The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures

The latest museum building installed in the Tokyo National Museum complex was designed by Yushio Taniguchi (son of Yoshiro Taniguchi that designed the Toyokan). It opened in 1999 replacing the old building that just stored the Horyuji temple collection, that was donated to the Imperial Household in 1878, becoming national property only after World War II. The Horyuji Treasures consist of over 300 valuable objects, mainly from the 7th - 8th century. According to the architect: "Out of a desire to respect both the sublime works to be displayed and the natural setting, I made it my goal in designing the new Gallery of Horyuji Treasures to create on the site an environment of a kind that has become all too rare in present-day Tokyo, that is, an environment characterized by tranquility, order and dignity." | Photos by Martin Grossmann, October 2019 | URL: https://www.tnm.jp/modules/r_exhibition/index.php?controller=hall&hid=16