The Japanese Sword Museum, Contemporary Visitors Attraction Building, Yokoami Design

The Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo

Yokoami Public Building Project in Tokyo, Japan – design by Maki and Associates Architects

16 Feb 2018

The Japanese Sword Museum

Architects: Maki and Associates

Location: 1-12-9, Yokoami, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan

The Japanese Sword Museum Building

photo © Maki and Associates

The Japanese Sword Museum, exhibiting some of the best swords in Japan over the last fifty years, has recently moved to a new site due to the physical deterioration of its previous home. The Museum is a showcase that highlights the development of Japanese swords from weapons to their current status as art objects – the only existing example of this transformation in the world.

photo © Toshiharu Kitajima

The Sword Museum’s new site is adjacent to the Kyu-Yasuda Garden which was part of a Daimyo (upper class Samurai) estate from the 18th century. Though it has undergone many changes since then, the garden retains much of its original character. The Museum’s form – a cylindrical volume extending towards the pond with two wings – follows the site lines of the Ryogoku Auditorium previously on this site, adding a vaulted roof that houses the main exhibition gallery on the third level.

photo © Maki and Associates

A new terrace just outside the exhibition gallery affords panoramic views of the garden below, while the ground floor serves as a highly public neighborhood amenity, including a café, lecture hall, museum shop and information corner. These spaces can be used by Garden visitors and as a meeting point for the neighborhood. The second floor is devoted to administrative functions, storage and workshops.

photos © Toshiharu Kitajima

The museum will display not only the arts and crafts aspects of Japanese swords, but also disseminate a comprehensive picture of Japanese samurai culture in conjunction with the adjacent Garden.

photos © Toshiharu Kitajima

The Japanese Sword Museum, Tokyo – Building Information

Client: Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (NBTHK)
Architect: Maki and Associates
Location: 1-12-9, Yokoami, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Use: Museum

photo © Toshiharu Kitajima

Site area: 2,157 sqm
Building area: 1,076 sqm
Total floor area: 2,619 sqm
Number of floors: 3 (Max. Height 15.69m)
Structure: Reinforced concrete, steel structure

Exterior finish: Exposed concrete, Stainless steel panel (shot blast finish), Colored stainless steel roof, Aluminum panel (anodized), Aluminum window and insulated glass unit with low-e coating, Stainless steel window and door

Interior finish: Metallic stucco, Stainless steel panel (shot blast finish), Perforated white oak veneer panel, Steel panel, Gray granite, White oal wood flooring, Linoleum sheet

photo © Toshiharu Kitajima

Completion: October 2017
Open: January 2018

Design team: Fumihiko Maki (Principle), Yukitoshi Wakatsuki (Director), Kei Ito, Hisashi Nakai

Collaborators:
Structural engineering: Umezawa Structural Engineers, lab.
MEP engineering: P.T. Morimura and Associates,
Signage: Kijuro Yahagi Inc.
Lighting: Chieri Iizuka

Construction: Toda Corporation