Nara National Museum

Nara National Museum is a popular Buddhist art and culture museum in Japan. It is located in Nara Park and close to some famous Buddhist temples, like Kofukuji Temple and Todaiji Temple. The collection of Buddhist art works in the museum is rich and varied, like sculptures, paintings, bronze wares, and engravings. The quantity of these collections reaches about 1,800 pieces, among which 105 are important cultural heritages and 13 are national treasures. 

Nara National Museum

Main Exhibitions in Nara National Museum

1. Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall

Established in 1894, the hall is the earliest western style architecture in Nara. It collects more than one hundred Buddhist sculptures from Asuka Period (592-710) to Kamakura Period (1185-1333) and is the most complete Buddhist sculpture collection museum in Japan. The hall totally has 13 rooms, and you can find the large Buddhist sculptures in the sixth room and the mini Buddhist sculptures in the eleventh room. The majority of Buddhist sculptures are golden in color, but now parts of the bodies of the Buddhist sculptures have faded to cyan. Besides, you can find these Buddhist sculptures from about one thousand years ago with different sizes, varied gestures, and colorful expressions.

Golden bodhisattvas

Mighty Heavenly King sculpture

2. Ritual Bronzes Gallery

Ritual Bronzes Gallery is connected to the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall by a corridor. The gallery contains about 350 collections that were donated by the famous Japanese collector, Mr. Sakamoto (1923-2016). The majority of Bronze wares come from China and can date back to two thousand years ago. These Bronze wares were used to store food or hold drinks, play music, or worship ancestors in ancient China. Besides, you can find some weapons, chariot, horse equipment, farm tools, and stationeries.

Bronze wares

Bronze musical instruments

3. West Wing 

The hall displays some famous exhibits, and the staff change these exhibits monthly. The majority of exhibits are calligraphy and paintings, as well as some handicrafts. However, the permanent exhibition here will be closed during some short-term special exhibitions. Besides, you are able to read some literal material about Buddhist history and art development at the reading corner on the first floor. Since the wall of the West Wing is glass, it is possible to see the traditional Japanese Garden that outside the hall.

4. Buddhist Art Library

The library now owns about 86,000 books, 3,000 magazines, 17,000 exhibition catalogs, and 190,000 pictures. If you want to further know more about Buddhist art, the library is a good destination. However, you need to book a seat in advance. The library opens on Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 to 4:30. Besides, you are allowed to print material in the library, costing 35 yen per piece.

5. East Wing

The hall is mainly used to hold varied special exhibitions in the museum. You can enter the hall through the underground passageway. Besides, the hall is basically divided into five areas, in which the fifth is the largest and it is an auditorium. 

One of the Special Exhibition in the Museum

East Wing of Nara National Museum

Opening Time and Ticket of Nara National Museum

The museum generally opens from 9:30 to 17:00. On Fridays and Saturdays, it closes at 20:00. Besides, on Mondays and from December 28 to January 1, it is closed all day. 

The ticket is 700 yen, and there is no ticket charge on International Museum Day, 18th May. However, there is an extra charge for special exhibitions.

The Most Notable Exhibition in the Museum 

Shosoin Exhibition is one of Japan's most famous cultural events, and it is generally held in the East Wing and West Wing of Nara National Museum in October or November and lasts for about 14 days. Shosoin is a warehouse that stores important treasures from the Nara government and the Todaiji Temple. At the Shosoin Exhibition, one can only see a small selection of objects from the warehouse, but the exhibitions are different every year.  

Opening Time:

During the 14-day exhibition, the exhibition opens from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, but it closes at 8:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Admission stops 60 minutes before closing time. 

Ticket: 2,000 yen.

Note: There will be so many people coming to see the exhibition that you may need to queue up. If possible, book tickets online in advance.

How to Get to Nara National Museum

1. Take the JR Nara Line, and get off JR Nara station, then change to the Nara Bus and get off at the “Himuro Shrine - National Museum” bus station.

2. Take the Kintetsu Nara Line, and get off at Kintetsu Nara station. Then, take the Nara Bus at Kintetsu Nara station, and get off at “Himuro Shrine - National Museum” station. 

Recommended Visit Time at Nara National Museum 

Less than one hour. If you plan to visit the special exhibition, allow more time. 

Nearby Attractions to Visit

After learning about the Buddhism culture in the museum, you can visit some famous temples and shrines near the museum, like Kofukuji Temple, Todaiji Temple, Himuro Shrine, and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Besides, you can appreciate varied flowers in the Isuien Garden and feed deer in the Nara Park. Then, climbing the Mountain Wakakusa to overlook the cityscape of Nara is also a nice experience. These attractions are very close to each other, and you can walk there. If you don't want to walk, you can also take the internal bus to visit these attractions.

See More: 

•  Nara National Museum Photos
•  Nara Photos