Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2011

An unsung treasure of Tokyo museums is the National Crafts Gallery. Housed in an atmospheric red brick building that used to house the imperial guard, the gallery has an outstanding collection and is often pleasantly uncrowded. For the next month, visitors can enjoy some of its best examples of ceramics, furniture and many other finely worked crafts. The emphasis of the show is on maki-e gold lacquerware, in association with an ongoing series of documentary screenings at the National Film Center looking at some of the country’s leading craftsmen and craft traditions.

National Crafts Gallery, until Jan 29 (listing).