Oita Prefectural Art Museum
“Museum of the Five Senses” “Museum of Encounters”
A museum that “ visitors can enjoy using all five senses.”
An art museum that, through various view points and senses, appeals to visitors’ sensitivity and creativity – a museum that visitors can enjoy using all five senses.
A museum where “visitors can make new discoveries and be inspired due to encounters.”
Oita and the world, the classic and the modern, art and music – through a special exhibition that takes all of these “encounters” as its theme, OPAM is a museum that visitors can use to make new discoveries and be inspired.
A museum “visitors can think of as their living room at home.”
OPAM is a museum visitors can drop into at ease, feeling as though they are in their living room at home.
A museum that “grows alongside citizens of the prefecture.”
From the children who will become the next generation, to elderly visitors, citizens of all ages will be able to grow alongside the museum.
Main works
OPAM Collection
Since the Edo Period, a great number of artists have emerged in Oita, leading to a rich cultural climate of “romanticism.”All of these artists helped power modern Japanese art and were truly great artists.
OPAM’s art collection is an inheritance of artwork and materials amounting to 5000 pieces collected over thirty-seven years by Oita Prefectural Art Center. These works have been preserved as treasures, and OPAM introduces, their appeal widely disseminated throughout Japan and the world.
Oita’s Modern Art
From the Edo period to the Meiji and Taisho periods, painters of the Nanga School were popular in Oita, and created a unique culture of the region, known as the “Bungo Nanga” School.
OPAM possesses a rich collection of materials, such as paintings and calligraphic works, that recall Tanomura Chikuden (1777-1835), the man who laid the foundations for this school of art, and who was also an historian. Additionally, OPAM introduces the public to the works of Tanomura’s apprentices, Takashi Sohei and Hoashi Kyou, and art pieces and materials from artists and scholars who were active in each region of Oita Prefecture, as well as to artists connected to the world of ukiyo-e wood block prints.
・Tanomura Chikuden Screen depicting an Honorable Guest listening to a Japanese Zither 1822
This piece was drawn during a trip to Kitsuki in 1822 and was originally made as a four-sided sliding door. It is one of the largest known works of Tanomura Chikuden and showcases his painting style from the period when he began his serious engagement with the Nanga painting technique. The inscriptions spanning panels eight and nine are by Rai San'yo.
・Utagawa Toyoharu Enjoying the Plum Blossoms around the Kansei period
Among the esteemed original works of Utagawa Toyoharu, this is a highly acclaimed masterpiece. It is believed to depict the "Garyubai" plum tree at Kameido Umeyashiki, a famous spot for plum blossom viewing in Edo (present day Tokyo). The work, once passed down within the Inaba family of the Usuki Domain, has garnered attention due to Toyoharu's speculated origins from the Usuki Domain in Bungo Province (present day Oita Prefecture).
Oita’s Modern Japanese Paintings
The highlight of the collection is the number of representative works and the large amount of rare rough sketches of the artists Fukuda Heihachiro (1892-1974), an artist who thoroughly mastered realism and established a decorative painting style, and Takayama Tatsuo (1912-2007), an artist who lead Japanese post-war painting circles with his painting style filled with the depth of existence; a style which he developed after looking hard at life and death.
・Fukuda Heihachiro Water 1958
Captivated by the ever-changing expressions of the water's surface, Fukuda Heihachiro left behind a vast number of sketches throughout his life and experimented with various representations of water in many of his works. This piece represents the culmination of his 30 years of dedication and study. It is a masterpiece that reveals the mystical beauty hidden in nature.
・Takayama Tatsuo Eating 1973
In 1946, 1973, and 1985, Takayama Tatsuo released three works titled Eating, depicting children's mealtime scenes. This piece is the second in the series. The silhouette of the young child reflects a sense of anxiety and loneliness, symbolizing Takayama's continuous exploration of the meaning of life through art.
- Katata Tokuro Lunch Break 1926
- Ujiyama Teppei Dynasty 1974
- Shono Shounsai Kagero (Heat Haze) 1958
- Furusawa Machiko Mariko in Spring and Autumn 1996
- Asakura Fumio The Grave-Keeper 1910
- Hinako Jitsuzo Woman 1930
