Short list of museums in the Tokyo area Much of this information has been summarized from the classic guide to museums all over Japan, Laurance P. Roberts, Roberts' Guide to Japanese Museums (1978). This guide gives more detail, both about individual collections and on how to get to museums from the nearest station. Information has been added below on some of the many museums that opened in the last few decades. GENERAL INFORMATION Opening hours Most Japanese museums are open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 or 10:00 to 16:30 or 17:00. Last entry is usually thirty minutes before closing time. Many museums are open on national holidays (apart from those at New Year), but nearly all are closed on Mondays and the day after a national holiday. There are, however, exceptions so again, check before going. To check by phone for current, opening times and exhibition information, try the number [if given here], or go online with the WWW information given below. Museum Web sites Many Japanese museums are now on the web, some with excellent bilingual sites, some with at least basic information in English. If you can read some Japanese, it is nearly always worth looking at the Japanese pages--the information is likely to be fuller, and updated more often. Even if you do read little or know Japanese, some sites contain good illustrations of their collections. Admission, directions I have included full adult prices when current figures were available to me, but have not bothered to list the various reduced prices. I am updating directions on how to get to museums as I (re)visit them myself. Links to maps are given whenever possible. As these are graphics, they should print out correctly whether or not your browser/computer is Japanese-friendly, and may be helpful when finding your way to the museum. Japanese Names I have tried to give the official English names of museums, even when less than euphonious. More than one English name is given when I have come across several versions In some cases it seemed helpful to add the romanized Japanese names in parenthesis, and even the kanji characters in some cases (depending on your computer setup, these may not display). No Japanese is given for the following terms: art gallery = bijutsukan (kanji: 美術館) museum = hakubutsukan (kanji: 博物館) If you have Japanese fonts installed but cannot read the kanji above, try changing the browser setting for "Character code" to "Japanese (auto. detect)".

on this page general information recommended ukiyoe collections further afield other museums English info. acknowledgements contact info　 major art collections links to sections on this page (nearest station name) Tokyo National Museum (Ueno) Idemitsu (Hibiya) Gotoh (Kaminoge) Hatakeyama (Shirogane-dai) Kamakura National Treasure House MOA (Atami) Nezu (Omotesando) Seikado (Futako-tamagawa) Suntory (Akasaka-mitsuke) museums near Ginza/Tokyo Station Bridgestone Idemitsu Aida Mitsuo around the Yamanote Line (station) Tokyo National Museum (Ueno) Idemitsu (Yurakucho) Hatakeyama (Gotanda) Folk Art (Shibuya) Ota (Harajuku) Yasuda (Shinjuku) on the Ginza subway line (station) Nezu (Omotesando) Suntory (Akasaka-mitsuke) Sogetsu (Akasaka-mitsuke) Tokyo National Museum (Ueno) on the Tozai subway line (station) Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art (Takebashi) Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum (Waseda)

MUSEUMS ESPECIALLY RECOMMENDED FOR PARTICIPANTS IN "ARTS AND SOCIETY IN JAPAN" COURSE

Bridgestone Museum of Art (Bridgestone bijutsukan)

-- a collection mainly of Western art, but with a section of 19th-20th century Japanese paintings in the Western manner.

* Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. 10-17:30, Tue-Sun. Tel. 03-3563-0241
Between Kyobashi and Nihonbashi stations on the Ginza line. Walking distance from Tokyo Station.

Goto Art Museum/Gotoh Museum
-- Paintings, calligraphy, sutras, ceramics; tea-ceremony, lacquer and archeological objects. For a detailed description see Roberts. Important collection of illustrated scrolls of the Heian and Kamakura period, including sections of the illustrated scroll of Genji monogatari. Paintings by Kenzan, Korin, Sotatsu, Koetsu. Only ten percent of the collection is normally on view. The Genji monogatari emaki (a National Treasure) is on view for just one week a year, in May.

* Kaminoge, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. 9:30-16:30, Tue-Sun.
Take Keihin line from Tokyo Station to Oimachi, change to Tokyu Oimachi line and get off at Kaminoge. On leaving the station, walk straight ahead, cross the main highway, continue straight ahead and take the second street on the right. The museum is on the left, set back from the street by a large garden. (3-9-25 Kaminoge, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo-158-0093; tel. 03-3703-0662)

Hatakeyama Museum (Hatakeyama kinenkan 畠山記念館)
-- Paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, lacquer, tea-ceremony objects, Noh costumes. Collected by industrialist Hatakeyama Issei (1881-1971), who was especiallially interested in the tea ceremony and noh recitation (utai). Only a fraction of the holdings will be on view at any one time. One of the best places to see works by Koetsu, Sotatsu, Korin, and Kenzan (Rinpa school). Highly recommended. The pretty views of the Japanese gardens of the Hannya-en next door.

* Shiroganedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo. 03-3447-5787. 500 yen. Open 10:00-5:00 (April to Sept), 10:00-4:30 (Oct-March). Four exhibition periods annnually, with museum closed for rearrangement between exhibitions.

* Roberts suggests going to Gotanda on the Yamanote Line, then taking a bus toward Tokyo-eki Yaesu-guchi. Bus for such as short distance? Taxi maybe (ask for "Hatakeyama kinenkan" or failing that, "Hannya-en"). On foot it's easiest and quickest to get to from Shiroganedai station on Asakusa line of the Toei (Metropolitan) Subway system. Turn left at ticket wicket for A2 exit, turn left at top of stairs (street level), and left again immediately. Go down side street past kooban (police box), high school, tennis courts (all on your left), continuing in straight line as road becomes footpath. You will come to a large car park of the traditional Japanese restaurant Hannya-en. Turn left. Gate to Hatakeyama museum is next to the Hannya-en, with name in English.

Horyu-ji Treasure House (Horyu-ji Homotsuden)
-- Important sculpture collection of Asuka and early Heian periods. Also paintings, textiles, metalwork.
*To the left of the main gate as you enter Tokyo National Museum (Ueno). Open only on Thurs.

Idemitsu Art Gallery (Idemitsu Bijutsukan)
-- Important collection of paintings, calligraphy, ceramics. Also other Asian works.

Home page is bilingual, with English at bottom. See also English page.

* Yuraku-cho station (JR Yamanote line) or Hibiya station (Hibiya line subway). 9F of International Building. (3-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; tel. 3-3213-9402)

Japan Folk Art Museum/Folk Crafts Museum (Nihon Mingeikan)
-- "earliest and most important collection of Japanese folk arts." Paintings, pottery, porcelain, prints, textiles, lacquer, masks, toys, furniture, costumes. Includes work from Hokkaido (Ainu) and Okinawa. Sale of folk arts in November. Home page Japanese only.

* Two stops on Inokashira line from Shibuya JR station. Some 5 minutes' walk from Komaba station. (4-3-33 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo. Tel. 03-3467-4527)

Nezu Art Museum (根津美術館）
-- First-rank collection of paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, etc. Works by Kenzan, Korin. Exhibits change often. The famous screen by Korin of Irises is featured on the good Web virtual gallery.

*Ginza or Chiyoda line subway to Omotesando. Take exit A5, turn right and walk two blocks. (6-5-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Tel. 03-3400-2536).

Okura Museum (Okura Shukokan) 大倉集古館
-- Paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, etc. Works by Koetsu and Korin

* in the grounds of the Okura Hotel, near the American Embassy in Minato-ku. A healthy walk uphill from Toranamon (Ginza subway line).

Seikado Museum
--Very important collection of paintings and calligraphy. Sotatsu's screen paintings of scenes from the Tale of Genji, fragments of the important Heiji monogatari battle scroll. Other narrative scrolls, Buddhist paintings, sculpture, ceramics. A small museum, only a fraction of its holdings can be shown at one time.

*Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. Tel. 03-3700-2250
Shin-Tamagawa line from Shibuya to Futako-tamagawa station. Best to take taxi from station (see Roberts for bus directions). 10:00-4:00 (spring and autumn).

Suntory Art Gallery
-- Paintings, lacquer, ceramics, etc. in the permanent collection. Interesting loan exhibitions, mainly of the decorative arts. Contains a small library, reading room and tea ceremony room.

* 11th floor of Tokyo Suntory Building, one minute's walk from Akasaka-mitsuke subway station (Ginza or other lines). From the koban (police box) by the main exit of the subway station, walk toward the raised expressway. (Tokyo Suntory bldg., 1-2-3 Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo107-8430; tel. 3-3470-1073)

Tokyo National Museum (Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan)
-- The largest museum in Japan with the "finest and most extensive collection of Japanese art and archaeology in the world." See Roberts' Guide for an overview. Web site is Japanese except for a current exhibition guide in English. (Not always very current).

* In Ueno Park.Ten minutes' walk from JR Ueno station ("Koen-guchi" or Park exit) or a little more from Ueno station on the Ginza or Hibiya lines. This map (J) shows the location of the museum (purple) in relation to Ueno JR station.

Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art
(Tokyo Kokuritsu Kindai Bijutsukan)
-- "Every artist of any importance from the Meiji period to the present is represented in this collection" (Roberts).

* Tozai subway line to Takebashi, then walk into Kitanomaru park (5 mins.). Closed on Sunday.

Waseda University Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum (Waseda Daigaku Tsubouchi-hakase Kinen Engeki Hakubutsukan)
-- Tsubouchi was a pioneer translator of Shakespeare and innovating figure in themodern Japanese drama world. Covers traditional Japanese theater as well as Japanese theatrical movements from the Meiji period onwards, Asian and European drama.

* Tozai subway line to Waseda, or JR Yamanote to Takadanobaba and then bus to Waseda Seimon-mae (main gate).

UKIYO-E COLLECTIONS

Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial Museum of Art (Ota Kinen Bijutsukan )
*Very close to Jingumae station on the Chiyoda line subway. Or a short walk from Harajuku JR station (Yamanote Line). 1-10-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (Tel. 03-3403-0880)

Hiraki Ukiyo-e Bijutsukan
-- On the 6th floor of the Yokohama branch of Sogo, Japan's largest department store. Access from within JR Yokohama station, watch out for the SOGO signs. Yokohama Sogo 6th Floor. Tel. 045-465-2233

FURTHER AFIELD

Japan Calligraphy Museum (Nihon Shodo Bijutsukan)
-- large collection of 20th-century calligraphy.

*1-3-1 Tokiwadai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 174-8688. Tojo line from Ikebukuro to Tokiwadai. Tel. 03-3965-2611.

Kamakura National Treasure House (Kamakura Kokuhokan)
-- Buddhist and Shinto art works and objects from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods. "It is essential for the student of Japanese art to see this collection" (Roberts). We will go here on our fieldtrip to Kamakura.

* In the precincts of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine in Kamakura city.

Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art （川村記念美術館）
--An eclectic mixture: paintings by Frans Hals, Frank Stella, and an Important Cultural Property by important Momoyama period artist Hasegawa Tohaku (長谷川等伯) (1539-1610). See Japanese gallery page for Tohaku's Heron and Crow screens (an Important Cultural Property), together with Ogata Korin's Willow and Water Birds, Yokoyama Taikan's Shining Japan (1943) and other paintings.

*Sakado, Sakura City, Chiba 285-8505. Tel. 043-498-2131
Map (English). Instructions: Either JR-Sobu Line from Tokyo station or Keisei Line from Ueno station to Sakura station. (80 min. from Tokyo in Narita direction.) Museum shuttle bus leaves from the south exit of JR/Keisei stations. 9:30-5:00 (April-Oct), 9:30-4:30 (Nov-March). Closed Tuesdays, New Year holidays. Admission: 800 yen.

Kyusei Atami Art Museum
-- Large and important collection, including Japanese paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, and sculpture. Monthly exhibitions.

* Atami City, Shizuoka Pref. (JR Tokaido line from Tokyo to Atami station.) Closed Thurs.

MOA Museum of Art (MOA Bijutsukan)
--Large and varied collection in beautiful site overlooking the city of Atami on the coast.

*26-2 Momoyama-cho, Atami-shi, Shizuoka. Tel. 0557-84-2511

National Museum of Japanese History
(Kokuritsu rekishi minzoku hakubutsukan) 国立歴史民俗博物館
(Not in Roberts' second edition.) Major collection of ethnology/popular history.

* in Sakura City, Chiba. See Kawamura above for details.

A FEW OTHER TOKYO MUSEUMS (of hundreds)

Aida Mitsuo Museum (相田みつを美術館）

--Gallery space in Ginza featuring work of calligrapher and poet Aida Mitsuo. See his calligraphy on the elegant web pages (Japanese only).

*Ginza Toshiba Building 5th floor. On Harumi-dori, the street running from Yurakucho to Ginza. Diagonally opposite the Sony Building. Exit C2 or C3 from Ginza subway station. See map. 10:30-5:30, closed Mondays. 800 yen. tel. 03-3575-0481, 24 hr. telephone guide 03-3575-0482.

The Edo-Tokyo Museum
--Opened in 1993, this unusually shaped museum focusses on Tokyo's history and culture.

*1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-0015. Tel. 03-3626-9974
"Three minute walk from the west exit of Ryogoku Station on the JR Sobu Line." See English directions on web page. 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. (Thursday and Friday until 8 p.m.). Admission: 600 yen (permanent exhibition)

Hara Museum of Contemporary Art (Hara bijutsukan)

*4-7-25 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo-140-0001
Tel. 3-3445-0651

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
--New addition to Tokyo's museums. Waterfront site.

Odakyu Museum
--Exhibition space. Shinjuku Odakyu department store (?check)

Sogetsu Bijutsukan
--collection of SHITEGAWARA Sofu, founder of Sogetsu school of flower arrangement. Ancient and modern art of Japan and other cultures.

*Near Akasaka mitsuke subway station. Tel. 03-3408-9112
(7-2-21 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052)

Tobu Museum
--Exhibition space. Tobu department store, Ikebukuro (JR Yamanote Line)

Tokyo Station Museum
--Exhibition space in old brick (Marunouchi) side of Tokyo station.

Yamatane Museum of Art (Yamatane Bijutsukan)
--Modern and contemporary Japanese art.

*Sanban-cho KS bldg., 2 Sanban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; tel. 03-3239-5911)

Yasuda Kasai Seiji Togo Memorial Museum of Art

--Standing collection includes van Gogh's Sunflowers. The purchase of this painting for a record price in 1986 at the height of Japan's economic bubble made headlines around the world. The core of the collection consists of works painted between 1914 and 1977 by by TOGO Seiji, an artist in the yooga or Western manner. Other painters represented include Renoir, Cezanne, Gaugin,

--Exhibition from Sat. Oct 9th - Sun. Dec 26th, 1999: "Fondation Rau Collection--From the Renaissance, Baroque, through Impressionism to Nabis" (closed Mondays except Oct 11th).

*On 42nd floor of the Yasuda Fire Headquarters building in Shinjuku's high-rise district. English map. Tel. 03-3349-3081. (1-26-1, Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8338)

English information about other museums

Acknowlegements

I started by gleaning from Laurance P. Roberts, Roberts' Guide to Japanese Museums (Kodansha, 1978) a list of museums in the Tokyo area. Then I did online searches, adding information as I found it. The pages of Japan information network pages mentioned above saved me much time. I also enjoyed reading "museum-cafe", the account of a museum-loving university sophomore (Japanese).

Suggestion, corrections welcome

Michael Watson
Faculty of International Studies, Meiji Gakuin University
Yokohama 244-8539, Japan
fax +81 (45) 863-2265
watson@k.meijigakuin.ac.jp

See my main web site at: http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~watson