The Tokyo National Museum is the oldest and largest museum in Japan, located in Ueno Park in Tokyo. It began as an exhibition organized by the new Meiji government, which wanted to catalogue and protect cultural objects in a period of rapid modernization when many temple treasures were being sold off or neglected. The museum's collections hold tens of thousands of objects, including paintings, calligraphy, swords, ceramics, textiles, Buddhist sculpture and archaeological finds, and many are designated National Treasures. It consists of several buildings, among them the main hall, or Honkan, from the 1930s, and galleries for Asian art and for Horyu-ji treasures. It also hosts special exhibitions and conducts research on conservation.
Before and after
- 24 October 1871Los Angeles Chinese massacre of 1871
- 1872Publication of Around the World in Eighty Days
- from 1872 to 1878Kulturkampf
- 1872Impression, Sunrise
- 1872Founding of Tokyo National Museum
- 1872Founding of Paris Institute of Political Studies
- March 1872Founding of Rangers F.C.
- 1 March 1872Establishment of Yellowstone National Park
- 7 March 1872Birth of Piet Mondrian
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of Dream of the Red Chamber
- 21 February 1848Publication of The Communist Manifesto
- 18 September 1851Founding of The New York Times
- 1857Rise of Symbolism
- 28 December 1895The Lumiere brothers hold the first public film screening
- 1909Rise of Futurism
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.