Heiseikan

This wing of the great national museum in Ueno Park houses the Japanese archaeology collection and serves as the venue for major special exhibitions. Built in the early 1990s, its permanent galleries trace prehistory through pottery of ancient hunter-gatherer cultures, ceremonial bronze bells, and the distinctive clay figures placed around burial mounds, offering a deep-time counterpart to the fine arts shown elsewhere. Its large temporary halls regularly stage blockbuster loan shows that draw long queues from across the country.