The Japan Gallery: The National Museum of Nature and Science

The National Museum of Nature and Science consists basically of two buildings: the Japan Gallery and the Global Gallery. The Japan Gallery traces the history of the Japanese archipelago and the people living there. The Global Gallery is devoted to life on Earth as a whole, along with history of science and technology. The building in front, right next to the Blue Whale, is the Japan Gallery. It is a stately neo-Renaissance architecture finished in granite  and brown “scratched tiles”, as they are called. Scratched tiles were made by applying scratches to the surface of each tile. They were all the rage in Japan in the late 1920s and early 1930s — so much so that they provide a good clue to a building’s date. The Japan Gallery looks like an airplane when viewed from above.

The Japan Gallery, National Museum of Nature and Science, viewed from above. Photo courtesy of the Museum.

Photo: Ryo Shirai

The Museum of Education, which eventually became the National Museum of Nature and Science, was founded in 1877. For a time it moved away from Ueno and was reorganized under a different name. It was relocated to its present site in 1931, during the reconstruction of Tokyo after the massive 1923 earthquake. The new building was designed by the Construction Division of the Secretariat of the Ministry of Education . It has a frame of earthquake-proof reinforced concrete. With its stone- and tile-clad walls, it has the look of a traditional Western-style brick building.

Façade of the Japan Gallery (circa 1931). Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Nature and Science.

During the late 1920s and 1930s, when the Japan Gallery was built, decorative architecture enjoyed its final flowering before the advent of sparse modernism. Hence the building features much attractive ornamentation: the arches constructed at various points, the Doric and Corinthian capitals, the brightly colored stained glass, the majestic dome. To let in natural light, there are skylights at the upper level and numerous windows at the lower level. (Today, instead of relying on light from outside, electric lights have been installed to reduce UV rays.)

The geology and paleontology exhibition room upon completion in 1931. Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Nature and Science.

A honored guest room upon completion in 1931. Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Nature and Science.

The astronomical and meteorological equipment exhibition room upon completion in 1931. Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Nature and Science.

The building’s central section, which is four stories high, has a pendentive dome derived from Byzantine models. The dome’s interior features rows of square panels. The original plan was to install floral reliefs in each panel, but it was never carried out. The lights suspended from all four sides have an appearance that is somehow Japanese, like the lanterns of a Shinto shrine. The walls of the central hall are adorned with different types of stone, including serpentinite from Japan, Italian marble called Nembro Rosato, and Nikka stone, a type of yellow tuff.

Photo: Ryo Shirai

Photo: Ryo Shirai

Among the decorative elements adorning key features of the building are stained glass. It can be seen in the upper part of the domed central hall, the staircases in both wings, and the fanlight of the basement dining room (currently closed to the public). With its symmetrical motifs of stylized phoenixes and plants, it is all very oriental somehow. It is the work of stained-glass artist Sanchi Ogawa and architect Chuta Ito, famed for his design of the Honganji temple in Tsukiji, Tokyo. Both are prominent figures in modern Japanese architectural history, and the stained glass of the Japan Gallery is a valuable specimen of their craftsmanship.

Photo: Ryo Shirai

Photo: Ryo Shirai

The central staircase at the back of the central hall is also richly adorned. Above the large windows on either side is a glass mosaic; below are a pair of cast metal grills in the form of the Buddhist wheel of the Dharma. The floor is paved with tiles that have a textured surface like cloth. These were produced by Taizan Pottery, one of the main tile-makers of the day.

Photo: Ryo Shirai

Photo: Ryo Shirai

Photo: Ryo Shirai

Even the cast-metal air vents on the upper walls in the first-floor exhibition hall are beautifully ornamented.

Photo: Ryo Shirai

The exhibition wings on both sides of the central hall each end in a staircase. Each staircase has a large stained-glass skylight, and the landing part way down the stairs is adorned with stained-glass phoenixes. Also worth a look are the elaborate lighting fixtures at the end of the balustrade on the first floor. Too bad most people miss these staircases and their embellishments: because of how the exhibits are laid out, visitors tend to return straight to the central hall.

Photo: Ryo Shirai

Photo: Ryo Shirai

In the rear of the building, away from the exhibition area, is an auditorium. This was built as a place of social education, a revolutionary concept back then. It hosted lectures and screened films. Modeled on traditional theater architecture, it has a proscenium arch framing the stage, round medallions, and decorative lighting. It even had its own screen and projector — state-of-the-art technology back in 1931 — along with a projection booth. The auditorium is still used for public lectures and other events today.

Photo: Ryo Shirai

Photo: Ryo Shirai