Okura Museum of Art
Okura Museum of Art is the oldest existing private art museum in Japan. It was established by Okura Kihachiro (1837-1928), an industrialist active from the 19th century to the early 20th century. He established the Okura Museum of Art Foundation in 1917 to help preserve Japanese artworks and further Japanese culture. The museum’s original buildings were destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the building that still in use today was built in classical Chinese style designed by the renowned architect Ito Chuta. The museum’s collection features a wide range of paintings, sculpture, calligraphy and craftworks from Japan and various regions across Asia. The collection consists of around 2,500 items in total. There is no permanent exhibition, and the works on display vary with each exhibition. We hope our museum can provide visitors from all over with an opportunity to appreciate some of the finest examples of Japanese and oriental art.
Main works
Fugen Bosatsu (Samantabhadra) was believed to protect those who believed in the Lotus Sutra, and many excellent images and statues of Samantabhadra were produced in the mid- to late-Heian period.
The statue remains excellent condition in general, and not only the body but also the pedestal and the elephant are all original.
It is an example of the highest standard of Buddhist sculpture of the Heian period and it is a masterpiece representing the museum's collection.
It is a masterpiece of Yokoyama Taikan, one of the most renowned modern Japanese painter. The impressive cherry blossoms and pine trees illuminated by a bonfire emerge in the darkness, and the moon is represented with platinum. This work was exhibited at the Exhibition of Japanese Art held in Rome in 1930. The exhibition was financed by Okura Kishichiro, the second president of the Okura konzern. In this work, Taikan created a richly decorative scenery with beautiful colors and the subject that could easily be understood by foreign viewers. It reflects the aim of the exhibition to promote Japanese painting to the world.
