- Shōsōin
The nihongo|Shōsōin|正倉院 is the treasure house that belongs to
Tōdai-ji , Naracite web|title=nihongo2|正倉院ホームページ (Shōsōin Homepage, Imperial Household Agency (Japan))|language=Japanese|url=http://shosoin.kunaicho.go.jp/|accessdate = 2007-03-12] ["Shōsōin" originally stood for the warehouse area that many of the Buddhist temples and governmental sites in the ages ofNara period andHeian period were known to have, and "Shōsō" (nihongo2|正倉) was meaning each independet building located in the such area. However, all but the one in Tōdai-ji were lost over time, thus Shōsōin became a proper noun for the only remaining treasure house building at Tōdai-ji.] The building is in the "azekura" log-cabin style, with a raised floor. It lies to the northwest of the Daibutsuden (which houses the Great Buddha). The Shōsōin houses artifacts connected toEmperor Shōmu (701–756) andEmpress Komyo (701–760), as well as arts and crafts of the Tempyō period of Japanese history.History
The origin of Tōdai-ji Shōsoin dates back to 756, when
Empress Kōmyō dedicated over 600 items to the Great Buddha atTōdai-ji to express her love for her lost husband,Emperor Shōmu . Her donation was made over five times across several years, then stored at Shōsōin. Later inHeian Period , a large number of treasures, consisting of items and instruments used in important Buddhist services were transferred from a different warehouse in Tōdai-ji. Given the importance of the items stored in this warehouse, the administration of Shōsōin has been taken over by the government, currently the Imperial Household Agency.After the
Meiji Restoration , it came under the administration of the national government, and sinceWorld War II has been under the administration of theImperial Household Agency . It is on theUNESCO register ofWorld Heritage Site s as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. It is also anational treasure of Japan .Building
The building is in the "azekura" (nihongo2|校倉) log-cabin style, with a raised floor (nihongo2|高床式). Shōsōin is the oldest surviving building of this type in Japan. Front wide about 33.1m,Depth about 9.3m, 1st flour height about 2.5m.
Treasures
Shōsōin today holds around 9000 items, leaving out items that are yet to be classified. [ [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0027-0741(199024)45%3A4%3C449%3AMWDFTN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M Piggott, Joan. (1990). "Mokkan. Wooden Documents from the Nara Period"] , "Monumenta Nipponica", 45:4, pp. 449-470.] While many of the collection are of remainders from the 8th century and are of domestic production, either art or documents, there are also variety of items originating from China (
Tang China. Other material comes from as far as India, Iran, Greece, Rome and Egypt.Although these collections are not open to the public, selections are shown at
Nara National Museum once a year in autumn.Silk collection
Since 1994, the Imperial Household Agency's Office of the Shosoin Treasure House, which is responsible for the administration of the repository, has been producing exact reproduction of ancient Nara textiles. Apart from the appearance and colour, care has been given to reproduce the production and weaving style. The silk is donated each year by Empress Michiko, who personally runs the Momijiyama Imperial Cocoonery at
Tokyo Imperial Palace [ [http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/tenji/chinretsu/syosou/syosou.html Kyoto National Museum | Her Majesty the Empress and the Sericulture of the Koishimaru Silkworm] ] .See also
The
Kamakura National Treasure House also holds a fine collection of Japanese art and sculpture.Notes
External links
* [http://shosoin.kunaicho.go.jp/ Imperial Household Agency page for Shōsōin (in Japanese)]
* [http://reijiy.hp.infoseek.co.jp/shosoin/shosoin.html Shosoin TANABETU MOKUROKU( List of Shosoin Solid Objects) ]
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