Special Exhibition “Bugaku Costumes” at the Nezu Museum from October 24; About 50 Works Including Costumes from Amano Shrine, Shitennoji and Rinnoji

The special exhibition “Bugaku Costumes: The Inherited Beauty of Textiles” will be held at the Nezu Museum (Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo) from Saturday, October 24 to Monday, November 23 (a public holiday), 2026. It introduces the costumes of bugaku, the form of gagaku (court music) accompanied by dance, through examples handed down at Amano Shrine (Niutsuhime Shrine) on Mount Koya, Shitennoji in Osaka and Rinnoji in Tochigi. The exhibition traces changes in design from the Muromachi period to the Edo period. About 50 works are on display, and the museum says they include many National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.

What are bugaku costumes? Red for the Left, blue for the Right

According to the museum’s press materials, gagaku arose from a fusion of music and dance introduced from abroad with Japan’s own ancient songs and dances, and bugaku is the part of gagaku accompanied by dance. In the 10th century, it was organized into the Left (togaku, of Chinese lineage) and the Right (komagaku, of Korean lineage).

The costumes are elaborated versions of the uniforms of the court military officers who performed the dances, and their colors differ according to the origins of the pieces. The Left is based on red and gold, and the Right on blue and silver.

The museum explains that gagaku suffered a major blow in the turmoil of the Warring States period that began with the Onin War (1467–77). It was later revived and regulated by the imperial court and those in power. In the process, costumes too converged on highly similar designs at the court and at major temples and shrines in the east and west, the museum says.

The exhibition shows this trend by placing side by side costumes from three places with different histories: Amano Shrine, which preserves textile techniques of the 14th and 15th centuries; Shitennoji, which revived its bugaku equipment, lost in a war fire in Tensho 4 (1576), with donations from the Toyotomi family; and Rinnoji, for which the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, had costumes made. The museum’s official website and its August 28 press materials describe the Rinnoji costumes as masterpieces shown for the first time in about 40 years, while the October 6 press release says they are being shown for the first time in 45 years.

What can visitors see? Bugaku paintings and costumes from three places

The press materials introduce the exhibition in four groups. Besides the oldest bugaku paintings and court dance pictures, they call the Amano Shrine costumes “a time capsule of medieval textiles” and the Rinnoji costumes “the pinnacle of early modern bugaku costumes.” They describe the Shitennoji costumes as “a cultural project of the Toyotomi family, which unified the realm.”

Paintings of bugaku

The “Bugaku Handscroll” by Abe Suehide, dated Oei 15 (1408) in the Muromachi period, is in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. The date inscription at the end makes it one of the few works whose creation can be dated with certainty to the medieval period. “Mai-e” (Dance Pictures, Muromachi period, 14th–15th century) from the Yomei Bunko in Kyoto is a bugaku handscroll in ink line drawing also known as “Shinzei Kogakuzu.” The materials describe it as the oldest surviving copy, recording gagaku before it was organized and thought to be the basis of the various later copies. The Nezu Museum’s “Ranryo-o” (attributed to Tosa Yukihide, Muromachi period, 15th century) is a small yamato-e painting of a child dancer performing the piece “Ranryo-o.” The left screen of the museum’s “Bugaku Screens” by Kusumi Morikage (Edo period, 17th century) is also on display.

Medieval costumes

The Important Cultural Property “Ryoto (Tabard), Gold Brocade with Double-Vine Peony Arabesque on Dark Blue Ground” (Nanbokucho period, inscribed Eiwa 4 (1378), Tokyo National Museum) is a fur-edged ryoto that makes lavish use of imported gold brocade. An ink inscription on the lining shows that it was donated to the Niu Shrine on Mount Koya in Eiwa 4. The Important Cultural Property “Suikan, Rose and Arched Bridge Pattern on Pale Pink Ground” (Muromachi period, Kyotoku 3 (1454), Kongobuji, Wakayama) is also on display. It is said to have been made for the rehearsal (shigaku) of the Issaikyo-e ceremony in Kyotoku 3.

Costumes from Rinnoji and Shitennoji

The Rinnoji costumes are said to have been commissioned by the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, for the 21st memorial of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Kan’ei 13 (1636). According to the press release, they form a large complete set of more than 800 items, designated as Important Cultural Properties en bloc in 1983. The Important Cultural Properties “Karyobin Robe with Small Birds and Flowers on Red Ground” and “Karyobin Robe with Small Birds and Flowers on Moegi Ground” (Edo period, 17th century) are costumes for “Karyobin,” a dance performed by children. The museum notes that it is rare for both red and blue robes to survive. The Important Cultural Property “Seigaiha Robe and Shitagasane” (Edo period, 17th century) is also on display.

At Shitennoji, musicians of the Tennoji Gakuso have handed down bugaku. Its bugaku equipment was lost in the war fire of Tensho 4, but was revived with donations from the Toyotomi family. The temple’s costumes were designated national Important Cultural Properties in 1966. The Important Cultural Property “Taiheiraku Costume Set” (Momoyama to Edo period, 16th–17th century) consists of more than 10 items, including armor and weapons, and 11 pieces from the set are shown in the exhibition. Bugaku is still performed today at memorial services such as the Shoryo-e.

Tickets, prices and reservations

Admission with an online timed reservation is 1,600 yen for adults and 700 yen for students (university and above). Reservations are limited to 10 people per group. Same-day tickets at the window cost 200 yen more across the board. High school students and younger are free; a student ID is required for the student price and for free admission for high school students and younger. Holders of a disability certificate and one companion get 200 yen off.

Opening hours are 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). The museum is closed on Mondays but opens on Monday, November 23 (a public holiday).

Related events: an emon dressing demonstration and a performance of the bugaku “Ryoo”

• Slide lecture: Friday, October 30, 11:30–12:15, by the curator in charge. The session on Friday, November 6 is fully booked

• Lecture “Elegant Dance Attire: Bugaku Costumes Adorning Amano Shrine”: Saturday, October 31, 14:00–15:30, by Shigeki Kawakami (professor, Osaka Gakuin University)

• Lecture “The Bugaku Repertoire and Its Costumes”: Sunday, November 15, 14:00–15:30, by Toru Endo (professor, Tokyo Gakugei University)

• Special event “Bugaku ‘Ryoo’: Dressing, Emon Demonstration and Performance”: Sunday, November 8, 14:00–15:00 (doors open 13:45). An emon (costume dressing) demonstration by Megumi Shintani, the in-house emon specialist of Otsuki Shozoku, and a performance of the bugaku “Ryoo” by lecturers and graduates of the gagaku program in the Department of Traditional Japanese Music, Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts. The dancer is Yoshiyuki Izaki. Capacity 70; participation ticket 2,000 yen (tax included, non-refundable); for junior high school students and older

All events take place in the auditorium. The slide lecture and lectures have a capacity of 100 and are free (museum admission required), with online registration on a first-come, first-served basis. The special event requires museum admission in addition to the participation ticket.

Access, concurrent exhibitions and an autumn campaign by three museums

The address is 6-5-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo. It is an 8-minute walk from Exit A5 and a 10-minute walk from Exits B4 and B3 of Omotesando Station on the Ginza, Hanzomon and Chiyoda subway lines. It is a 5-minute walk from the “Minami-Aoyama 6-chome” stop on Toei Bus route Shibu 88.

In the museum, Galleries 3 to 6 are showing “The Appeal of Buddhist Art: Small Gilt-Bronze Buddhas and Ritual Implements of Japan,” “Ancient Chinese Bronzes,” “The Beauty of Ink Line Drawing” and “Opening the Hearth: Welcoming Winter” at the same time. Jeweled clocks are displayed in the special case.

The Mitsui Memorial Museum, the Gotoh Museum and the Nezu Museum are running a joint campaign, “Three Museums in Autumn: A Tour of Beauty 2026.” Eligible exhibitions are this exhibition and “100 Selected Tea Bowls from the Museum Collection: From National Treasures to Handmade Tea Bowls” at the Mitsui Memorial Museum (until Monday, November 23, a public holiday). The Gotoh Museum’s “Landscapes of the Muromachi Spirit: Radiant Seasons and the Beauty of Renga Kaishi” (Tuesday, October 27 – Sunday, December 6) is also included. Collecting used admission tickets earns benefits, and visitors are asked to inquire at each museum for details.

Editor’s perspective

Bugaku costumes are textiles worn on ceremonial occasions and handed down at temples and shrines. The exhibition brings together, in one place, works ranging from a Nanbokucho-period ryoto to the Taiheiraku costumes of Shitennoji, revived with Toyotomi donations, and the Karyobin costumes of Rinnoji, commissioned by Iemitsu. It is structured so that visitors can check, with actual works from different periods, the museum’s explanation that costume designs became more uniform after the turmoil of the Warring States period.

Autumn and winter exhibitions in Tokyo are gathered in [Autumn/Winter 2026] Recommended Exhibitions in Tokyo.

Overview

Name: Special Exhibition “Bugaku Costumes: The Inherited Beauty of Textiles”
Dates: Saturday, October 24 – Monday, November 23 (public holiday), 2026
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23)
Venue: Galleries 1 and 2, Nezu Museum
Address: 6-5-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Admission: Online timed reservation: adults 1,600 yen, students (university and above) 700 yen. Same-day tickets 200 yen more each. Free for high school students and younger
Organizer: Nezu Museum
Inquiries: 03-3400-2536
Official website: https://www.nezu-muse.or.jp/
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Important Cultural Property, Karyobin robes with small birds and flowers on red ground (left) and on moegi ground (right), silk, Japan, Edo period, 17th century, Rinnoji, Tochigi (from a press release by the Nezu Museum)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Nezu Museum (August 28 and October 6, 2026) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team