The Imperial Palace

At the turn of the era from Showa to Heisei(1989), The collection of 6,000 art pieces owned by the Imperial family was donated to Japanese government. For the preservation and study of this collection, The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan was established in 1993. The museum displays the collection widely to the public. In 1996, the collection of the late Prince Chichibu was added to the Museum collection, followed by that of the late Empress Kojun in 2001, the late Prince Takamatsu in 2005, and the collection of the family of the Prince of Mikasa in 2014. The total now amounts to approximately 9,800 pieces.

The collection contains paintings, calligraphy and crafts from various countries around the world and its timespan runs from ancient to modern periods. Among them are master works representing the Japanese culture and to be known pieces with historical and cultural values.