Change of Exhibits,TNM Collection Exhibitions: Starting from September 15, 2026 (Tue)
TNM Collection Exhibitions at Tokyo National Museum are rotated almost every week. This page provides the latest information on the change of exhibits.
* Some works are exhibited for a longer period of time.
Japanese Gallery (Honkan)
The Noh play Momijigari ("Viewing the Autumn Foliage") tells the story of a samurai's encounter with a man-eating demoness. In the first half, a noblewoman ventures into the mountains with her attendants to view the autumn foliage. There she meets the samurai Taira no Koremochi, who is out hunting with his entourage. She invites him to drink and beguiles him with an elegant dance. Koremochi, lulled by wine and beauty, falls asleep drunk.
In the second half, he awakens to find the noblewoman transformed into her true form: a demoness who preys on travelers in these mountains. She attacks him, but Koremochi draws his sword — a divine weapon he received from a Shinto god — and cuts her down after a fierce struggle.
This exhibition features masks and costumes worn by actors in this play. These include a manbi mask depicting the young noblewoman, paired with a karaori robe woven with elegant, courtly patterns. In contrast, the hannya demon mask on display has uptured eyes and a gaping mouth embodying rage and torment.
Japan's traditional clothing, kimono, are based on kosode — the outer wear of the Edo period (1603–1868). At first, the court nobility and samurai wore kosode under other clothing. But from about the 15th century, the samurai began using them as daily outer wear. In the 17th century, kosode became the most common clothing for men and women of all classes.
Wealthy women placed orders for custom-made kosode at luxury clothing stores. They often chose the patterns from clothing design books that were published and widely circulated. Together with these kosode, they wore hairpins and combs to accent their elaborate hairstyles.
In contrast, men wore kosode with understated patterns like stripes or checks.
Their usual fashion accessories were a small case (inrō) and a toggle (netsuke) for securing the case to the sash. This gallery features kosode and accessories, together with prints and paintings (ukiyo-e) showing how people wore them and how fashions changed over time.
Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan)
In 701, a system of law and administration (ritsuryō) modeled after Tang China was established in Japan under the emperor. A new imperial capital was founded in Nara in 710, and that was the beginning of the Nara period, which lasted about 70 years. During this period, large-scale projects such as the construction of national roads and government-administered Buddhist temples were undertaken. Such events were preceded by the dispatch of envoys to China from the 7th century. These envoys brought the latest institutions, religions, technology, and cultural objects to Japan, contributing greatly to the political and cultural reforms that followed.
Buddhism in particular affected Japan. One Buddhist tradition that spread through society, beginning with the emperor and powerful aristocrats, was cremation. This section displays vessels for cremated remains, items buried with the deceased, and epitaphs noting individuals’ achievements.
Roof tiles, which were introduced to Japan at the end of the 6th century, were initially used for Buddhist temples. After an earlier imperial capital was established in 694, their use was extended to the imperial palace and government buildings. When Emperor Shōmu ordered the construction of government-administered temples across Japan in 741, the production of roof tiles gained momentum in the provinces. This section also exhibits distinctive tiles from various regions, ranging from Tōhoku in the north to Kyushu in the south.
From the late Nara (710–794) to the Heian (794–1192) period, priests who worshipped in the mountains began to appear throughout Japan. Believing that Shinto and Buddhism are essentially the same faith, and that Shinto gods are in fact Buddhist deities, they climbed mountains in search of sacred sites where they could worship the mountain gods. Sites on the peaks of Mt. Omine in Nara prefecture and Mt. Nantai in Tochigi prefecture are well-known examples, with excavations revealing various objects that these priests had left as offerings. This form of mountain worship eventually developed into Shugendo, a folk religion unique to Japan.
In the mid-Heian period, the belief in Buddhism’s decline also permeated society. The age of decline was thought to begin in the year 1052, leading people to associate reoccurring natural disasters and disturbances in society with this new age. In response, aristocrats and others living in the capital began creating sutra mounds throughout Japan. Aristocrats also believed in a prophecy that the Buddhist deity Maitreya would reappear 5,670,000,000 years in the future to save all beings. Transcribing sutra scrolls and preserving them in sutra mounds was most likely a way of praying for peace in this world and the next during these troubled times. This section features excavated objects connected with mountain worship and the belief in Buddhism’s decline.
From the Kamakura period (1192–1333), political power shifted from the aristocracy to the warrior class. Society and culture began to reflect the tastes and lifestyles of these new rulers, while towns were built around their castle compounds throughout Japan.
New sects of Buddhism also gained popularity in the Kamakura period. One of these was the Zen sect, which was accepted into warrior society. Tea drinking, which spread through Zen, was valued by the warrior class for providing a means for social interaction. Meanwhile, tea utensils became highly valued as symbols of prestige among the warriors. Chinese ceramics became especially prized, and local kilns such as the ones in Seto (present-day Aichi prefecture) began producing ceramics in imitation of them. These ceramics were also created for storing the remains of deceased individuals.
Itabi were stone tablets resembling gravestones, which were created to pray for the repose of deceased individuals. Beginning in the mid-Kamakura period, they were created throughout Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Kagoshima in the south, although most of them were concentrated in the Kantō region around present-day Tokyo. Many of these tablets are similar in form and are thought to have deep connections with warriors of the Kantō region.
Tokugawa Ieyasu became the shogun of Japan in 1603, establishing his government in Edo (present-day Tokyo). Edo then became the political and cultural center of Japan, with 70% of its land occupied by residences for feudal lords and members of the Tokugawa clan. In addition to these residences, temples, shrines, commoners’ homes, and post towns with accommodations for travelers were sectioned into different areas around Edo Castle, while the castle itself served as the shogun’s residence and place of business. Large fires occurred frequently in Edo because of the dense concentration of wooden buildings. After each fire, land was divided and reassigned, sometimes to create open spaces to prevent future fires from spreading. Land reclamation and other projects for coping with a rising population were also undertaken, with Edo developing into one of Asia’s largest cities.
The appearance of Edo has come to light in recent years through excavations. In particular, large-scale excavations have shown where the residences of feudal lords were located and how they were laid out. Moreover, unearthed objects have revealed the luxurious lifestyles these lords enjoyed, made possible in part by a monetary system based on gold, silver, and copper coinage, which led to the increased distribution of goods. In fact, goods from across Japan were brought to Edo for consumption. This section features excavated objects that vividly illustrate the lifestyles of Edo people.
Coins known as wado kaichin, which were minted in 708 (Wado 1), represent the first serious effort in Japan to mint coins for circulation. Subsequently, twelve kinds of coins were minted in the Nara (710–794) and Heian (794–1192) periods. However, the minting of coins ceased by the latter half of the 10th century as the use of bronze coins imported from China became prevalent.
Epitaphs buried in graves contain information such as the names, dates of death, ages, social standings, governmental positions, and accomplishments of the deceased. In Japan, the custom of making epitaphs spread in conjunction with cremation from the second half of the 7th to the first half of the 8th century. It was practiced mainly among the nobility in the Kinai region, where Kyoto and Nara are located today.
Techniques for making clay statues were brought to Japan in the mid-7th century, and numerous statues of this type were made between the late Asuka and Nara periods, from the mid-7th to the 8th century. From unearthed clay statues, which are often found in fragments with their original colors faded, techniques for making them can be determined, and the existence of unrecorded, nonextant temples can be confirmed.
Ancient Japanese glazed stoneware includes stoneware glazed with ash, three-color, and green glazes. Such varieties of Japanese stoneware evolved while being greatly influenced by imported equivalents, such as glazed porcelain and celadon-glazed stoneware, which were brought in through trade from continental Asia and the Korean Peninsula.
Sutra mounds were created from the Heian (794–1192) to the Edo (1603–1868) period for the purpose of preserving Buddhist sutra scrolls. The oldest example is a mound from which a cylinder containing sutras was excavated on Mt. Kinpu in Nara prefecture. It is believed that the Heian-period aristocrat Fujiwara no Michinaga dedicated this cylinder in 1007. The shape of a mound as well as the sutras and other objects it contains vary with its location and the time it was created. Sutras for these mounds were inscribed not only on paper but also on ceramic tiles, bronze plates, stones, shells, and other materials.
The creation of sutra mounds was motivated by the idea, which became widespread in the mid-Heian period, that Buddhist Law will decline 2,000 years after the Buddha’s death. A series of natural disasters and disturbances in society occurred around 1052, the year that this decline was thought to begin, leading people to draw connections. It was also believed that the Buddhist deity Maitreya would reappear in this world 5,670,000,000 years in the future and that Buddhism would prosper again. Sutra mounds were essentially time capsules meant to preserve sutra scrolls until the arrival of this age.
Huzhou mirrors are a representative type of mirror excavated from sutra mounds in Japan. Produced in the Huzhou region of Zhejiang Province during China’s Song dynasty (960–1279), they are distinguished by reverse sides decorated solely with a seal-like inscription composed of several Chinese characters. We invite you to compare them with Japanese mirrors that retain the earlier Tang-dynasty style predating Huzhou mirrors, which is characterized by its dense, intricate designs, as well as with Japanese mirrors featuring simple decorative designs influenced by Huzhou mirrors.
Sutra mounds were where Buddhist scriptures were buried in the hope of preserving them for a long time. While most of these scriptures were transcribed on paper and placed inside sutra cases before being buried, others took the form of clay tablets, metal plates, or stone (steatite), all of which would survive longer underground. For Buddhist scriptures made on these hard materials, texts could be inscribed directly onto more than one surface, even on the back and sides of the materials.
In February of 1957, a man harvesting shellfish about 250 meters off the coast of Tokyo’s Izu Ōshima island accidentally discovered koban coins on the sea bed. Following this incident, a total of 103 koban and 63 ichibukin, which are smaller and rectangular, were found. The reason for why these gold coins were lost at sea is still a mystery.
A wide variety of toys were created in the Edo period. Ceramic pieces for a game called men’uchi, in which players try to strike their opponents’ pieces with their own, are particularly well known. These pieces were shaped like letters, family crests, people, and animals. Clay figurines, on the other hand,
Asian Gallery (Toyokan)
This room mainly features artifacts discovered at Silk Road sites by the Japanese Ōtani expeditions at the start of the 20th century. Works are exhibited on rotation and illustrate the wide range of art and religious objects found in the diverse cultures along the Silk Road.
Lacquer is the sap of the lacquer tree, which grows in East and Southeast Asia. Naturally sticky, it can be brushed onto different materials, and it hardens into a durable coating that is waterproof and resistant to acids, alkalis, and heat. The history of lacquerware in China dates back to the Neolithic period (ca. 10,000–2100 BC). Over the millennia, a number of decorative techniques evolved in China, including lacquer relief carving and lacquer with incised lines filled with gold leaf. Chinese lacquerware frequently feature abstract spiral patterns (called “pommel scrolls”) or pictorial scenes of landscapes, flowers, birds, pavilions, and people.
This section of the gallery introduces decorative art from China’s Qing dynasty (1644–1912), including works of jade, cloisonné, glass, and bamboo. These works illustrate the fine craftsmanship and sophisticated design aesthetic of decorative art from this period.