Nezu Museum

The museum’s collection of over 7,000 pieces includes 7 national treasures, 87 important cultural properties, and 94 important art objects, including paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, lacquerware, metalwork, and more.
Visitors can also enjoy strolling through the 17,000-square-meter Japanese garden.

The exhibition building, a fusion of modern architecture and Japanese style, was designed by Kengo Kuma, one of Japan’s leading architects, and was newly renovated and opened in 2009.

The majority of the collection is mainly Japanese and Oriental antiques, which were collected by Kaichiro Nezu, a Meiji-era businessman, politician, and tea master known as the railroad magnate.

The collection is characterized by its high quality and wide range, and although most of the items are tea ceremony utensils, it also includes Buddhist paintings, sutras, ink paintings, early modern paintings, Chinese paintings, lacquer works, ceramics, Japanese swords and their accessories, ancient Chinese bronzes, and other first-class items in all fields of Japanese and Oriental art.

Main Building (3rd generation)
It is a steel-framed reinforced concrete and steel-framed structure with two stories above ground and one below. The gabled roof is reminiscent of temple architecture.

The first floor contains the hall, exhibition rooms 1, 2, and 3, and the museum store, while the second floor contains exhibition rooms 4, 5, and 6.

The hall on the first floor has the south wall facing the garden entirely made of glass and houses a standing white marble statue of Nyorai (Northern Qi Dynasty, total height 291 cm) and other Chinese stone Buddhas on permanent display.

Exhibition Hall 1 is a special exhibition hall, while Exhibition Hall 2 displays paintings and calligraphy, Exhibition Hall 3 displays Buddhist statues, Exhibition Hall 4 displays Chinese bronzes, Exhibition Hall 5 displays crafts, and Exhibition Hall 6 displays tea ceremony utensils.

Garden
The garden is a Japanese garden with a pond at its center, taking advantage of the natural slope. The garden is dotted with stone Buddhas, stone pagodas, and stone lanterns, in addition to four tea houses, a Yakushido hall, and other buildings.

The museum is also known for its collection of Korin Ogata’s National Treasure, the Kakitsubata (Oyster) Screen, and in one corner of the garden, the Kakitsubata is planted in clusters, allowing visitors to appreciate both the artwork and the actual plant during the flowering season.