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The Tokugawa Art Museum is a museum that collects and displays treasures passed down through generations of the Owari Tokugawa family. Established in 1935 by the 19th head of the Owari Tokugawa family, Tokugawa Yoshichika, the museum aims to preserve and pass on the culture of the daimyō to future generations.
Inside the museum, there are precious items on display, including relics of Tokugawa Ieyasu, such as swords, armor, tea ceremony utensils, and Noh theater props, which were inherited by the Owari Tokugawa family. Additionally, the collection includes over 10,000 valuable items, such as cherished possessions of the successive shoguns of the Owari Tokugawa family and their wives. Among these, the hand-painted work "Genji Monogatari Emaki" (源氏物語繪巻), depicting "The Tale of Genji," is the oldest national treasure currently in the museum. Leading this collection are 9 national treasures, 59 important cultural properties, and 46 important artworks, among many other valuable items.
The first exhibition room showcases armor and weapons that symbolize the Japanese samurai. The collection of swords amounts to 1,000 pieces, making it one of the largest collections of swords in Japan. The third exhibition room recreates the lock hall and study of the Ninomaru Palace in Nagoya Castle, displaying tea ceremony utensils and hanging scrolls that were used at the time, along with many ancient artifacts of the Owari Tokugawa family. The fourth exhibition room, which features a Noh theater stage, Noh masks, and the splendid costumes worn in Noh performances, is also worth visiting.
