Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
1st floor Room 1
April 22, 2025 (Tue) -
April 19, 2026 (Sun)
March 4, 2026 (Wed), Asian Gallery (Toyokan)
The galleries feature art and artifacts from regions including China, Korea, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, India, and Egypt.
From March 23, 2026 to April 7, 2026, Room 8 of the Asian Gallery (Toyokan) will be closed due to maintenance work.
1st floor
Buddha with Two Attendants, China, Eastern Wei dynasty, 6th century, (Important Cultural Property)
Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
1st floor Room 1
April 22, 2025 (Tue) - April 19, 2026 (Sun)
Buddhism began to spread in China around the turn of the first millennium, about 500 years after its founding in India. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the number of Chinese Buddhists rapidly increased and numerous temples were established. This gallery presents Buddhist statues created from the 5th to 9th century, a golden age in the history of Chinese sculpture.
2nd floor
Tomb Relief of Iny(detail)
Excavated in Saqqara, Egypt, Old Kingdom 6th dynasty, ca. 23rd century BC
Egypt and Western Asia
2nd floor Room 3
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - April 19, 2026 (Sun)
This section of the gallery features ancient art and artifacts from regions that gave rise to some of humanity’s earliest civilizations, including West Asia, Egypt, and the eastern Mediterranean. The Egyptian collection includes stoneware and earthenware objects from Pre-dynastic Egypt (circa 6000–3150 BC) as well as reliefs, mummies, and decorative art from Dynastic Egypt. Other objects frequently on view include Bronze Age burial goods from West Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, tablets bearing cuneiform script from Mesopotamia, and sculptures and pottery from ancient Iran.
Angel with a Garland
Mardan District, Pakistan Kushan dynasty, 2nd–3rd century Gift of Mr. Katō Hiroshi, TC-582-1
Sculptures from India and Gandhara
2nd floor Room 3
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - June 28, 2026 (Sun)
This gallery introduces Buddhist and Hindu sculptures from India and Gandhara. Buddhist art flourished in northern India during the Kushan dynasty (1st–3rd century). The production of Buddhist statues began in Gandhara (northwestern Pakistan) and Mathura (northern and central India) around the 1st century, with a particular emphasis on sculptures depicting the life of Gautama Buddha in Gandhara.
Banner with a Bodhisattva (detail)
Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, China, Pelliot collection; acquired through exchange with the Guimet Museum, Tang dynasty, 9th century
Art of the Western Regions
2nd floor Room 3
January 20, 2026 (Tue) - March 15, 2026 (Sun)
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.
3rd floor
Chariot Umbrella Finials
China, Western Han dynasty, 2nd–1st century BC
The Advent of Chinese Civilization
3rd floor Room 4
November 5, 2025 (Wed) - March 22, 2026 (Sun)
This section of the gallery traces the development of Chinese civilization through ancient pottery, jade objects, texts, and bronzes. The collection includes Neolithic pottery from the Loess Plateau, a range of stone tools from Northern China, jade objects and oracle-bone inscriptions from the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–ca. 1100 BC), and roof tiles from each era.
Wine Vessel (Bu) with Animal Masks (Taotie)
China, Shang dynasty, 13th–11th century BC (Gift of Ms. Sakamoto Kiku)
Chinese Bronzes
3rd floor Room 5
October 21, 2025 (Tue) - March 8, 2026 (Sun)
This section of the gallery focuses on bronzes, mainly from the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–ca. 1100 BC) to the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), including ritual vessels, musical instruments, weapons, and horse tack. It also features mirrors and other bronzes from Northern China, tracing the development of early Chinese aesthetics.
Pig
China, Western Han dynasty, 2nd–1st century BC (Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige)
Burials in China
3rd floor Room 5
November 5, 2025 (Wed) - March 22, 2026 (Sun)
This gallery 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.
Incense Burner
Longquan ware, China Southern Song dynasty, 13th century Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige
Chinese Ceramics
3rd floor Room 5
December 9, 2025 (Tue) - April 5, 2026 (Sun)
This section of the gallery explores the history of Chinese ceramics, spanning the 7th to 19th century. The objects on view are rotated on a regular basis, but typically feature examples of fine porcelain made for the imperial household at the Jingdezhen imperial kilns alongside objects produced for commercial purposes in private kilns and elsewhere.
Collar Decoration for Women's Court Dress with Peonies and Phoenixes (detail)
China, Ming dynasty, 16th–17th century
Symbols of Good Fortune in Chinese Textiles
3rd floor Room 5
February 3, 2026 (Tue) - April 19, 2026 (Sun)
Since ancient times, people in China have expressed their hopes for health and happiness by decorating their clothing and everyday items with symbols associated with good fortune.
For example, the dragon was used to signify good fortune and virtue, while also serving as a symbol of strength and the emperor. Similarly, the peony represented wealth and nobility, while chrysanthemums, peaches, and butterflies symbolized eternal youth and longevity.
Oasis6 Education Space: Fortune-telling in Asia
3rd floor Room 6
April 2, 2024 (Tue) - March 31, 2026 (Tue)
Activity area: Fortune-telling in Asia. Recommended for visitors with children.
4th floor
Stone Bas-reliefBuilding / Tinglan and the wooden doll, etc., From Xiaotangshan, Shandong province, China, Eastern Han dynasty, 1st-2nd century
Stone Relief Carvings of China
4th floor Room 7
April 22, 2025 (Tue) - April 19, 2026 (Sun)
This section of the gallery features stone relief carvings from China. They were excavated from tombs found in eastern China and date to the Eastern Han dynasty (1st–2nd century). The tombs consisted of a subterranean chamber to house the sarcophagus with a shrine above ground for bereaved families to perform rituals. The stone walls, pillars, and supports of these tombs were decorated with bas-relief scenes of everyday life, historical events, and contemporary belief systems.
Poems and Prose in Running and Cursive Scripts
By Dong Qichang (1555–1636), China, Ming dynasty, 1603 (Gift of Mr. Takashima Kikujirō) On exhibit through March 22, 2026
Dreams in a Time of Turmoil: Late-Ming and Early-Qing Calligraphy and Painting
4th floor Room 8
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - March 22, 2026 (Sun)
During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties (around the turn of the 17th century), when the Han Chinese dynasty transitioned to the Manchu-ruled Qing, literati artists grappled with their respective inner struggles amid unstable social conditions. They sublimated these emotions into paintings and calligraphy filled with intense individuality.
This thematic exhibition introduces calligraphy and painting from this particular time period in China, focusing on materials, formats, artistic styles, and the artists' standing. It presents the diverse imagery these literati, living in turbulent times, sought to express in their works as if seeing dreams — visions of desire, fantasy, confusion, and transience.
5th floor
Box in the Shape of Interlocking Diamonds with Children at Play
China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong era (1736–95)
Chinese Lacquerware
5th floor Room 9
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - March 22, 2026 (Sun)
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.
Mountain-Shaped Decoration for Inkstone
China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong era (1736–95) (Gift of Mr. Kamiya Denbei)
Decorative Art of the Qing Dynasty
5th floor Room 9
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - March 22, 2026 (Sun)
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.
Crown
Reportedly found in South Gyeongsang Province, Korea, Three Kingdoms period (Gaya), 5th century (Important Art Object, Gift of the Ogura Foundation)
Polished Stone Tools and Metal Tools of Korea
5th floor Room 10
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - July 5, 2026 (Sun)
This section of the gallery introduces archeological artifacts from Korea, including stone and bronze weapons and sophisticated cast ornamental fittings with animal motifs. It also features mirrors, hooked belt fittings, and other items associated with the Lelang Commandery, an administrative division established by China’s Han dynasty in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.
Earrings
Reportedly found in Changnyeong, Korea, Three Kingdoms period (Silla), 6th century (Important Cultural Property, Gift of the Ogura Foundation)
The Rise and Fall of Kings in Korea
5th floor Room 10
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - June 28, 2026 (Sun)
This gallery presents artifacts from Korea’s Three Kingdoms period (57 BC–668 AD), an era when powerful rulers vied for control of the Korean Peninsula. The three kingdoms were comprised of Goguryeo in the north, Baekje in the southwest, and Silla in the southeast. A fourth state, known as the Gaya confederacy, also existed in the south before being annexed by Silla.
Each region made full use of the materials of the time–namely, gold, silver, bronze, iron, glass, and jade–to create distinct ornaments and other objects including, armor, horse tack, clay tiles, and pottery.
Figure on Horseback
Korea, Three Kingdoms period (Silla), 5th–6th century (Important Art Object, Gift of the Ogura Foundation)
Korean Ceramics
5th floor Room 10
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - June 28, 2026 (Sun)
This gallery introduces Korean ceramics from the Proto-Three Kingdoms period (ca. 1st century BC–3rd century AD) to the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). The development of Korean ceramics during the Proto–Three Kingdoms period was influenced by the Lelang Commandery, an outpost established by China’s Han dynasty in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Rulers of powerful states struggled for supremacy during this period, resulting in a rich variety of distinct ceramic aesthetics in each region. Under Chinese influence, a blue-green glaze called celadon began to be produced in Korea during the Goryeo dynasty (935–1392). Over time, celadon wares took on a distinct gray-green coloring that came to be known as Goryeo celadon. The production of pottery then diversified during the Joseon dynasty to include white porcelain and Buncheong ware, a type of stoneware often featuring designs in white slip and iron pigment.
Octagonal Stupa
Reportedly found in Gwangyang, Korea, Unified Silla dynasty, 8th–9th century (Important Art Object, Gift of the Ogura Foundation)
Buddhist Art of Korea
5th floor Room 10
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - July 5, 2026 (Sun)
Buddhism began to spread on the Korean Peninsula during the 4th and 5th centuries. This section introduces Buddhist art from the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC–668 AD), the Unified Silla dynasty (669–935), and the Goryeo dynasty (935–1392), including gilt-bronze statues, bricks, roof tiles, and ritual implements.
Fierce Tiger in the Rain (detail)
Attributed to Yi Sangjwa, Korea, Joseon dynasty, 16th century (Gift of the Ogura Foundation) On exhibit from February 10, 2026 through March 15, 2026
Art of the Joseon Dynasty
5th floor Room 10
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - April 19, 2026 (Sun)
This gallery features Korean furniture, clothing, and room decor from 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
Lintel (detail), Acquired through exchange with the French School of the Far East, Angkor period, 11th century
Khmer Sculpture
Basement Room 11
April 15, 2025 (Tue) - April 19, 2026 (Sun)
Cambodia’s Angkor period (ca. 9th century–15th century) saw the development of a unique Khmer culture, as epitomized by Angkor Wat, a huge temple complex built from the end of the 11th century to the 12th century during the golden age of the Khmer Empire. This section introduces Khmer sculpture, with a focus on Buddhist and Hindu statues and reliefs from Angkor’s temples. These were acquired in 1944 through an exchange project with the French research institute the French School of the Far East.
Buddha Seated on a Nāga with Two Attendants
Thailand, 12th-13th century (Gift of Dr. Yamamoto Tatsurō)
Gilt Bronze Statues from Southeast Asia
Basement Room 12
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - April 12, 2026 (Sun)
Sculptures of Hindu and Buddhist deities have been produced in Southeast Asia for millennia. Though originally inspired by Indian art, each region developed its own distinct styles. This section features gilt-bronze statues of Buddhist deities and Hindu gods from Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar.
Human-shaped Object
Reportedly found in Uttar Pradesh, India, Copper Hoard culture, ca. 1500 BC
Archaeology of India and Southeast Asia
Basement Room 12
May 27, 2025 (Tue) - May 31, 2026 (Sun)
This gallery explores India’s prehistoric culture through a variety of archaeological artifacts, from wedge-shaped stones from the early Paleolithic period over 600,000 years ago, to copper objects from the Copper Hoard culture that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC after the fall of the Indus civilization. This section also introduces a diverse range of archaeological materials from Southeast Asia, with a focus on weapons, personal ornaments, and other artifacts from the bronzeware culture that prospered in northern Thailand’s Ban Chiang region, predominantly from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD.
Large Dish with a Landscape and Deer
Vietnam, Previously owned by Okano Shigezō, 15th–16th century (Important Art Object)
Southeast Asian Ceramics
Basement Room 12
February 3, 2026 (Tue) - June 7, 2026 (Sun)
This section introduces ceramics from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, with a focus on objects collected by the Japanese entrepreneur Okano Shigezō.
Rug with Flowers, Figures, and Animals
The Marsh Arab people, Second half of the 20th century
Asian Textiles: Textiles of Nomadic People from Asia
Basement Room 13
February 3, 2026 (Tue) - April 19, 2026 (Sun)
These textiles were collected by Ms. Matsushima Kiyoe, a researcher of nomadic peoples who was passionate about the nomads of West Asia. She collected these items in West Asia from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Since ancient times, nomadic people lived itinerantly together with their livestock, moving around the plateau regions that stretch from northwestern India to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and from Iran to Turkey. Without fixed places of residence, they acted as tribes. The nomads were self-sufficient in all the necessities of their daily lives, therefore their clothes, bags, sheets for tents, and other textile items were all created by spinning the wool from their livestock, or by turning woolen fibers into felt. Each tribe also developed unique designs, so that they could indicate their tribes from a distance. In today’s world, the lives of nomads have also modernized, as a result of which their culture is gradually being lost.
Emperor Akbar
By the Bikaner school, India, 18th century
Indian Miniature Paintings
Basement Room 13
February 3, 2026 (Tue) - March 8, 2026 (Sun)
The art of “miniature painting” is one of India’s best-known genres. These paintings use elaborate brushwork and vibrant colors to depict a variety of themes, including: Indian myths, Hindu gods, portraits of kings, scenes from history, and love stories. Miniature paintings can also be enjoyed for their distinct regional styles that reflect India’s rich history of cultural diversity.
Wayang Kulit: Adipati Karna
Central Java, Indonesia, Second half of the 20th century (Gift of Mr. Taeda Tsuyoshi)
Wayang Kulit: Heroes from the Mahabharata
Basement Room 13
January 1, 2026 (Thu) - March 22, 2026 (Sun)
As one of Indonesia’s best-known forms of traditional puppet theater, wayang kulit is famous for its elaborate shadow puppets and lively performances. Since the introduction of Hinduism in the 10th century, the storylines for wayang kulit plays have been drawn from Hindu epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
The shadow puppets used in wayang kulit are cut from water buffalo hide, carved with fine chisels, and painted in vibrant colors. The sticks for manipulating the puppets are mostly made from water buffalo horn.
Wayang kulit plays typically last all night as the puppeteer, called a dhalang, maneuvers the puppets, delivers the lines, and even cues the accompanying musicians (gamelan).
Although based on famous epics, performances are not strictly scripted and the dhalang’s improvisations serve to make each show unique.