The Tokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館), or TNM, established in 1872, is the oldest Japanese national museum, and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, houses, and preserves a comprehensive collection of art works and archaeological objects of Asia, focusing on Japan. The museum holds over 110,000 objects, which includes 87 Japanese National Treasure holdings and 610 Important Cultural Property holdings (as of July 2005). The museum also conducts research and organizes educational events related to its collection. The museum is located inside Ueno Park in Taito, Tokyo. The facilities consist of the Honkan (本館, Japanese Gallery), Tōyōkan (東洋館, Asian Gallery), Hyōkeikan (表慶館?), Heiseikan (平成館), Hōryū-ji Hōmotsukan (法隆寺宝物館, the Gallery of Hōryū-ji Treasures), as well as Shiryōkan (資料館, the Research and Information Center), and other facilities. There are restaurants and shops within the museum's premises, as well as outdoor exhibitions and a garden where visitors can enjoy seasonal views.
There is a Heiseikan Special Exhibition Gallery during the time we visited the museum. It is the year 2010 that marks the 400th memorial of Hasegawa Tohaku (1539-1610), the master painter of the Momoyama period. As the artist of Japanese treasures such as the ink painting Pine Trees (National Treasure, Tokyo National Museum) and the colorful Maple Tree (National Treasure, Chishaku-in Temple), Tohaku rivaled his contemporary Kano Eitoku who reigned over the painting circle of their time. Born in Nanao on the Noto Peninsula, Tohaku started his career under the sobriquet Nobuharu. In his thirties, he moved to the then capital Kyoto and worked on a wide range of themes from Buddhist paintings to portraits to birds and flowers-at times, executing a subtle touch, while at other times, wielding a bold brush. Later, he came to be favored by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The works Tohaku painted until his death at age 72 preserve their color and force and continue to enchant his viewers even today. The stories of his turbulent life and the episodes which describe his truly human character are also what fascinate us about this unique artist. This major retrospective of Hasegawa Tohaku will cover a wide range of his paintings beginning with his early works, when he went by the sobriquet Harunobu in his hometown of Nanao, to the numerous masterpieces, which he painted in Kyoto under the name Tohaku and which adorned Daitoku-ji and other famous Kyoto temples. Tohaku's masterpieces, which transmit the beat of the Momoyama period, and the human drama that led to their creation will be presented in commemoration of this artist who lived 400 years ago.
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