Photo/Illutration A part of the Kinji Raden Kenukigata Tachi longsword with a tweezer-shaped opening from the Heian Period (794-1185), which is designated as a national treasure and housed at Kasuga Taisha shrine in Nara (Provided by the Nara National Museum)

NARA—The Nara National Museum has unveiled the details of its first full-scale exhibition devoted to national treasures, which will bring together Japan’s finest works of Buddhist art next spring.

Organized by the museum, The Asahi Shimbun and other entities, the “Oh! Kokuho: Resplendent Treasures of Devotion and Heritage” exhibition will celebrate the 130th anniversary of the national museum in the ancient capital.

It will feature approximately 140 pieces, including about 110 national treasures and around 20 important cultural properties, showcased in seven sections by theme.

“It is an exhibition dedicated to Buddhist and Shinto art that only the Nara National Museum can offer,” said Yoichi Inoue, the museum’s executive director.

“We want to reaffirm our 130-year history and its significance,” Inoue said.

The exhibition will run from April 19 to June 15, 2025, with some exhibits subject to replacement. It will be held at the same time as “Japan, An Artistic Melting Pot,” a special exhibition that will be running at the Kyoto National Museum.

Notable exhibits at the exhibition in Nara will include a statuette of Bodhisattva in Pensive Pose from Chuguji temple; a standing statue of Kannon Bodhisattva (Kudara Kannon) from Horyuji temple; unique-looking statues of Tentoki and Ryutoki demons from Kofukuji temple (exhibited until May 18); a seated statue of Buddha Dainichi Nyorai, which is believed to be one of the early works of the master sculptor Unkei, and is housed at Enjoji temple; and the Seven-Branched Sword, which is housed at Isonokami Jingu shrine and symbolizes Japan’s diplomatic relations with the ancient Korean Peninsula.

Other masterpieces will include: the Panel from Fire Chamber of Octagonal Lantern (eighth century, showcased from May 20); a seated statue of Priest Chogen (13th century, exhibited throughout the run); and the Kinji Raden Kenukigata Tachi longsword with a tweezer-shaped opening from Kasuga Taisha shrine (12th century, exhibited throughout the run).

The seventh-century Dragon-headed Ewer, which was given to the Imperial Household by Horyuji temple during the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and is currently housed at the Tokyo National Museum, will be brought back to Nara for display throughout the exhibition.

The Nara National Museum initially opened as the Imperial Nara Museum, the second museum in Japan, in April 1895.

In the years leading up to its opening, special exhibitions had been held 18 times from 1875 in the corridors of Todaiji temple’s Great Buddha Hall and at other venues in Nara to showcase cultural properties from Buddhist temples and treasures from the Shosoin Repository, which houses artifacts that belonged to Emperor Shomu (701-756).

The spring event will also re-create scenes from the past exhibitions that served as the roots of the national museum.

“We hope the exhibits will convey that the hearts of the people who conserve and pass down national treasures are the ‘super national treasures’ we must cherish,” Inoue added.

A replica of Horyuji’s Kannon Bodhisattva statue, made by leading figurine manufacturer Kaiyodo Co., will be brought back for sale to commemorate the special exhibition.

Measuring about 16 centimeters tall, the figurine was originally created exclusively for the “Passing on Cultural Heritage: Buddhist Murals and Sculptures of Horyuji” exhibition that was planned at the Tokyo National Museum in 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The admission price and other details will be announced at a later date.

For more information about the “Oh! Kokuho” exhibition, visit (https://www.narahaku.go.jp/english/exhibition/special/202504_kokuho/).

(This article was written by Shunsuke Nakamura, a senior staff writer, and Kunihiko Imai.)

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