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*''Japanese'': 東京国立博物館 ''(toukyou kokuritsu hakubutsukan)''
*''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 National Museum|Nara]], [[Kyoto National Museum|Kyoto]], and [[Kyushu National Museum|Dazaifu (Kyushu)]]. The buildings which comprise the Tokyo National Museum (TNM) are often cited as important examples of Western-style [[Meiji architecture|Meiji period architecture]].
The Tokyo National Museum, located in [[Ueno Park]], is one of four top-tier national museums in Japan, along with museums located in [[Nara National Museum|Nara]], [[Kyoto National Museum|Kyoto]], and [[Kyushu National Museum|Dazaifu (Kyushu)]].
The buildings which comprise the Tokyo National Museum (TNM) are often cited as important examples of Western-style [[Meiji architecture|Meiji period architecture]], while the museum's collections are easily among the greatest in Japan, both in size and in artistic or historical significance; numerous [[National Treasures]] are housed at the museum.
==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 Taisho|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.<ref>Coaldrake, William. ''Architecture and Authority in Japan''. Routledge, 1996. pp213, 308n5.</ref>
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 Taisho|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.<ref>Coaldrake, William. ''Architecture and Authority in Japan''. Routledge, 1996. pp213, 308n5.</ref>
==Collections==
The museum's collections include extensive collections of Chinese and Japanese artworks and artifacts, as well as objects from Korea, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and beyond.
The first works of Chinese calligraphy and painting obtained by the museum were those from the personal collection of late [[Edo period]] scholar [[Ichikawa Beian]] (1779-1858), donated to the museum by Beian's son and grandson beginning in [[1900]]. Donations by [[Hayashi Munetake]], [[Aoyama San'u]], and [[Takashima Kikujiro|Takashima Kikujirô]] also served as important elements in the early stages of the formation of this collection.
The donation of the mummy of Pasherienptah in [[1904]] by the Director-General of Egypt's Department of Antiquities, Dr. Gaston Maspero, marked the beginning of the museum's Ancient Egyptian collections. Objects brought back by [[Otani Kozui|Ôtani Kôzui]], who led expeditions to Central Asia in [[1902]]-1914, similarly serve as the core of the museum's collection of artifacts from Western China and other parts of Central Asia.
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