Summer Special Exhibition

July 4 - August 30

Discover Rainbows
ーAn Interactive Exhibition Enjoyable for All Agesー

The sight of a rainbow arching across the sky after a shower of rain never fails to inspire surprise and delight. Rainbows have a wondrous way of making us think something magical is about to happen and wanting to share the sight with someone. People of every country in the world, present and past, have encountered rainbows several times in their lives, but in ancient times, the play of light and color was interpreted differently from one culture to another.
Like the colors that shine in the thin film of a soap bubble, rainbow-like iridescence is a familiar part of daily life. Since Newton, science has shown how the colors of the spectrum arise from the intricate interplay of light, yet even today, the allure of a rainbow, or any unpainted surface that manifests multicolored brilliance, continues to captivate us.
Following the 2018 exhibition “Red and Blue: Exploring the World of Sacred Colors,” this is the second in our series of interactive exhibits enjoyable for all ages. Highlights include our Yōhen Tenmoku Teabowl (Important Cultural Property), famed for its striking iridescent surface, lacquerware inlaid with sparkling mother-of-pearl, and ancient glass that shines with a mysterious gleam acquired with the passage of centuries. We hope all visitors will open their hearts to the pleasure of light manifested as color and to the beauty of the spectrum of rainbow colors.

Information

Exhibition Term
July 4, 2026 - August 30, 2026
Open Hours
10:00 am to 5:00 pm (last entry: 4:00 pm)
Closed Days
Every Monday (or next business day if Monday is a national holiday)
Admission Fees
[Adults] 1,300 yen [High school/university students] 1,000 yen [Elementary/junior high school students] Free
Venue
North Wing

※Objects are subject to change during exhibition period.

Exhibition Highlights

Flat Quiver with Hōsōge and Floral Motifs Rosewood with mother-of-pearl inlay
Japan Heian period, 12th century Important Cultural Property

Tray with Flower and Bird Design and Faluate Rim
China, Ming dynasty, 16th–17th century

Gunpowder Flask with Inlaid Shell
Japan, Momoyama period, 16th century

Mother-of-Pearl–Inlaid Tobacco Box
China, Ming dynasty, 16th–17th century

Rainbow, by Maruyama Okyo
Edo period 18th century

Cup with a Lion’s Head
Achaemenid, 5th–4th century B.C.

Bowl
Eastern Mediterranean, 2nd–1st century BC

Amphoriskos
Eastern Mediterranean 2nd - 1st century B.C.

Exhibition Galleries

Entrance Information 1 Radiance of Rainbows 2 Mother-of-Pearl Inlay: The Colors of Seashells Nurtured in the Sea 3 Mysterious Rainbow Colors: Yohen Tenmoku 4 The Iridescent Colors of Bird Feathers—Andean Clothing5 Rainbows and Light 6 Rainbow Colors Created Over Centuries: Iridescent Glass 7 The Rainbow: Bridge Between Heaven and Earth Light and White
South Wing
North Wing

Summer Special Exhibition

Discover Rainbows

ーAn Interactive Exhibition Enjoyable for All Agesー

Exhibits

North Wing

Summer Special Exhibition

Discover Rainbows
ーAn Interactive Exhibition Enjoyable for All Agesー

Please click here for the list of works.

1 Radiance of Rainbows

2 Mother-of-Pearl Inlay: The Colors of Seashells Nurtured in the Sea

3 Mysterious Rainbow Colors: Yohen Tenmoku

4 The Iridescent Colors of Bird Feathers—Andean Clothing　5 Rainbows and Light

6 Rainbow Colors Created Over Centuries: Iridescent Glass

7 The Rainbow: Bridge Between Heaven and Earth

Light and White