Nara National Museum

The National Museum Nara (Japanese奈良国立博物馆, Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan ) was founded in 1889 and is one of Japan's oldest museums. It is located in the city of Nara, which was 710-784 capital of Japan. The museum belongs since 2007 to the " National Organization facilities for cultural goods " (国立文化财机构, Kokuritsu Bunkazai Kiko, Eng. National Institutes for Cultural Heritage ). The museum is located in a park in close proximity to the temples Todai -ji, Kōfuku -ji and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. The focus of museum work is the collection and development of Buddhist art, and archaeological artifacts, and the protection and preservation of cultural goods.

Overview

Led to the creation of the museum was the 1878 World Fair in Paris. To the circumstances of the foundation also belonged during the Meiji Restoration, in the 1890s, flaring up Haibutsu kishaku movement that aimed at the abolition of Buddhism. This threatening development is opposed an exhibition of important Buddhist temple treasures of the paramilitary organization " Nara Hakubutsu Kaisha " in Nara. This led in 1888 the Imperial Hofministerium establishing a " special investigation device for national treasures " (临时全国宝物取调局) and one year later the foundation of the Nara National Museum.

The designs for the building, which was built in the style of the French Renaissance and completed in 1894, were from Katayama Tokuma ( 1854-1917 ). In April 1895, the National Museum opened its doors to visitors for the first time. As part of a reorganization of public authorities around the turn of the century, the museum first " Imperial Museum Nara" (帝国奈良博物馆) was benamt. A first record attendance was recorded immediately after the war in 1946 the museum. The exhibition "Treasures of the Imperial Palace at Kyoto" (京都御所宝物展, Exhibition of Kyoto Imperial Palace Treasures ) moved within 22 days 150,000 visitors to the museum. In 1952 the museum officially named " Nara National Museum ", which it still bears today.

In 1969 the museum was declared to be Important Cultural Property. The following year, the museum was an additional building to designs by Junzo Yoshimura (1908-1997) expanded. The west wing of the new building was completed on 31 March 1972 the East Wing in October 1997. Since the completion of the east wing, the main building is used for the exhibition of Buddhist sculptures. The latest addition in 2000 was a modern and contemporary collection for the preservation and conservation of works of art.

Since April 1980, the museum also maintains a library of Buddhist art, which was also declared 1983 as Important Cultural Property. The library building was designed by Tadashi Sekino (1867-1935) and originally used as an exhibition hall for products from the Nara region since 1902. Since 1980, the building was then used as a research center for national treasures since 1982 as a library. The building was renovated between 2009 and 2011, inter alia, to make it earthquake-proof.

The current total area of the museum is 78 760 m², of which 19,116 m² building area and 4079 m² of exhibition space.

Showrooms and archives

The museum has kapriziert to the exhibition of Buddhist art, religious accessories and archaeological artifacts. According to the online database, the museum owns 13 National Treasures and Important Cultural Property 109.

Buddhist sculptures and ritual bronze objects

The permanent exhibition in 13 rooms of the main building shows representative sculptures from China and Japan by the Asuka until the Kamakura period. In addition, the rooms will host the " collection Sakamoto ," a collection of ritual bronze objects.

East and west wings

The east wing of the extension is used for temporary exhibitions a year. The focus of these exhibitions form exhibits from the Shosoin, the treasure house of the nearby temple Todai -ji. In the rotating monthly exhibition in the west wing of the visitor will find works of fine art, hand written documents and archaeological finds. Main and auxiliary buildings are connected by a passage built in 1997, in which the museum shop, photographs and reproductions of Buddhist sculptures are located.

Outside

The park surrounding the museum can be found next to the teahouse Hassōan (八窓庵, literally Eight - window -Klause ), the original stands of western and Ostpagode of the Kasuga Taisha shrine. Built in the Edo period teahouse with eight windows follows the preferred style of the tea master Furuta Oribe in its execution, one of the " three tea houses of the Yamato region." It's four tatami mats in size and designed with a roof in Irimoya style.

Of the two pagodas, which burned in 1180 by Taira no Shigehira and their reconstruction burned again by lightning in 1411, the original stands are preserved today only. It is believed that the five -story buildings had a height of about 50 m.