− | 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. |
| 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> |
| + | 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. |