Akita Prefectural Art Museum

The new Akita Prefectural Art Museum’s simple concrete facade is a distinctive feature of Tadao Ando’s architectural style. Inaugurated in 1967, the original building was relocated, then replaced in the 2010s by a new construction designed by one of the trendiest contemporary Japanese architect in Japan and in the world.

Tadao Ando largely drew inspiration from the previous museum’s form: a triangle shape that became a regular pattern in the current building. For example, the spiral stairway in the reception hall is overlooked by a large and bright triangle-shaped ceiling light.

From its location near Senshu Park, at the center of Akita City, the upper floor of the museum provides a nice panoramic view on the site of the former Kubota castle 🏯. On a side note, access to the café and the souvenir shop is free and these are also the only places where pictures are allowed at the museum, as picture and videos are banned in the exhibition areas. The artistic experience is only available at the museum's site.

Exhibition dedicated to Léonard Foujita

The museum is sheltering a beautiful collection themed on Tsuguharu Fujita (1886 – 1968), a Japanese painter and amateur of Western art of the early 20th century. He lived in Paris along with the times’ great artists, like Picasso and Modigliani, and became a successful painter during the 1920s and was naturalized French citizen in 1955. He lived a tumultuous life, traveling a lot, making countless artistic encounters and enjoying an animated love life.

During the few years he was back in Japan, Foujita completed in 1937 one of his great murals that commemorated the folklore of Akita City. The gigantic painting called "The Events of Akita" (秋田の行事 Akita no Gyouji in Japanese) is the museum’s centerpiece. It never ceases to impress with its large size, its bright colors and its characters that seem to be alive. The mural is a perfect illustration of the traditional seasonal matsuri festivals of Akita, as well as of the main regional industries (rice, sake 🍶, carpentry wood and oil).

Fujita offered the painting to his friend, Masakichi Hirano (1895 - 1989) a trader and art collector born in the area. The painting was initially made in a former kura warehouse, and the canvas was disassembled to transport it to the museum where it is displayed. The museum is also hosting temporary exhibitions that vary throughout the year; for example in November 2023, an interesting exposition was themed on the documentation work of the National Geographic.

The Akita Prefectural Art Museum is one of the must-sees of the city, within walking distance from the JR station, served by the Shinkansen 🚅 from Tokyo.