Money Tree, another first-grade relic, draws visitors' attention with its broad branches and leaves, which unfurl in all directions and are decorated with images of the ageless Queen Mother of the West and a Taoist immortal riding on a deer. The branches are festooned with about 400 bronze coins, showing the intricacy and delicacy of ancient Chinese craftsmanship.

On one side of the exhibition wall, a large snake spear model, measuring more than 3 meters in length, is mounted. According to the exhibition, snake spears were used in the southwestern region of China's Yunnan province in the second century BC, where actual snake spears are often found at historical sites. With the deification of Zhang Fei, a famous military commander during the Three Kingdoms period, there is still debate about whether he himself wielded a snake spear.

Adding a little local flavor, the exhibition also displays the original manuscript of the Three Kingdoms manga comic by Japanese cartoonist Mitsuteru Yokoyama, a drawing for die-hard fans of the cartoon art form.

Dressed in a T-shirt embroidered with a map of the Three Kingdoms, Torahiko Hara, a fan who works at Sony Digital Entertainment, says he was interested in the exhibition because of his love for Yokoyama's cartoons, adding that, since visiting it, he now understands more about the ancient history behind them.

The exhibition is the largest China-themed display ever held by the Tokyo National Museum, with 85 percent of the exhibits on display in Japan for the first time, says Zeniya Masami, executive director of the museum.

Zhou Ming, deputy director of Art Exhibitions China, says he believes the exhibition would arouse a new enthusiasm among the Japanese people for the culture of the Three Kingdoms and help them gain a deeper understanding of the period's history.

According to the exhibition, the Three Kingdoms period began around 1,800 years ago amid the chaos of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). The events of this time, along with tales about the rise and fall of the era's various warlords, were recorded and later became popular legends.

They provided the inspiration for numerous works of poetry, literature and painting, leading to the formation of a rich and colorful "Three Kingdoms culture" that still resonates to this day.

Up until now, the stories of the Three Kingdoms have been continuously developed in various forms in Japan, including novels, comics, puppet shows and games, with many characters of the Three Kingdoms familiar to the Japanese people.

Xinhua