Tokugawa Art Museum

A private museum housing the hereditary collection of the Owari branch of the Tokugawa clan, a family whose members ruled Japan as Shoguns from 1603 to 1867.

The collection contains more than 12,000 items, including swords, armour, Noh costumes and masks, lacquerware, furniture, Chinese and Japanese ceramics, calligraphy, and paintings.

The most important and valuable items in the collection are the Genji Monogatari Emaki, three Heian period illustrated scrolls of The Tale of Genji, dating from the 1130s. Along with one other scroll from the same set, they are the earliest surviving depictions of the epic tale and are National Treasures of Japan. However, the scrolls are so fragile that they are not permanently displayed to the public but for one week in November each year, they are put on display.