iColorful Asia: Journey through Asia at Tokyo National Museum
A tour of the Asian Gallery (Toyokan) exploring artworks through the lens of color, pigment science, and dyeing techniques across Asia.
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In Room 9, a pomegranate carved from agate has split open. Where the skin cracks, the carver painted it red and set grains of amber in as the seeds.
This is the museum's yearly autumn theme for its Asian Gallery, the Toyokan, and 2026's is colour. You pick up the free Ajitabi Map 2026 at the information desk and follow it through the regular rooms, past pigment science, the work it took to get a colour right, and colour imagined in ink. QR codes beside up to 19 works open a curator's audio or text guide on your own phone. Talking out loud is encouraged this season. For once in a Tokyo museum, nobody will shush you for discussing a pot.
The catch: Rooms 3 and 8 have been closed since 9 October until further notice, taking out the Egyptian baboon and the Orchid Pavilion rubbing. Entry is the ¥1,000 collection ticket, free under 18, and it's open until 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Look for
The Qianlong glass candlestick
In Room 9, a stack of glass sections in pale red, yellow, light blue, red, blue and pale green, one carved with the character for longevity.
The blue-lotus altar cloth
In Room 5, a Ming patchwork of multicoloured silk squares, each embroidered with a flower, including a lotus stitched in blue for fun.
The Thai fish bowl
In Room 12, a soft yellowish celadon bowl from Si Satchanalai with an iron-painted fish that looks to be swimming through lit water.
Good for
- Cheap Culture
- Evening Visits
- Going Solo
- Rainy Days
Skip if
You came for the Egyptian baboon or the Orchid Pavilion rubbing: Rooms 3 and 8 are closed.
With kids
Under-18s get in free with proof of age, and families with small children are welcome to talk in the rooms. Free colouring sheets based on the works are in Honkan Room C while they last.
Also at Tokyo National Museum
On now nearby
Sex in Nature (生きものたちの性)
National Museum of Nature and Science
Challenging Infectious Diseases: Past, Present and Future (Noguchi Hideyo 150th Anniversary)
National Museum of Nature and Science
Picturing the Theater: From Delacroix and Daumier to Toulouse-Lautrec and Klinger
National Museum of Western Art
Nearby
Image credits
5
- Colorful Asia: Journey through Asia at Tokyo National MuseumCourtesy of Tokyo National Museum
- Tokyo National MuseumWiiii, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- National Museum of Nature and ScienceDaderot, CC0
- Tokyo Metropolitan Art MuseumJoe Mabel, CC BY-SA 2.0
- National Museum of Western ArtJoyofmuseums, CC BY-SA 4.0