The Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo's Ryōgoku district has reopened on March 31, 2026, after four years of renovation. Its first exhibition, "In Praise of Great Edo" (April 25–May 24), showcases 160 items from the museum's collection of 350,000, including swords, armor, kimonos, ukiyo-e masterpieces by Sharaku, Utamaro, and Hokusai, and artifacts from Edo-period culture such as kabuki, sumō, and firefighting uniforms. The renovated museum features new animation, projection mapping, full-scale reconstructions like Ginza's Hattori watch store, and a multilingual smartphone guide system.
The reopening matters because the museum, which attracted 1 million visitors annually before the pandemic, is expected to boost tourism in Tokyo's Ryōgoku district, a traditional area already home to the Kokugikan sumō arena and the Sumida Hokusai Museum. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to view iconic ukiyo-e works together and highlights the museum's renewed role in preserving and presenting Tokyo's history from the Edo period to the present, supporting cultural tourism and local heritage.