Tokugawa Art Museum

Everyone asks about the Genji scrolls, so start there. The museum holds most of the oldest surviving illustrated Tale of Genji, a 12th-century set of handscrolls and a National Treasure, and it is far too fragile to hang for long. Each year a few scenes come out for a special display in late November, usually for one to two weeks; the rest of the year there is nothing of it on the wall, so check the dates before building a trip around it. The rest of the collection is what the Owari branch of the Tokugawa, senior of the three houses descended from Ieyasu, kept for 300 years: armor and swords, tea utensils, lacquer, Noh masks and costumes. Tokugawa Yoshichika, the 19th head, put it into a foundation and opened the museum in 1935. The permanent rooms rebuild parts of Nagoya Castle's Ninomaru Palace, including a shoin reception room, the Sarumen tea room and a full Noh stage, and the objects in them change about monthly. Adult tickets are 2,000 yen, which is steep for a short visit. The Tokugawa-en garden is next door.