The Tokyo National Museum is the oldest museum in Japan, dating back to 1872. Constructed at great cost during the Meiji period, it holds important historical documents and archaeological artifacts. The museum is now a national symbol, home to 110,000 artifacts. While the museum is temporarily closed, it is collaborating with the country’s national broadcasting company, NHK, to create online episodes that recount the histories of different museum objects—ancient treasures such as a 16th-century lantern, a 17th-century kimono embroidered with ducks. —E.C.