[Mitsui Museum of Art] Find an exhibition that suits your taste and take your time to appreciate it!

The Mitsui family has collected 4,000 pieces of art since the Edo period, about half of which are tea ceremony utensils, including six national treasures and 75 important cultural properties. Depending on the exhibition, these items may not be on display. This time, I visited the exhibition "The Sun God of the Bamiyan Buddhas and Maitreya Faith - From Gandhara to Japan". In Gandhara, Buddhist statues from the 2nd and 3rd centuries are said to be Maitreya Bodhisattva if they hold a water bottle, and Kannon Bodhisattva if they hold a lotus flower... but what kind of image do you have of Kannon Bodhisattva? You may have a gentle, feminine image, but in Gandhara, they were muscular, well-carved men. Maitreya Bodhisattva is also a muscular, bearded man. When this was introduced to China in the 4th century, its face changed to something closer to the Buddha we know. It's mysterious. Around 630, when Tripitaka monk Tripitaka was heading for Gandhara, Japanese envoys to Sui and Tang China were sent. It was very interesting. The Mitsui Memorial Museum is located on the 7th floor of the Mitsui Tower in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, and you can get there by taking a special tower from the 1st floor. It's cool that the indicator showing where the elevator is is in the form of a clock hand. Address: 7th floor, Mitsui Main Building, 1-1 Muromachi 2-chome, Nihonbashi Opening hours: 10:00-17:00 Closed: Mondays (Tuesdays if Monday is a public holiday) Admission fee: 1,500 yen (adults) There is a 100 yen discount coupon on the website Unfortunately, like other museums, photography of exhibits is prohibited #Furitabi #Mitsui Memorial Museum #Nihonbashi #Museum #Tokyo #Gandhara #Stone Buddha #Maitreya #Tang #Buddhism #Elevator #Indicator