park, including the museum and zoo, back to the Tokyo Municipal Government. The natural science collections were moved in 1925 to form the separate National Science Museum of Japan.

A new Honkan building was designed by Jin Watanabe. It was built to be strong against fires and earthquakes. This new building opened to the public in 1938. Its collection was reorganized to focus on art.

In 2022, the Tokyo National Museum celebrated its 150th anniversary. For the first time, all 89 of its national treasures were shown together in one exhibition!

Museum Buildings and Galleries

The Tokyo National Museum has several main buildings, each with unique collections.

Honkan (Japanese Gallery)

The entrance to the Honkan (May 2019)

The Honkan entryway, seen from the second floor landing (2013)

The TNM garden as seen from the Honkan terrace (March 2018)

The rear of the Honkan as seen from the garden (March 2018)

The Honkan is the main building and houses the museum's most important collection of Japanese art. This art spans from ancient times to the late 1800s. It has two floors and a basement.

The current Honkan building was designed by Jin Watanabe. It has a classical base and a Japanese roof. It was completed in 1938 and is now considered an Important Cultural Property.

The rooms in the Honkan are set up to guide you through Japanese art history.

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  A Middle Jōmon vessel (3000–2000 BCE).

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  Kokin Wakashū, Heian period, 10th century.

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  Samantabhadra, Heian period, 12th century.

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  Cintamani in flame type, 12th–13th century.

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  A gilt-wood statue of Vairocana Buddha, Heian period, 11th-12th century.

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  Twelve Heavenly Generals, Kamakura period, 13th century.

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  Tachi Okanehira, Heian period, 12th century

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  Ō-yoroi, Edo period, 16th century.

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  Kakiemon, Edo period, 17th century

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  Noh mask from the Konparu school, Edo period, 18th century.

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  Kosode, Edo period, 18th century

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  Eagle by Suzuki Chokichi, 1892

Heiseikan (Special Exhibitions)

The Heiseikan (2009)

The Heiseikan building is where the museum holds special, temporary exhibitions. It also has the Japanese Archaeology Gallery on its first floor. This building opened in 1999. Its name comes from the Heisei Era, the time when Emperor Akihito ruled Japan. It was built to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Hiro in 1993.

The Japanese Archaeology Gallery shows how archaeology helps us learn about old objects. It displays many finds from Japanese sites, including some of the oldest pottery in the world from the Jōmon period.

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  The earliest polished stone tools in the world. Pre-Jōmon (Japanese Paleolithic) period, 30,000 BCE.

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  Incipient Jōmon pottery (radiocarbon dated to 12500 ±350 BP)

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  A Final Jōmon statuette (1000–400 BCE).

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  Horse chariots during the Kofun period. Detail of bronze mirror (5th–6th century). Eta-Funayama Tumulus, Kumamoto.

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  Iron helmet and armour with gilt bronze decoration, Kofun period, 5th century.

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  Haniwa horse statuette, complete with saddle and stirrups, 6th century, Japan.

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  The Buddha, Asuka period, 7th century.

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  Temple tiles from Nara, 7th century.

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  Vine and grape scrolls from Nara, 7th century.

Toyokan (Asian Gallery)

The Toyokan (2009)

The Toyokan is the Asian Gallery. It shows the museum's collections of art from China, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. You can also see some Egyptian objects here.

The Toyokan was designed by Yoshirō Taniguchi and opened in 1968. It has three main stories but uses a clever spiral design to show its collection across six levels.

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  One of the first representations of the Buddha, 1st–2nd century CE, Gandhara from Pakistan.

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  Seated Buddha, Gandhara, 1st–2nd century CE.

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  Maitreya, seated on a throne in the Western manner, with Kushan devotee. 2nd century Gandhara.

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  Drinking scene, Greek drinking cups, Greek dress. Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara. 3rd century CE.

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  Greek scroll supported by Indian Yaksas, Amaravati Stupa, 3rd century.

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  Northern Wei Buddha Maitreya, 443.

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  Tang-dynasty Bodhisattva.

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  Wooden plate with inscriptions in Tocharian. Kucha, China, 5th–8th century.

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  The Toyokan's collection of Chinese bronzeware

Gallery of Horyuji Treasures

The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures (2018)

A scroll from 8 July 756, recording Empress Koken's gifts to Horyu Temple.

The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures is a two-story building that holds a special collection of items from the Horyu Temple in Nara Prefecture. There are 319 items in this collection. The temple gave them to the Imperial Household in 1878, and they were later moved to the National Museum for safekeeping.

This building was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi and opened in 1999.

There's also a Reference Room where you can use a digital archive to view all the treasures with explanations in many languages.

Hyokeikan (Congratulatory Gallery)

The Hyokeikan (2019)

The Hyokeikan building is usually closed to the public. It opens only for special exhibitions.

This building first opened in 1909. It was built to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Yoshihito in 1900. It's a great example of Western-style architecture from the late Meiji Era. It was named an Important Cultural Property in 1978.

Kuroda Memorial Hall

Kuroda Memorial Hall

The Kuroda Memorial Hall displays works by a famous Japanese artist named Kuroda Seiki. He was known for his Western-style paintings (called yōga). The collection includes many oil paintings, drawings, and letters by him.

This hall is located a bit away from the main museum buildings. It has free admission and its own opening hours. The hall was built in 1928 using money from Kuroda's will. He wanted to use his fortune to help promote art. In 2007, the Tokyo National Museum took over its management.

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  Self-portrait in a Turkish Hat (1889)

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  Girl with Red Hair (1892)

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  Portrait of a Woman (1898)

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  Hong Kong (1900)

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  Jar of Flowers (1912)

Research and Information Center

The Research and Information Center is where you can find books, magazines, images, and other documents. These materials are all about history, archaeology, and arts from Japan, Asia, and the Middle East.

This center opened in 1984. It has reading rooms and an exhibition area. You can visit it for free through the museum's west gate, even without a museum ticket.

How to Get There

You can reach the Tokyo National Museum using several train lines:

• JU JK JY JJ G H Ueno Station (JR East and Tokyo Metro lines)
• JK JY Uguisudani Station (JR East lines)
• KS Keisei Ueno Station (Keisei Electric Railway)
• C Nezu Station (Tokyo Metro)

See also

In Spanish: Museo Nacional de Tokio para niños

• Kyoto, Kyushu, and Nara National Museums
• Silk Road