Tokyo's Fuji Museum of Art 東京富士美術館
Discover Eastern and Western art in the same museum
Not far from the center of Tokyo, the Fuji Art Museum offers a beautiful journey from Japanese calligraphy to the French impressionists, through an astonishing and immense collection.
A "gateway" museum
The Fuji Art Museum, located in southwest Tokyo, was established by Daisaku Ikeda in 1983 . The idea and the construction of this museum was born from the meeting between the French art historian René Huyghe and Daisuku Ikeda . Indeed, it was Huyghe who convinced the greatest French museums to lend some of their works for a major exhibition entitled "The masterpieces of French art" , on the occasion of the inauguration of the museum of Fuji art. The exhibition was a huge success and still today, the museum relies on its credo, "to be a museum creating bridges around the world".
Today, the museum's collection is made up of 30,000 works , Japanese, Eastern and Western art objects, including paintings, prints, photos, ceramics, lacquerware, armor... and many more. others. The collection of Western paintings is particularly recognized: for its quality, but also because it covers 5 centuries of art , from the Baroque period of the 16th century to the modern period of the middle of the 20th century.
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The museum's collection is interesting and unique because it mixes all the artistic techniques , even the rarest, through the ages, but also presents Eastern works, as well as Western ones . The rooms are therefore in a way the splits, which will delight all art lovers, whatever their preferences and sensitivities.
Splendid pieces of oriental art
The museum is the proud owner of several ukiyo-e works, notably by the hand of Hokusai , such as the "Great Wave off Kanagawa" , or the "Fuji on a Clear Day", as well as the "Storm under the summit", all part of the famous Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series.
You will also be able to admire a very fine selection of screens made with gold leaf , with delicate golden reflections, presenting various decorations, plants, battle scenes or landscapes. Belonging to the Kano and Hasegawa school , they date from the Edo period (1603-1868) and the Azuchi Momoyama period (1573-1603). It is rare to be able to admire so many, gathered in one place.
The storm below the summit of Mount Fuji
Library of Congress
Late Edo period armor
Fuji Art Museum
Chinese phoenix screen, Edo period
Fuji Art Museum
In the oriental art branch, you will also find masterpieces of Chinese ceramics , lacquer objects, calligraphy, but also a huge collection of Japanese armor and weapons .
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West side
The Fuji Art Museum's collection of European works is impressive. Visitors are lucky enough to be able to see works by painters from the Flemish schools , such as Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Rubens and Van Dyck.
But also of Italian painters of the Renaissance like Bellini.
French painting enthusiasts will also be delighted to be able to admire paintings by Georges de La Tour.
In the following rooms, works from the 18th century are presented, with eminent painters and sculptors worthy of the Louvre such as François Boucher, Jean-Siméon Chardin, Jean-Antoine Watteau, Fragonard or even Falconet .
The periods of the Revolution but also of the First Empire are also illustrated: you will find many portraits of Napoleon, but also paintings by Delacroix, Ingres and Jean-Antoine Gros , eminent artists of the period.
Portrait of a Prosecutor, by Bellini, 1507
Fuji Art Museum
Georges de La Tour, Smoker, 1646
Fuji Art Museum
Boucher, Pastoral Music, 1743
Fuji Art Museum
The 19th and 20th centuries are especially well represented in this museum. The Impressionist school is displayed on the walls, with big names like Monet, Renoir, Corot, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas and Berthe Morisot .
You will also find works of Art Nouveau style.
Modern art lovers will also be delighted: in the rooms of the museum, the big names follow one another: Picasso, Braque, Modigliani, Chagall, Bonnard, Magritte, Miro, Warhol ,... and many others.
A fine series of photographs by Man Ray is also presented.
Monet, The seaside and the cliffs of Pourville in the morning
Fuji Art Museum
Pissarro, Hyde Park
Fuji Art Museum
Modigliani, Portrait of Dr Paul Alexandre
Fuji Art Museum
Special exhibitions
Finally, a new wing opened in 2008, allowing the museum to organize various exhibitions. The permanent collection is divided into several themes or periods, which change regularly. "Special exhibitions" are also offered to visitors : the beginning of 2019 hosted, for example, an exhibition on the work of Léonard Foujita .
Cultural exchanges are also highlighted: from October 5, 2019 to January 19, 2020, an exhibition entitled "Through the eyes of René Huyghe: the quintessence of French painting, from Nicolas Poussin to Edouard Manet" will be presented. At the same time, you can also visit another temporary exhibition, "The world of Yamamoto Nizo, master of Japanese animation" .
Address, timetable & access
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Address
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Phone
+81 42-691-4511 -
Timetable
From JR Hachioji Station, North Exit, take the Nishi-Tokyo bus, get off at the Sōka-dai Seimon Tokyo Fuji Art Museum stop. Or from Keio-Hachioji station, take the same bus. -
Price
Special exhibition and permanent exhibition ticket: 1300 yen (10€), 800 yen (6€30) for students, 400 yen (3€) for children Admission is free on your birthday. -
Access
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. -
Website
https://www.fujibi.or.jp/fr/index.html
