Tokyo National Museum

The second Honkan (Main Building) of the museum, built in 1938 in a Meiji-inspired style.

The Hyôkeikan, completed in 1909, survived both the 1923 Great Kantô Earthquake and the 1945 bombings intact.

• Former Names: 帝国博物館 (teikoku hakubutsukan; Imperial Museum), 帝室博物館 (teishitsu hakubutsukan; Imperial Household Museum)
• Japanese: 東京国立博物館 (toukyou kokuritsu hakubutsukan)

The Tokyo National Museum, located in Ueno Park, is one of four top-tier national museums in Japan, along with museums located in Nara, Kyoto, and Dazaifu (Kyushu). The buildings which comprise the Tokyo National Museum (TNM) are often cited as important examples of Western-style Meiji period architecture.

The Hyôkeikan, today the Archaeological Wing of TNM, is a Neo-Baroque structure topped with a copper dome. It was completed in 1909, as a gift from the people of Tokyo presented to the Imperial family, in honor of the wedding of the Crown Prince (who would later go on to rule as Emperor Taishô. In reality, this was not paid for by popular donation, or by tax revenues, but by a small coalition of political and corporate movers-and-shakers who wished to strengthen their ties with the Imperial institution. Nevertheless, the gift was intended to symbolize a growing public connection to the Crown Prince, and loyalty to him.