Shôsô-in

The Shôsô-in () is a rectangular structure in three parts (hokusô, northern store, chûsô, central store and nansô, southern store) of style azekura-zukuri () of the temple Tôdai-ji () with Nara (), perched on 40 2,4 meters pillars high and built around 760 in wood logs of cypress of Japan (, hinoki ) without ground coating. Frame on a terrace of stone slabs, the building measures 33 meters length for almost 10 broad and 14 top.
It is thanks to its exceptional natural system of control of the Hygrométrie, by the contraction and the dilation of the beams out of wooden in the course of the years, that the building allowed a so good conservation of the treasures which it contained, the walls being hermetic in wet weather or presenting interstices allowing the ventilation of the room in dry weather.

History

It was first of all used to garner rice, it with what all shôsô (, attic) was initially intended, then was used as of the 8th century to store more than 3000 various objects coming mainly from the collections of Japanese and center-Asian objects joined together by the emperor Shômu () and the empress Kôken (), like for hiding governmental documents… For this reason it was preserved at the wire of time, contrary to the others shôsô , and one finishes by him joining the religious suffix “ - in ” (). Refitted in 1913 out of two levels in small cells of conservation, this unit thus constitutes oldest “Musée” of the world and represents a priceless source of knowledge. Therefore the objects were transferred in 1953 then in 1962 in two new reinforced concrete structures to protect them from possible fires. Shôsô-in, as for him, was restored in 1883. Its property, in addition, was withdrawn in Tôdai-ji little time (in 1875) to before deal first of all with the Ministry for the Interior then at the Court.

Collections

Even if these collections were placed under imperial seals (, chokufû ) during centuries, thus preventing their contemplation by the common run of people, a part of them is regularly presented since the Forties, generally in the form of exposure, with the National museum of Tokyo or the National museum of Nara.

Documents

Shôsô-in contained more than 10.000 documents and files, which corresponds about to 90% of the whole of the documents of the time currently existing Nara. Called Shôsô-in monjo (, documents of Shôsô-in), these files constitute a considerable resource for the economic survey in particular sociological, and policy of this time.

Objects

This whole of objects coming from many countries represents a synthesis of civilizations which flowered in Asia with the VII {{E}} and 8th century. Among the parts which constitute the collection are furniture, récipents of any type (ceramics, glassmakings…), of the mirrors, of the musical instruments, the masks of Gigaku (), of the weapons, the plays, the objects of writing, paintings and penmanships, clothing and fabrics, the objects of Buddhist worship, the remedies, the perfumes…

See too

Japanese Architecture
Japanese Art

Sources

Japan: Dictionary and civilization , Louis Frederic, Editions Robert Laffont, Collection Books, 1470 p, (1999) ISBN 2-221-06764-9
the Art of old Japan , Danielle and Vadime Elisseeff, Mazenod Editions, 620 p. (1980) ISBN 2-85088-010-8
Dictionary historical of Japan , Collective, Maisonneuve Editions and Larose, Asian Collection World, 2993 p. (2002) ISBN 2-7068-1633-3
the Large guide from Japan , Dorothée de Boisséson, Gallimard Editions, collection Library of the Traveller, 423 p. (1994) ISBN 2-07-056861-X

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