The Tokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館, Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan) or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums[a] operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage [ja], is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, preserves, and displays a comprehensive collection of artwork and cultural objects from Asia, with a focus on ancient and medieval Japanese art and Asian art along the Silk Road. There is also a large collection of Greco-Buddhist art. As of April 2023, the museum held approximately 120,000 Cultural Properties, including 89 National Treasures, 319 Horyuji Treasures, and 649 Important Cultural Properties.[2] As of the same date, the Japanese government had designated 902 works of art and crafts as National Treasures and 10,820 works of art and crafts as Important Cultural Properties,[b] so the museum holds about 10% of the works of art and crafts designated as National Treasures and 6% of those designated as Important Cultural Properties.[3] The museum also holds 2,651 cultural properties deposited by individuals and organisations, of which 54 are National Treasures and 262 are Important Cultural Properties.[4] Of these, 3,000 cultural properties are on display at one time, with each changing for between four and eight weeks.[2] The museum also conducts research and organizes educational events related to its collection.
The facilities consist of the Honkan, holding the Japanese Gallery; the Heiseikan and Hyokeikan, holding special exhibitions; the Toyokan, holding the Asian Gallery; the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, holding important relics originally preserved at Nara‘s Horyu Temple; the Kuroda Memorial Hall, holding a collection of works by Kuroda Seiki; and the Research and Information Center. There are restaurants and shops within the museum’s premises, as well as outdoor exhibitions (including the Kuromon) and a garden where visitors can enjoy seasonal views.
The Tokyo National Museum is one of four museums operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage; the other three are Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum. The Tokyo National Museum is a representative museum that comprehensively exhibits Japanese cultural assets, but other national museums are more complete in specific areas, such as cultural assets from the Meiji era in the 1800s to the present. The Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, operates seven museums[c] specializing in specific fields, including those focusing on modern art and Japanese crafts and those focusing on Western art. Two museums[d] managed by the National Institutes for the Humanities focus on folklore. The Museum of the Imperial Collections, managed by the Imperial Household Agency, focuses on cultural assets donated to the nation by Japanese imperial family.
