Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
1st floor Room 1
April 9, 2019 (Tue) -
April 12, 2020 (Sun)
The galleries feature art and artifacts from regions including China, Korea, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, India, and Egypt.
1st floor Room 1
April 9, 2019 (Tue) - April 12, 2020 (Sun)
This section mainly features stone or gilt bronze Buddhist statues from about the 6th to the 8th century. The statues on display present the exquisite form of sculptures from the golden era of Buddhist statues in China.
2nd floor Room 2
April 2, 2019 (Tue) - March 15, 2020 (Sun)
Large Dry Lacquer Vessel, Attributed provenance: Hui County, Henan Province, China, Warring States period, 5th–3rd century BC (Important Art Object, Lent by the OKURA MUSEUM OF ART, Tokyo)
Art of the Western Regions
3rd floor Room 5
January 15, 2020 (Wed) -
February 24, 2020 (Mon)
3rd floor Room 5
November 19, 2019 (Tue) - April 12, 2020 (Sun)
This part focuses on Chinese bronzes from about 1800 BC to AD 1000. The changing shapes and designs of the bronzes on display provide clues to the thoughts and shifting religious beliefs of ancient Chinese.
3rd floor Room 5
October 22, 2019 (Tue) - March 1, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces burial items of tombs from about the 2nd century BC to the 8th century AD. Mingqi are models of various implements and equipment, such as cooking stoves, vehicles including carriages and oxcarts, and even toilets. Tomb figures are models of humans who served a master, such as servants and entertainers. The objects on display present the idealized lifestyle that people of this time entrusted to mingqi and tomb figures.
Current exhibit includes:
Tomb Guardian Animal, With pigment, China, Western Jin dynasty, 3rd–4th century (Gift of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke)
Dish with a Lotus Flower, China, Southern Dynasties, 5th–6th century (Gift of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke)
Round Jar, China, Sui dynasty–Tang dynasty, 7th century (Gift of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke)
Camel, China, Northern Wei dynasty, 6th century (Gift of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke)
Rabbit, China, Tang dynasty, 8th century (Gift of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke)
Tomb Guardian, Three-color glaze, China, Tang dynasty, 7th–8th century (Gift of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke)
3rd floor Room 5
November 19, 2019 (Tue) - March 1, 2020 (Sun)
This part presents the changing expressions of Chinese ceramics from the 7th to the 19th century.
Current exhibit includes:
Bowl with Peonies and Butterflies, Glazed stoneware with gold, Ding ware, China, Reportedly found in Korea, Northern Song dynasty, 11th?12th century (Important Cultural Property, Gift of Mr. Inoue Tsuneichi and Mrs. Inoue Fumiko)
Ewer, Design in overglaze enamel and gold, Jingdezhen ware, China, Ming dynasty, 16th century (Important Art Object, Gift of Mr. Sakamoto Goro)
Jug, Arabesque design in underglaze blue, Jingdezhen ware, China, Ming dynasty, Xuande era (Private collection)
Square Bowl with Boys, Porcelain with overglaze enamel, Jingdezhen ware, Jiajing reign mark, China, Ming dynasty, Jiajing era (Private collection)
Dish, Plum tree design in famille rose enamel, Jingdezhen ware, China, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng era (Important Cultural Property, Gift of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke)
Vase with Two Lugs, Openwork and arabesque design in famille rose enamel, Jingdezhen ware, Qianlong reign mark, China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong era
Tenmoku Tea Bowl Stoneware with "ash covered" glaze, Southern Song–Yuan dynasty, 13th–14th century (Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige)
3rd floor Room 5
February 18, 2020 (Tue) - May 17, 2020 (Sun)
Rare textiles from China, India, and other regions were prized in Japan. They were regarded so highly that during the Edo period (1603–1868), feudal lords and wealthy townspeople who practiced the tea ceremony preserved fragments of these textiles in albums. Each fragment would be given a label and the album bound with the utmost care to be passed down to future generations. In this exhibit, we invite you to explore these small yet magnificent albums, which were viewed with reverence by tea practitioners through the ages.
3rd floor Room 5
January 15, 2020 (Wed) - February 24, 2020 (Mon)
This part introduces art of the Western Regions (Central Asia) from about the 1st to the 10th century, with a focus on Buddhist art. The highlight of this part is the rich variety of works with high artistic and historical significance.
Current exhibit includes:
Banner with a Standing Bodhisattva, Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China, Pelliot collection, Tang dynasty, 9th century, Acquired through exchange with the Guimet Museum
4th floor Room 7
April 2, 2019 (Tue) - April 5, 2020 (Sun)
In the 2nd century BC, Chinese tombs were not simply holes in the ground. They developed to have walls and ceilings, with a structure almost like underground mansions. Tombs also appeared that had shrines built above ground for the bereaved families to perform rituals. Particularly in Shandong province and southern Henan province, sturdy stone was favored for making the tombs and shrines, with the stone surfaces used for carving images. Many of these stone bas-reliefs were created until the second half of the 2nd century in the Eastern Han dynasty.
4th floor Room 8
January 2, 2020 (Thu) - March 1, 2020 (Sun)
Wen Zhengming (1470–1559) was a prominent painter and calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). He was born in Suzhou and became one of the leading members of the Wu School, a group of scholars who viewed their artworks as vehicles for personal expression. Wen initially was a poor calligrapher, who failed the imperial examinations on multiple occasions. However, he tirelessly pursued both art and scholarship, and his talents eventually blossomed. His refined painting and calligraphy rooted in the classics gained many followers in his lifetime, and exerted a tremendous influence on later generations. In this exhibition we are commemorating Wen’s 550th birthday with his painting and calligraphy.
5th floor Room 9
January 21, 2020 (Tue) - April 12, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces the various methods and designs in Chinese lacquerware. Lacquerware is a form of decorative art made by applying lacquer sap on vessels and utensils, a practice which developed widely in China, Japan, Korea, and the Southeast Asian regions, in techniques and designs unique to each area. China, in particular, has a history of lacquerware of as long as 7000 years.
5th floor Room 9
January 21, 2020 (Tue) - April 12, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces the decorative art of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) in China, such as works of jade, cloisonne, glass, and bamboo. The items on display feature the beauty of fine technical skill and the sophisticated atmosphere of Qing-dynasty decorative art.
5th floor Room 10
October 22, 2019 (Tue) - April 19, 2020 (Sun)
This part highlights Korean polished stone tools and metal objects that had a great influence on Japan's Yayoi culture.
5th floor Room 10
October 22, 2019 (Tue) - April 19, 2020 (Sun)
This part features the prosperity of kings in the Three Kingdoms period (4th century–676) in Korea, through works including items of metalwork. The diverse designs of the objects are evidence of the prosperity of the kings.
5th floor Room 10
October 22, 2019 (Tue) - April 19, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces Korean ceramics from the Proto–Three Kingdoms period (1st century BC–3rd century AD) to the Joseon dynasty(1392–1910).
5th floor Room 10
October 22, 2019 (Tue) - April 12, 2020 (Sun)
This part features the essence of Korean Buddhist art.
5th floor Room 10
February 4, 2020 (Tue) - April 26, 2020 (Sun)
This part features furnishings, costumes, and accessories from Korea in the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). While the costumes, furniture, tableware, and stationery each possessed individual beauty, their appeal was enhanced by their placement in living spaces.
Basement Room 11
May 8, 2019 (Wed) - May 10, 2020 (Sun)
This section introduces sculptures from Khmer, with a focus on stone statues from the Angkor period (9th-13th century). The Tokyo National Museum collection of Khmer sculptures, which are distinguished in both quality and quantity, was acquired in 1944 through an exchange project with the research institute l'École francaise d'Extrême-Orient.
Basement Room 12
May 8, 2019 (Wed) - May 10, 2020 (Sun)
This part focuses on Southeast Asian gilt bronze statues of gods and Buddhist deities from the 7th to 13th century. The statues are made using the lost-wax casting process, and therefore they have common qualities in their plasticity and smoothness of form.
Basement Room 12
April 23, 2019 (Tue) - April 19, 2020 (Sun)
The excavated pottery and metal wares exhibited in this part clearly show the prosperity of cultures with rich regional characteristics in ancient India and Southeast Asia.
Basement Room 12
January 7, 2020 (Tue) - May 10, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces the individual styles of ceramics made in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam from the 9th to the 16th century.
Basement Room 13
February 18, 2020 (Tue) - May 17, 2020 (Sun)
Various textiles and techniques were spread across Asia from India, such as cotton cloth, splashed-pattern dyeing, tie-dyeing and brocades with metal threads. In particular, chintz, which was cotton cloth dyed with floral patterns or legendary images using woodblock printing or hand-drawing, fascinated people around the world and was a major export from the 16th to the 19th century.
Basement Room 13
February 18, 2020 (Tue) - March 15, 2020 (Sun)
Indian miniature paintings established a uniquely meticulous, colorful, and passionate style, with various painting schools. An appeal of the paintings to viewers is the abundance of elements vividly contained each picture, such as myths, music, and nature.
Current exhibit includes:
Mendicant Saint in Thought under Tree, India, By the Mughal school, Ca. mid-17th century
Basement Room 13
February 18, 2020 (Tue) - May 10, 2020 (Sun)
Taiwan’s population includes not only Han Chinese, who originally came from the mainland, but also 16 indigenous tribes. Of these tribes, the Payuan people based in southern Taiwan form a hereditary society that consists of two classes: the nobility and commoners.
This exhibit shows clothing and tools pertaining to the daily lives and culture of the Payuan people. Among these, two swords have designs incorporating a venomous snake that these people have long revered as a symbol of the nobility’s ancestral spirits. A vest, another object in the lineup, is made of clouded leopard fur―a material only chiefs, the highest-ranking members of the nobility, were allowed to wear. These and other objects on display reflect the social and spiritual values of the Payuan people.