Kyōto National Museum

Kyōto National Museum, art museum, located in eastern Kyōto, Japan. The museum first opened in 1897 as the Teikoku Kyōto Hakubutsukan (Imperial Kyōto Museum) to store and display art objects owned by Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples or donated by Japan’s Imperial Household Ministry. It was reorganized in 1952 as a national museum. The Kyōto National Museum is the largest of Kyōto’s more than 20 museums. Its collections comprise more than 9000 exhibits, divided into fine arts, handicrafts, and archaeological items.

The museum’s fine arts collection includes Chinese and Japanese painting and calligraphy, including works by Japanese painter Sesshū. Notable works of sculpture include striking wooden sculptures from Japan’s Kamakura period (1192-1333). More than 230 of the museum’s fine arts items have been officially classified as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. The handicrafts collection includes traditional Japanese lacquerwork, ceramics, textiles, metalwork, and other items. The archaeological collection includes early bronze mirrors from China’s Han dynasty and ceramic coffins.