New Acquisitions 2007

To preserve and exhibit irreplaceable cultural properties in an appropriate environment is an important task of museums. The Tokyo National Museum, as a representative museum of Japan, has a collection of high-quality objects and makes them widely available to the general public. Ranging in date from ancient to modern periods, they include Japanese works as well as those from other Asian countries which are deemed important for considering Japanese culture from multiple viewpoints.

In order to make the current collection more sufficient for a systematical display of the entire fields it covers, and it must be further enriched as necessity requires. For this reason, the Museum has been making efforts to collect high-quality, cultural properties every year.

Last year, a total of 850 cultural objects were added to the Museum's collection; 13 were purchased and 26 received as donations, with 811 arriving as transfers from Kuroda Memorial Hall and other collections. They are all of remarkable importance for the study of Japanese and other Eastern cultures. This thematic exhibition features 36 new pieces from last year's acquisitions. We hope that through these works the visitors will help our visitors to understand the Museum's undertakings, as well as enjoying the charm of the various objects that reflect the old cultures.