The Kyoto National Museum (京都国立博物館, Kyōto Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan) is one of Japan's oldest and most distinguished museums. The museum first opened in 1897 and is one of only four top-level national museums alongside the Tokyo National Museum, Nara National Museum and Kyushu National Museum. The museum's permanent collection is presented to the public in rotating exhibitions and consists of a wide variety of cultural properties, including archaeological relics, sculptures, ceramics, calligraphy, costumes and paintings. It is housed in the spacious galleries of the Heisei Chishinkan, a building designed by Taniguchi Yoshio and opened in 2014. In addition to the permanent exhibitions, temporary special exhibitions are held in the museum's original main building that was constructed during the Meiji Period in 1895. Renamed the Meiji Kotokan, the redbrick building, together with the similarly styled main entrance gates, are beautiful examples of Meiji architecture and have been designated as important cultural properties.
