Tokyo National Museum

The Tokyo National Museum, together with the Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum, is the oldest and largest of Japan's top-level national museums. It was founded in 1872 at Yushima Seido Shrine before being relocated to its current position in Ueno Park a few years later.

The Tokyo National Museum houses one of Japan's most comprehensive and well-curated collections of art and archeological relics, with over 110,000 individual items and approximately a hundred national treasures. Around 4000 different pieces from the permanent museum collection are on show at any given moment. Visiting temporary exhibitions are also held on a regular basis. Audio guides and good English information are provided.

Sculptures, metalwork, lacquerware, pottery, and swords are among the magnificent pieces of art on display on the first level of the Japanese Gallery. On the second floor, there is pre-Christian earthenware, as well as exhibits such as Haniwa figurines, Buddhist art from the Asuka Era that blossomed in Nara, Imperial Court culture from the Heian Era, Zen Buddhism and literature from the Samurai Era, Warring States Era armor, and tea ceremony tools. Along with the real objects, the Japanese culture has evolved with time and is portrayed in an easily understandable manner.

Address: 13-9 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8712
Website: tnm.jp