Magic Boxes & Masks at “Voyage Around the World: Heritage of Beauty and Wonder” at Nara National Museum

Tenri is located in Nara but off-the-beaten track for many visitors to the prefecture (though it shouldn’t be – see, for example, this post on ancient Isonokami Shrine, and the city is the headquarters of one of Japan’s biggest “New Religions”, Tenri-kyo). But at the moment, Tenri is in Nara City to share its art. Tenri University Sankokan Museum has a magnificent collection of over 300,000 religious artefacts and ethnographic materials from Indonesia, New Guinea, Taiwan, and elsewhere, some of which are on display currently at the Nara National Museum as part of its new show “Voyage Around the World: Heritage of Beauty and Wonder”.

These are shown along with pieces closer to home (from China and Japan) as well as India, Greece, Egypt, Iraq, Bolivia and Canada. Some are from Nara National Museum’s own excellent collection. While the eclectic variety is (obviously) astounding, the show raises questions of cultural similarity and difference, and artistic function and style.

Viewers who are also enthusiasts of Japanese popular culture might be amused to find an echo of Shigeru Mizuki-like yokai monsters in the masks and costumes of New Guinea, which are exhibited as a crowd of fantastical creatures. Japan like New Guinea has a long history of animistic and ancestral spirits, masks, and costumes made from natural fibres.

Among a number of stand-out objects are a large painting from the 6-7th century of God Fuxi and Goddess Nuwa, progenitor deities of ancient Chinese myth, masks from various regions, and “demon figures” from ancient Egypt.  Others are more recent but equally as intriguing, such as a magic tool storage box from 20th C Taiwan.

Photos are permitted, for many of the exhibits.

Saturday, July 26th to Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025

The New East and West Wings of the Nara National Museum

The museum is closed on the following days: Monday, July 28; Monday, August 4; Monday, August 18; Monday, August 25; Monday, September 1; Monday, September 8; and Tuesday, September 16.

Hours: 9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

Open until 7:00 PM for every Saturday and during Tuesday, August 5th to Friday, August 15th. Last entry is thirty minutes before closing