Nara to Norwich

Until February 2025
Open weekdays, 09.30am - 4.30pm
Closed weekends, UK Bank Holidays and from 30 December 2024 to 3 January 2025 (inclusive)
Walk-ins are welcome
Admission is free but photographic ID is required

2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Following a very successful exhibition in the Atrium of The Forum in Norwich in May 2024 relating to their research project Nara to Norwich, part of the exhibition will go on display at the Embassy.

Nara to Norwich: Arts and Beliefs at the Ends of the Silk Roads, AD 500–1000 explores the Silk Roads beyond their usual geographical limits to encompass their influences on Japan and Korea to the east, and Britain and Scandinavia to the west. The exhibits and stories discuss how the introduction of Buddhism to the former and Christianity to the latter, transformed the landscapes, material culture and lives of their peoples.
 
Through themes such as pilgrimage, transport, holy sites and architecture, the displays in this part of the exhibition focus on the eastern parts of the Silk Roads, using high resolution maps to journey through the places and spaces that were encountered on these routes.

These and the remaining themes of the project can be explored further in the online exhibition at naratonorwich.org.

The Nara to Norwich exhibition and associated research project is generously sponsored by the Toshiba International Foundation.