Gotoh Museum

It features several objects designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. The exhibition changes several times each year with special openings in spring and fall. The museum also comprises a garden with a tea house, ponds, and Buddhist statues.

Some of the most important items housed in the museum are sections of the oldest extant illustrated handscroll of The Tale of Genji dating to the 12th century. This Genji Monogatari Emaki used to be the property of the Hachisuka family. The fragments cover chapters 38 (The Bell Cricket (鈴虫, suzumushi)), 39 (Evening Mist (夕霧, yūgiri)) and 40 (Rites (御法, minori)) of the novel. The Bell Cricket 1: one illustration (third princess with maid and hem of Genji's robe), two pages of text The Bell Cricket 2: one illustration (conversation between Reizei and Genji at an informal concert), two pages of text Evening Mist: one illustration (jealous Kumoi no kari is trying to snatch away a letter from her husband Yūgiri, who is Genji's son), two pages of text Rites: one illustration (exchange of poems between Genji, the dying Murasaki, and Empress Akashi, her adopted daughter), three pages of text The fragments are very fragile and are listed as National Treasure. They are displayed in the Gotoh Museum every year for about a week in April/May around the Golden Week holidays. More scrolls are housed in the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya.

Another important item and National Treasure of the museum collection is a set of 13th-century fragments from a handscroll of the Murasaki Shikibu Diary with illustrations. Three illustrations and three pages of text are housed in the museum. The items are displayed in the Gotoh Museum every year for about a week in autumn. More fragments are housed in the Fujita Art Museum in Osaka.