Tokugawa Art Museum

Heirlooms of a ruling house, the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya preserves the private treasures of the Owari branch of the Tokugawa family, the most senior of the shogunal lineages. Founded in the 1930s to safeguard the collection, it offers an unusually intimate view of the material world of Japan's warrior elite, from armour and swords to tea utensils, lacquer, robes and Noh masks handed down through the centuries.

Its most famous holding is a scroll. The museum owns a set of illustrated handscrolls of the Tale of Genji dating to the twelfth century, among the oldest surviving depictions of Japan's great courtly novel and designated a National Treasure. So fragile are the originals that they are shown to the public only briefly, usually once a year, while high-quality reproductions allow visitors to appreciate them at other times.

The displays evoke a whole way of life. Galleries are arranged to reflect the settings in which the objects were used, including a reconstruction of a daimyo's formal reception rooms and a Noh stage, so that arms, calligraphy and tea wares are seen in context rather than in isolation. A neighbouring classical garden, the Tokugaen, extends the experience into landscaped grounds.

For a visit, the museum charges an admission fee and is fully accessible, lying a short bus ride or walk from central Nagoya. Exhibits rotate to protect the light-sensitive materials, so the displays reward repeat visits and it is worth checking what is currently shown, especially if you hope to catch the Genji scrolls. Allow a couple of hours, and combine it with a stroll in the adjacent garden for a rounded cultural morning. Seeing the warrior heirlooms in their reconstructed reception rooms brings the world of the shogun's court vividly close.