The Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 2004, showcasing numerous artworks. Just a year later, it attracted 1.57 million visitors, and after five years, the total number of visitors reached 7 million. It is regarded as an important tourist attraction alongside Kenrokuen Garden and Kanazawa Castle. The museum's design won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The exterior of the museum is a low glass cylinder with extensive use of glass walls, providing a visually striking "penetrating, flowing" effect, which is the uniqueness of the two designers. Inside, the most notable exhibit is the "Swimming Pool" by Argentine installation artist Leandro Erlich, where a 50-centimeter layer of "water" separates the pool top and bottom, allowing visitors to discover different perspectives from the poolside or "underwater".
The Towada City Museum of Contemporary Art is the base of the "Arts Towada" urban construction plan promoted by Towada City, Aomori Prefecture. It was officially opened to the public in spring 2008. The permanent exhibition includes 22 representative works by 21 artists from 12 different countries, including Yoko Ono and Choi Jeong Hwa. Most of the works are large-scale installation art pieces.
The Hokkaido Takashi Yanase Memorial Museum of Art is located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and primarily collects works by Takashi Yanase, a painter born in Sapporo.
Hokkaido Lihan Museum Art Museum
The Hokkaido Hakodate Museum of Art actively collects works by artists such as Matsumi Yokoyama and Mitsumatsu Tanabe who are associated with the southern region of Hokkaido, and displays them as permanent works. The museum also displays many modern Western sculptures by artists such as Rodin, Bourdelle, and Renoir both inside and outside the building.
The Hokkaido Kushiro Art Museum is located on the banks of the Kushiro River, which flows through the center of Kushiro City. In addition to the field of fine arts, the museum systematically collects excellent works of art with natural themes and works related to the Kushiro area, with a particular emphasis on unique collections.
Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art
The Tokyo National Museum of Western Art, located in Ueno Park, Tokyo, is a representative exhibition hall of Western art. Built in 1959, it houses a collection of works by the late Yukihiro Matsumoto, as well as over 2,200 Western art pieces from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. Among them are over 200 works by famous modern European painters such as Rodin, Rubens, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Picasso. In addition, the museum holds various themed exhibitions every year. The architecture of the museum is unique and grand, with several sculptures on the exterior showcasing the beauty of Western art.
As Yokohama is the birthplace of photography in Japan, the Yokohama Museum of Art is actively collecting and exhibiting photographic works while also collecting contemporary and modern art.
The Nara Prefectural Art Museum, located at the entrance of Nara Park where history and nature blend into one, collects "Ukiyo-e" prints, modern paintings, dyed and woven fabrics, and folklore materials.
The Idemitsu Museum of Arts was established in 1966 and specializes in exhibiting a collection of art works amassed over 70 years by Idemitsu Sazou, the founder of Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. in Japan. The collection includes "Yamato-e" paintings from over 1000 years ago, ancient Chinese paintings, "Ukiyo-e" prints, and "Bijin-ga" paintings that began in the mid-18th century.
