Kyoto National Museum

The Kyoto National Museum is one the three museums maintained and owned by the Royal Family. The museum is located in Higashiyama Ward in Kyoto. You will come across collections of Asian and pre modern Japanese art work.

The history of Kyoto National Museum is very fascinating. It was earlier known as the Imperial Museum of Kyoto and was proposed along the Imperial Museum of Tokyo now known as the Tokyo National Museum. The construction of this museum was completed in October 1885 and the museum was opened to the public in 1897. The Kyoto National Museum as it is known changes went through a series of name changes ever since it was completed. In 1924 the museum was renamed as the Imperial Gift Museum from the Imperial Household Museum of Kyoto. The current name was given to the museum in 1952.

The Kyoto National Museum comprises of several buildings. The most prominent among these is the Special Exhibition hall also known as the Main Exhibition Hall. The main hall was designed in 1895 by Katayama Tokuma. Another attraction of this museum is the Collections Hall or the New Exhibition Hall designed by Morita Keiichi in 1966. Regular exhibitions are held in the collections hall of the museum while the special hall is used for special exhibitions. The Main Exhibition Hall, the Main Gate and the Ticket Area of the Kyoto National Musuem have all been designated Important Cultural Properties in Japan.

The main purpose of building the museum was to display art treasures that were privately owned by temples and shrines and also items donated by the Imperial Household Ministry. Most items in the museum are on permanent loan from one of those places.

Kyoto National Museum is divided into three parts namely the Fine Arts, Handicrafts and Archeology. The Fine Arts section comprises of sculptures, paintings and works of calligraphy. Handicrafts section includes pottery, fabrics, lacquer wares and metal works. Objects of archaeological and historical interest are showcased in the Archaeology section.

There are over 12000 works housed in the Kyoto National Museum of which 6000 are on display. There is a photographic archive containing over 200,000 photographic negatives and color transparencies. There are more than 230 pieces that have been designated as either National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties in the Fine Arts collection alone.

Pre modern Japanese works are showcased in the Kyoto National Museum. It is believed that the museum has the largest collection of artifacts from the Heian period. Asian art is also showcased here and you will come across rare and ancient collections of Chinese and Japanese sutras. Other famous works housed in the museum include senzui byobu (landscape screen) from the 11th century, and the Scroll of Hungry Ghosts (gakizoshi) from the 12th century.

Hotels in Kyoto
Hotel Ana	Hotel Tokyu
Hotel Royal	Hotel Righa Royal
Hotel Aranvert	Hotel Court