Statement
The National Crafts Museum opened in Kitanomaru Park, Tokyo, in 1977 as the Crafts Gallery at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
As the only Japanese art museum specialized in crafts and design objects, the museum has continued to publicize and develop the crafts and design culture for more than 45 years including the period when it was known as the Crafts Gallery.
The basic principles of extensively collecting, preserving, studying, and researching different objects from various genres and regions in Japan and overseas have not changed since the museum relocated to Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, in 2020.
Through exhibitions and learning programs, the museum will continue to introduce the fresh appeal of the world of crafts and design from a broad perspective without being preoccupied by form.
As a venue that connects everyone with crafts and design, and the past with the future, the National Crafts Museum presents visitors with a timeless world of plenty.
Experience new discoveries
Whether a child encountering arts and crafts for the first time or an adult wanting to deepen their learning, the museum aims to be a venue for learning where anyone can visit any number of times and still discover new worlds.
Like an encyclopedia where the reader encounters new worlds and values every time they turn a page, we share basic knowledge about crafts and design and provide updated information in a way that is both enjoyable and respectful.
We enhance the value of the museum as a place where visitors can experience the joy of learning in three dimensions and nurture the seeds of curiosity that enrich daily life.
Connecting crafts from the past to the future
The National Crafts Museum collects, researches, and exhibits outstanding crafts and design objects dating from the 1900s to the present.
At the same time, it is our mission to manage the objects in a more appropriate environment to be able to maintain their condition for future admirers.
We aim to pass on objects and ideas that portray our time to later generations. We are continuously carrying out research, collaborating with craftspeople and designers, and reviewing objects dating to the modern period or later from new perspectives.
From a diversity perspective, we hope that everyone will experience the objects from their own particular viewpoint and become a bridge between the past and future.
The possibilities of crafts and design are broadened through moving experiences and conversations.
Communicating appreciation for objects
While treasuring the encounters we have here and now, we also hope to share the joy of crafts and design with people far away on the other side of the world.
The exhibitions that we organize at the National Crafts Museum are not the only places to appreciate these objects.
We are expanding opportunities to connect with the objects through exhibitions at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and the other national art museums. As well as lending pieces to museums in Japan and overseas, we also share information and organize events online.
From Ishikawa prefecture to all parts of Japan, and then to the world—
We aim to be an information hub for crafts and design that is easily accessible to anyone at any time, no matter what time of day or how far away.
