Photo/Illutration “Wind God and Thunder God” by Tawaraya Sotatsu goes on display April 18 at the preview of “Special Exhibition Commemorating Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai Japan, an Artistic Melting Pot” at the Kyoto National Museum in the city’s Higashiyama Ward. (Yoshiaki Arai)

Two special exhibitions showcasing national treasures and world-renowned masterpieces of Japanese art and culture opened on April 19 in Nara and Kyoto.

The displays at the Nara National Museum and Kyoto National Museum were organized by The Asahi Shimbun, among other entities, and will run through June 15. They were timed to coincide with the Osaka Kansai Expo that kicked off on April 13. Both museums held previews on April 18.

The Nara National Museum is hosting “Oh! Kokuho: Resplendent Treasures of Devotion and Heritage.” It marks the museum’s first full-scale exhibition of national treasures and is being held to commemorate the institution’s 130th anniversary.

The exhibition features 143 items, including 112 national treasures or those scheduled for designation, and 16 important cultural properties. The national treasures include the statue of Standing Kannon Bosatsu, also known as Kudara Kannon, from Horyuji temple and the Seven-Pronged Sword from Isonokamijingu shrine.

The Kyoto National Museum’s “Special Exhibition Commemorating Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai Japan, an Artistic Melting Pot” features 200 items, including 19 national treasures, including those scheduled for designation, and 53 important cultural properties.

The exhibition showcases masterpieces of Japanese art that are even well-known overseas, such as Tawaraya Sotatsu’s “Wind God and Thunder God” and Katsushika Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” from the series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.”

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