Shōsō-in Exhibition
For seventeen autumn days the Nara National Museum shows 67 objects from the imperial repository, 12 of them on public view for the first time.
2026 dates
- Venue
- Nara National Museum, East and West New Wings
- Where to plan around
- Nara Park, 50 Noboriōji-chō, a short walk from Kōfuku-ji and a longer one from Tōdai-ji and the Shōsō-in storehouse itself
- Access
- Recent exhibitions have required a non-refundable, non-changeable timed ticket bought in advance. Do not assume walk-up entry. The storehouse beside Tōdai-ji stays closed; only the selected treasures travel to the museum.
- Official information
- Visit Imperial Household Agency ↗
The Banquet note
The Imperial Household Agency has announced the 78th Shōsō-in Exhibition for 24 October to 9 November at the Nara National Museum, 50 Noboriōji-chō inside Nara Park. Sixty-seven treasures will be shown, twelve of them first-time loans. The published core is North Storehouse material associated with Emperor Shōmu, including the silver heidatsu box known as 銀平脱合子 第2号 and the red and dark-blue ivory go stones said to have been kept inside it. Also listed: the Persian-style lacquer ewer 漆胡瓶, the 752 dedication box 密陀彩絵箱 第14号 used when incense was offered at the Great Buddha’s eye-opening, the Tōdai-ji building plan 殿堂平面図, and 虹龍, a mummy now identified as a Japanese marten. The original repository still stands near Tōdai-ji and is not the exhibition venue.
Watch shosoin-ten.jp for the timed-ticket release. In 2025 the general ticket was ¥2,000 and the entire allotment sold out, so buy the moment 2026 tickets appear. Recent runs opened at 08:00, with Friday–Sunday evenings later, and were open every day of the seventeen. Come from Kyoto on JR Nara or Kintetsu Nara, then walk or take a short bus into the park. Jidai Matsuri in Kyoto falls on 22 October, two days before opening; that is a clean autumn hinge if you already have a Kyoto hotel, provided you do not try to see both on the same feet.
Plan it well
Buy the timed ticket the morning it drops. Sleep in Kyoto or Nara, not Osaka, if the first slot matters. The museum ticket is the appointment; Tōdai-ji is a separate walk after, not a substitute for the vitrines.