Shōsō Repository

Shōsō Repository, a timber structure in Nara, Japan, that was built to receive the personal treasures bequeathed to the Tōdai Temple by the emperor Shōmu, who died in 756. While subsequent deposits gradually added to the collection, the original gift embraced more than 600 items, which included Buddhist ritual objects, furniture, musical instruments, textiles, metalwork, lacquerwork, cloisonné, glassware, pottery, painted screens, calligraphy, and maps. Many of these pieces must have been made in Japan, but...