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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 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.

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. These collections, along with those of objects from mainland Asian cultures, are housed in the Tôyôkan ("Oriental Hall"). Artifacts from ancient Iran/Persia were among the museum's particular priorities when the Tôyôkan was first opened in 1968.<ref>Gallery labels, "West Asia 2: Artifacts from the Iranian Plateau," Tokyo National Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9577787355/in/dateposted-public/]</ref>

The museum's collections of Ryukyuan materials has at its core a group of objects given to the museum in [[1884]] by the [[Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce]]. The Ministry had been collecting Ryukyuan ethnological objects for the German Anthropological Society, as objects to study; those objects not sent to Germany were given to the museum.

The museum's collections of Ryukyuan materials has at its core a group of objects given to the museum in [[1884]] by the [[Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce]]. The Ministry had been collecting Ryukyuan ethnological objects for the German Anthropological Society, as objects to study; those objects not sent to Germany were given to the museum.