The Japanese collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum are extensive and varied numbering in excess of 42,000 objects. The collections are predominantly from the Edo period but with good representative earlier objects and a well-documented collection of objects acquired from the great exhibitions of the late nineteenth century. The collections also include contemporary works in different media.

The collections range in period from the Heian to the contemporary and include metalwork (arms and armour, mirrors, cloisonne enamels, decorative inlay, figurative works, religious items and over 5000 sword-fittings); graphic works (including over 28,000 prints and printed books) as well as some paintings and screens; textiles (including court wear, country textiles, costume for performance, religious items and textile samples); ceramics (of all types); wooden objects, furniture and lacquerware (including inro and some world-famous examples of export lacquer) and sculptural pieces (including masks for performance) as well as carvings such as okimono and netsuke. In 1986 the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art opened at the V&A: the displays here are mostly permanent, although thematic special displays are also exhibited.