The Treasure Hall of Kasuga Taisha Shrine will reopen on October 1st as the "Kasuga Taisha National Treasure Hall." An inauguration exhibition, "Kasuga Taisha's National Treasures - A Thousand Years of Hidden Treasures and Exquisite Armor and Swords, All in One Place," will be held from October 1st through November 27th.

The Treasure Hall of Kasuga Taisha Shrine was built in 1973 as part of the 60th Shikinen Zozo Project, based on a design by Yoshiro Taniguchi. It houses numerous cultural assets, including 352 National Treasures and 971 Important Cultural Properties, including art and crafts from the imperial court and Japan's most representative armor and swords. This Shikinen Zozo Project has been carried out every 20 years since the shrine's founding, and to commemorate its 60th Shikinen Zozo, the Treasure Hall, which had been closed for renovations, will be reopened. Architect Toshio Yada, who spent 13 years at Kengo Kuma & Associates and has worked on numerous projects, including the Suntory Museum of Art and the Nezu Museum, served as the project's general supervisor. Together with a team of experts on Japanese art museum architecture, the project included seismic reinforcement, storage environment renovations, expansion, and a complete redesign of the interior and exterior of the museum. Taking advantage of the museum's H-shaped structure, consisting of two two-story reinforced concrete buildings with gabled roofs, this expansion and renovation will extend the roof of the building connecting the two gabled roofs. Vertical steel latticework, aligned with the existing facade, has been installed on the front, creating an interior exhibition space that doubles as an entrance hall. A pair of "daiko" drums, measuring 6.5 meters high and 3.2 meters wide, will be exhibited within the space. The entrance will feature a "kamigaki" (sacred fence) space, which expresses the religious world of Kasuga Taisha in a completely new way. Based on an idea conceived by the shrine's chief priest, Hiromasa Hanazono, the exhibition was produced by Fumio Ozaki, an exhibition designer fascinated by the sacred grounds of Kasuga, and designed by Izumi Okayasu, a genius in lighting and installation. The sakaki tree, which serves as the abode of the gods, is expressed through sculpture and lighting, and a sacred space emanating from sunlight and clear streams is set up. In addition, the spirit of the sacred ground of Kasuga is expressed through light and water in the darkness.

In addition, as Kasuga Taisha is famous as a shrine that possesses swords representative of the Heian period through the Nanboku-cho period, display cases with ingenious lighting have been installed to allow visitors to better appreciate the swords and artifacts. Furthermore, the first floor also houses the cafe KAON, facing the parking lot. The interior, inspired by a forest, features tables made from stumps of 800-year-old Kasuga cedar trees.
In addition, from the opening day, October 1st, until November 27th, an exhibition commemorating the opening, "Kasuga Taisha's National Treasures - A Thousand-Year-Old Treasure and Exquisite Armor and Swords, All in One," will be held. Approximately 50 exquisite masterpieces will be carefully selected from among the National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, and their appeal will be fully conveyed.

[Event Information]
"Kasuga Taisha's National Treasures - A Thousand-Year-Old Treasure and Exquisite Armor and Swords, All in One"
Venue: Kasuga Taisha National Treasure Hall
Address: 160 Kasugano-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Dates: October 1st - November 27th
Time: 10:00 - 17:00 (last entry at 16:30)
Admission: 500 yen for adults, 300 yen for high school and university students, 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students
Open every day during the exhibition period