Kyoto National Museum
Kyoto National Museum
Kyoto National Museum
Kyoto National Museum
Kyoto National Museum
Kyoto National Museum
11

Developing the Collection

Major Gifts and Other Acquisitions

At the time the Kyoto National Museum became a national institution in 1952, it boasted a modest collection of 831 works (individual objects or sets). An additional 120 works were thereafter transferred from the Tokyo National Museum, and the collection continued to expand as it acquired approximately 400 cultural properties purchased from temples and shrines by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

The museum also received donations of outstanding private art collections such as those of lawyer Moriya Kōzō (1876-1954), Asahi Newspaper chief Ueno Riichi (1848-1919), and diplomat Suma Yakichirō (1892-1970). Over the years, the museum has continued to expand its holdings. Today the museum owns a collection of over 9,000 works or sets of works, in addition to more than 6,500 works on loan from temples, shrines, and private individuals.

Amida (Amitābha) Coming over the Mountains 13th century

National Treasure

Amida (Amitābha) Coming over the Mountains
13th century

Ueno Collection
Kyoto National Museum

Sutra of the Incantation of the One Thousand-Armed

National Treasure

Sutra of the Incantation of the One Thousand-Armed, One Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva (Senju sengen darani kyō),
Segment of Vol. 1 8th century

Moriya Kōzō Collection
Gift of Moriya Yoshitaka
Kyoto National Museum

Song-Style Landscape By Qi Baishi

Song-Style Landscape
By Qi Baishi (1864-1957)

Collected by Suma Yakichirō
Gift of Suma Michiaki
Kyoto National Museum

Sake Cups with Seven Spring Herb

Sake Cups with Seven Spring Herbs
By Inami Kirokusai I (1871-1918)
Lacquered wood with makie (sprinkled metallic powder) decoration

Gift of Okamura Takemori
Kyoto National Museum

Snowscape

Snowscape
By Sesson (n.d.)
16th century

Gift of Taniguchi Toyosaburō
Kyoto National Museum

Flowers and Plants of the Four Seasons

Flowers and Plants of the Four Seasons
By Ōoka Shunboku (1680-1763)

Gift of Hiromi Haruki
Kyoto National Museum

Wild Horses

Wild Horses
By Yosa Buson (1716-83)

Gift of Fujiwara Chūichirō
Kyoto National Museum

Pair of Vases with Deer and Pine Scenery

Pair of Vases with Deer and Pine Scenery
China, Qianlong era (1735-1796)
Jingdezhen ware, Jiangxi province; porcelain with overglaze polychrome enamels and gold

Gift of Matsui Hirotsugu
Kyoto National Museum

Furisode (Long-Sleeved Kimono) with Flowing Water, Rocks, and Azaleas

Furisode (Long-Sleeved Kimono) with Flowing Water, Rocks, and Azaleas
Silk crepe with dyeing and embroidery
19th century

Tamura Shizuko Collection
Kyoto National Museum

Mirror with Paired Birds and Auspicious Flowers

Mirror with Paired Birds and Auspicious Flowers
11th-12th century
Cast bronze

Hirose Toson Collection
Kyoto National Museum

Mirror with Gods and Figures

Mirror with Gods and Figures
4th-5th century
Cast bronze

Gift of Kanda Kiichirō
Kyoto National Museum

Tantō (Dagger)

Important Cultural Property

Tantō (Dagger)
Meibutsu Akita Tōshirō
Inscription: "Yoshimitsu"

Naga Fujikazu Collection
Kyoto National Museum

Anthology with Cranes

Important Cultural Property

Anthology with Cranes
Painting by Tawaraya Sōtatsu (n.d.); calligraphy by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558-1637)

Kyoto National Museum

Amida (Amitābha) Coming over the Mountains 13th century
Sutra of the Incantation of the One Thousand-Armed
Song-Style Landscape By Qi Baishi
Sake Cups with Seven Spring Herb
Snowscape
Flowers and Plants of the Four Seasons
Wild Horses
Pair of Vases with Deer and Pine Scenery
Furisode (Long-Sleeved Kimono) with Flowing Water, Rocks, and Azaleas
Mirror with Paired Birds and Auspicious Flowers
Mirror with Gods and Figures
Tantō (Dagger)
Anthology with Cranes

Column 05

The Museum Collection

The Kyoto National Museum is known for housing masterworks from temples and shrines in Kyoto, which are entrusted on long-term loan. In addition, the museum acquires works through purchase and donation. Some of the important collections that have been donated to the museum are as follows.

  • 1931  Objects and archives related to Sakamoto Ryōma (1836-1867), one of Japan's most beloved historical figures, were donated by Sakamoto Yatarō and have become one of the Kyoto National Museum's signature collections.
  • 1953  The Moriya Collection, a world-renowned assemblage of early Buddhist manuscripts amassed by Moriya Kōzō (1876-1954), was donated to the museum.
  • 1960  The Ueno Collection, comprising Chinese painting and calligraphy collected by Ueno Riichi (1848-1919), one of the founders of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper company, was given to the museum.
  • 1956  Rodin's The Thinker was entrusted to the museum on loan in 1950. A generous gift from Ōmiya Kurakichi (1881-1972), president of the Takara Shuzō Company, helped support the subsequent purchase of this masterpiece by the museum.
  • 1999-2000  The Suma Collection of modern Chinese painting and calligraphy, amassed by the Japanese diplomat Suma Yakichirō (1892-1970), was donated to the museum. Suma acquired many of his works through personal friendships with celebrated contemporary Chinese artists of the day.

Incidentally, one of the museum's early acquisitions was the National Treasure Reading in a Bamboo Grove, attributed to fifteenth-century ink painter Shūbun (n.d.). It was purchased in 1905 for 750 yen from Myōchi-in Temple; however, when the museum was transferred to Kyoto City and renamed the Kyoto Gift Museum of Kyoto, this masterwork was moved into the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, where it remains today.

Sketch of Climbing Mount KirishimaAuguste Rodin's The Thinker

Above: "Sketch of Climbing Mount Kirishima" (in Letter to Otome) by Sakamoto Ryōma
Below: Auguste Rodin's The Thinker

12

Advancing Scholarship and Digitalization

The Museum as a Research Institute

In 1970, the Asahi Newspaper chief Ueno Seiichi (1882-1970) established the Ueno Memorial Foundation for the Study of Buddhist Art using funds from the sale of the National Treasure painting Amida (Amitābha) Crossing over the Mountains (now in the Kyoto National Museum collection). With support from this foundation, the museum organizes regular scholarly gatherings on Buddhist art and publishes annual reports. In the ensuing decades, the museum has maintained a strong research focus aimed at gathering and managing information and sharing findings with the public.

In 1983, the museum began entering data from its photographic archives into computers donated by the Seifūkai. The museum debuted its official bilingual website in 1996, and its bilingual online database in 1998.

The Kyoto National Museum Bulletin (Gakusō)

The Kyoto National Museum Bulletin (Gakusō)

An academic journal published under the auspices of the Seifūkai since 1979
Students assisting with a temple inventory

Students assisting with a temple inventory

Survey Reports of Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines in Kyoto

Kyoto National Museum Shrine and Temple Inventory Reports
Reports on comprehensive and systematic inventory surveys of the cultural holdings of historic temples and shrines, conducted regularly since 1979