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Created page with "*''Date: 756'' *''Japanese'': 正倉院 ''(shousouin)'' The Shôsôin is an Imperial repository located at Tôdai-ji in Nara. Constructed by [[Empress Ko..."
*''Date: [[756]]''
*''Japanese'': 正倉院 ''(shousouin)''
The Shôsôin is an Imperial repository located at [[Todai-ji|Tôdai-ji]] in [[Nara]]. Constructed by [[Empress Koken|Empress Kôken]] during the [[Nara period]], it is not only an exceptional example of 8th century ''azekura'' storehouse architecture, but contains more than 9,000 items from the period, including textiles, musical instruments, aromatic woods, pieces of glass, and game boards, many of them of [[Silk Road]] origins and bearing Persian design elements or evidence of Roman manufacture.
==History==
The Shôsôin was established in [[756]] to house a collection of treasures belonging to the late [[Emperor Shomu|Emperor Shômu]], who had died 49 days earlier.
Though associated directly with Tôdai-ji for over a millennium, the storehouse was placed under the authority of the [[Ministry of the Interior]] (''Naimushô'') in [[1875]], and in [[1884]] under that of the [[Imperial Household Ministry]]. The Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichô'') continues to oversee the site and its collection today.
The objects were never publicly shown before 1947, when art historian [[Sherman Lee]] conducted a survey of the collection and convinced the Japanese government to allow such an exhibition. Objects from the Shôsôin have been shown annually ever since, and at least since the 1990s, this exhibition, held at the [[Nara National Museum]], has been the most-attended exhibition in Japan, and frequently among the top ten in the world.<ref>Rihoko Ueno, "[http://blog.aaa.si.edu/2012/10/monuments-men-in-japan-discoveries-in-the-george-leslie-stout-papers.html Monuments Men in Japan: Discoveries in the George Leslie Stout papers]," Archives of American Art Blog, 29 Oct 2012.<br>Edan Corkill, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2008/04/24/arts/hiding-in-japan-are-the-worlds-best-attended-exhibitions/#.UyFNlYVClxI Hiding in Japan are the world’s best attended exhibitions]," ''Japan Times'', 24 Apr 2008.</ref>
Today, the Shôsôin collection is stored in two modern storage facilities constructed in 1953 and 1962. The original wooden building was designated a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1998, as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara."
{{stub}}
==Selected Objects in the Shôsôin Collection==
*Brush, ink stick, and blue silk cord used in the [[752]] eye-opening ceremony of the Great Buddha at T6odai-ji
==References==
*"[http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/shisetsu/shosoin01.html The Shosoin Repository]," Imperial Household Agency website.
<references/>
[[Category:Historic Buildings]]
[[Category:Nara Period]]
*''Japanese'': 正倉院 ''(shousouin)''
The Shôsôin is an Imperial repository located at [[Todai-ji|Tôdai-ji]] in [[Nara]]. Constructed by [[Empress Koken|Empress Kôken]] during the [[Nara period]], it is not only an exceptional example of 8th century ''azekura'' storehouse architecture, but contains more than 9,000 items from the period, including textiles, musical instruments, aromatic woods, pieces of glass, and game boards, many of them of [[Silk Road]] origins and bearing Persian design elements or evidence of Roman manufacture.
==History==
The Shôsôin was established in [[756]] to house a collection of treasures belonging to the late [[Emperor Shomu|Emperor Shômu]], who had died 49 days earlier.
Though associated directly with Tôdai-ji for over a millennium, the storehouse was placed under the authority of the [[Ministry of the Interior]] (''Naimushô'') in [[1875]], and in [[1884]] under that of the [[Imperial Household Ministry]]. The Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichô'') continues to oversee the site and its collection today.
The objects were never publicly shown before 1947, when art historian [[Sherman Lee]] conducted a survey of the collection and convinced the Japanese government to allow such an exhibition. Objects from the Shôsôin have been shown annually ever since, and at least since the 1990s, this exhibition, held at the [[Nara National Museum]], has been the most-attended exhibition in Japan, and frequently among the top ten in the world.<ref>Rihoko Ueno, "[http://blog.aaa.si.edu/2012/10/monuments-men-in-japan-discoveries-in-the-george-leslie-stout-papers.html Monuments Men in Japan: Discoveries in the George Leslie Stout papers]," Archives of American Art Blog, 29 Oct 2012.<br>Edan Corkill, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2008/04/24/arts/hiding-in-japan-are-the-worlds-best-attended-exhibitions/#.UyFNlYVClxI Hiding in Japan are the world’s best attended exhibitions]," ''Japan Times'', 24 Apr 2008.</ref>
Today, the Shôsôin collection is stored in two modern storage facilities constructed in 1953 and 1962. The original wooden building was designated a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1998, as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara."
{{stub}}
==Selected Objects in the Shôsôin Collection==
*Brush, ink stick, and blue silk cord used in the [[752]] eye-opening ceremony of the Great Buddha at T6odai-ji
==References==
*"[http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/shisetsu/shosoin01.html The Shosoin Repository]," Imperial Household Agency website.
<references/>
[[Category:Historic Buildings]]
[[Category:Nara Period]]