About Fukuda Art Museum
The Fukuda Art Museum is a private art museum that opened in October 2019 in Ukyo-ku, Kyoto. It houses and exhibits art collected by Kyoto businessman FUKUDA Yoshitaka to contribute to the local community by opening an art museum, and aims to become one of the world's leading cultural destinations under the concept of “an art museum that will last for 100 years”.
Saga Arashiyama, where the museum is located, is an area of temples and shrines that have left their mark on history, centering on the Togetsu Bridge. The area is known for its beautiful seasonal scenery, and has been a place where many aristocrats and cultured people have gathered since ancient times, and where artists have created excellent works of art.
At the Fukuda Art Museum, visitors can view outstanding works of Japanese art, including those by such famous artists as ITO Jakuchu and MARUYAMA Oukyo, both of whom were associated with the Kyoto art world and are still very popular today. It is also nice to know that visitors can take photographs of most of the works on display, with the exception of some of the exhibits.
In the architecture that protects the artworks as well, the museum's charm lies in its modernity, which is both traditional and incorporates the sensibilities of a new era. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing time while appreciating the Fukuda Art Museum's commitment to the relationship between the masterpieces and the wonderful scenery of Saga Arashiyama.
Fukuda Art Museum Access & Information
Address | 3-16 Sagano-baba-cho, Tenryuji, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto |
Tel | 075-863-0606 |
Access from the nearest station | ・12 minutes walk from Saga-Arashiyama Station on the JR Sanin Line (Sagano Line). ・11 minutes walk from “Arashiyama” station on Hankyu Arashiyama line ・4 minutes walk from “Arashiyama” station on the Randen (Keifuku Electric Railway) line. |
Hours | 10:00 - 17:00 (admission until 16:30) |
Closed | Exhibition renewal period, Year-end and New Year's holidays |
Admission | Adults and university students: 1,500 (1,400) yen, high school students: 900 (800) yen, elementary and junior high school students: 500 (400) yen, persons with disabilities and up to one attendant: 900 (800) yen each *Prices in ( ) are for groups of 20 or more people (reservation required). *Free of charge for infants and children. *Please present your disability certificate. *Discount tickets are available for Saga Arashiyama Bunka-kan and Saga Arashiyama Museum. *Discounts are available under certain other conditions. |
Facilities | Wheelchair and stroller rental, nursing room, multipurpose restroom, parking lot for disabled persons, assistance dogs allowed |
Note | There is no general parking. Please use nearby parking lots. Visitors with disabilities or wheelchair users who wish to use the parking lot must contact the museum in advance. |
Official Website |
Highlights of the Fukuda Art Museum
Collections
At the Fukuda Art Museum, visitors can enjoy Japanese art from the Edo period to the modern era. The Fukuda Art Museum has a collection of approximately 2,000 works based on the concept that “even those who are not familiar with art can be moved by the artworks". The museum pays particular attention to works from the Kyoto art world, many of which are on display for the first time at the museum. Visitors can view the artworks of MARUYAMA Okyo, ITO Jakucho, TAKEUCHI Seiho, UEMURA Shoen, YOKOYAMA Taikan, TAKEHISA Yumeji, and other leading artists of Japanese art all at the same time.
architecture
The museum was designed by architect YASUDA Koichi. One of his best-known works is the “Pola Museum of Art,” an art museum in the forest that won the AIJ Prize and the Murano Togo Prize. Yasuda places great importance on respecting the surrounding environment as much as possible in his designs. The Fukuda Art Museum was also designed under the theme of “integrating the inside and outside of the museum.
The Fukuda Art Museum's surroundings are the most scenic in Kyoto. While retaining the essence of a traditional Kyoto machiya, new Japanese architecture has been incorporated to create an art museum that will last for the next 100 years.
The modern Japanese-style exterior blends well with the scenery of the Ohigawa River and Arashiyama, and the corridor is like an open-air porch that creates a sense of connection with the outside world. In addition, the glass cases in the exhibition rooms, which are designed to resemble storehouses protecting collections, provide a space for appreciation with high transparency of 92% and large 4-meter-wide glass.
The Saga-Arashiyama area has landscape regulations that require silver-gray Japanese roof tiles as the basic roofing material. Yasuda, in response to this regulation, combined silver-gray tinted ceramic tile rods with metal roofing to create a roof design that blends in with the surrounding environment of Saga Arashiyama. The new architectural beauty rooted in the landscape of the ancient capital is remarkable.
Representative Past Exhibits
The Fukuda Art Museum does not have a permanent collection. The museum replaces artworks according to the content of seasonal exhibitions, so you can see new pieces every time you visit.
In addition to retrospective exhibitions focusing on painters associated with Kyoto, the museum also offers attractive exhibits that can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages together, such as special exhibitions that compare animals to themes and special exhibitions of beautiful paintings from the museum's diverse collection.
Major Exhibitions
"Fukubi Collection Exhibition" (2019)
"All About Beauty Returns” (2021)
"Tigers, Sometimes Cats: The Chinese Zodiac Settlers” (2022)
"All About TAKEHISA Yumeji: A Painter is a Poet and a Designer” (2023)
"Edo Paintings from Zero” (2023) Jakuchu, oh! Hokusai, wow! Risetsu” (2023)
"You're Too Beautiful: Beautiful Paintings from the Fukuda Collection” (2024)
Museum Shop
The museum shop offers exhibition catalogs and a lineup of goods based on the concept of “something you would want to use in your daily life or give as a gift to someone.
Stationery items such as masking tapes and labels with motifs of the museum collection will make you want to get one for yourself. Guilt-free chocolates and Japanese tea bags in sophisticated packaging also make great souvenirs.
Also look out for original goods made in collaboration with young creators and local companies, as well as handicrafts by Kyoto-related artists.
Opening hours: 10:00-17:00 (last order 16:30)
Closed: Same as the museum
Café and Restaurant Information
The Fukuda Art Museum has a café “Bread, Espresso, and the Fukuda Art Museum” open only to visitors. This café is a sister store of the bakery café “Bread and Espresso and” in Omotesando, Tokyo.
One of the café's attractions is the 180-degree panoramic view of the Ohigawa River, Togetsu Bridge, and even Arashiyama. By creating deep eaves, reflections from the glass are suppressed, creating a space with a calm level of luminosity.
After viewing the artworks, why not enjoy a drink, light meal or sweets while soaking up the afterglow in this special space?
In the menu, there are cafe drinks, food items such as a beef pastrami and camembert panini set, and sweets including a coffee jelly sundae set and seasonal blessed parfaits, so you may find it hard to decide what to order.
Opening hours: 10:00-17:00 (last order 16:30)
Closed: Same as the museum
Recommended spots around Fukuda Art Museum
Togetsu Bridge, Bamboo grove path-- Tour of famous places in Saga Arashiyama
The Saga-Arashiyama area where the Fukuda Art Museum is located is surrounded by beautiful nature and dotted with temples, shrines, and Buddhist temples that are steeped in Kyoto's history. Why not tour them in conjunction with your visit to the Fukuda Art Museum?
The first place to visit is the Togetsukyo Bridge, which is a symbol of the Saga-Arashiyama area. Togetsukyo Bridge spans the Ohigawa River, called the Hozu River upstream and the Katsura River downstream. The bridge has been loved by many people since the Heian period (794-1185), when Emperor Kameyama said, “The moon seemed to cross the bridge,” hence its name.
The scenery changes with spring, summer, fall, and winter, as well as with the time of day, making it a place that can be enjoyed no matter how many times one visits. The cherry blossoms in spring and the autumn beautiful greenery, and “Arashiyama Cormorant Fishing(Ukai),” which uses an ancient fishing method. leaves in fall are especially special.
Visitors can also enjoy “Arashikyo Meguri,” a houseboat tour along the Ohigawa River to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the stream and the beautiful.
As well as the Togetsukyo Bridge, Saga Arashiyama's “Bamboo Grove Path” is a spot that should not be missed. As the name suggests, Bamboo Grove Lane is a magnificent 400-meter-long bamboo grove. A stroll in the daytime, when you can enjoy the verdant bamboo grove, or in the evening, when the fantastic sight is beautiful, is also recommended.
In addition to strolling in the nature, a visit to temples and shrines is also attractive. Tenryu-ji Temple, the head temple of the Tenryu-ji School of the Rinzai Sect of Zen Buddhism, is famous for the “Cloud and Dragon” painted on the ceiling of its Dharma Hall and the “Daruma” in its storeroom, and Suzumushi Temple (Kegonji Temple), where the sound of bell bugs can be enjoyed year-round, are among the many spots that will stimulate the senses of art fans.
Saga Arashiyama Bunka-kan
"Saga Arashiyama Bunkakan” is a museum specializing in Hyakunin Isshu and Japanese paintings. It is located about a 2- to 3-minute walk from the Fukuda Art Museum, and a special shared ticket is also available.
Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is one of the best known waka poems. The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu began when Fujiwara no Sadaie, a poet active from the late Heian period to the early Kamakura period, selected excellent waka poems at the foot of Mt. Saga Arashiyama Bunkakan, located in the birthplace of the Hyakunin Isshu, has a permanent exhibition that introduces the history and charm of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, and explains in an easy-to-understand manner how the game was developed into the modern competitive karuta.
Saga Arashiyama is also one of the most famous tourist destinations in Japan, closely associated with the oldest full-length novel, “The Tale of Genji”. Murasaki Shikibu, the author of the novel, was chosen as one of the poets for the Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poems), and the area is dotted with places that appear in the work.
Participatory events such as lectures by experts are also held. The museum also has the open-air “Arashiyama OMOKAGE Terrace” and a museum store (both of which can be used without an admission fee), which are recommended for a short break and souvenir shopping.
There are 100 waka poem monuments in five parks and public lands near Saga Arashiyama Bunka-kan, including Kameyama Park and Arashiyama Higashi Park, which were selected for the Hyakunin Isshu poem anthology. Why not visit the museum and look for the poetic monuments at the same time?
Address | 11 Sagano-baba-cho, Tenryuji, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto |
Tel | 075-882-1111 |
Access from the nearest station | ・14 minutes walk from Saga-Arashiyama Station on the JR Sanin Line (Sagano Line) ・Take the Hankyu Arashiyama Line and get off at “Arashiyama” Station. 13 minutes walk from the station. ・Take the Randen (Keifuku Electric Railway) Ranzanmoto Line and get off at “Arashiyama” Station. 5 minutes walk. |
Opening hours | 10:00 - 17:00 (admission until 16:30) |
Closed | Year-end and New Year holidays, exhibition change periods |
Admission | 1,000 (900) yen for adults and university students, 600 (500) yen for high school students, 400 (350) yen for elementary and junior high school students Includes admission to the permanent exhibition. *Prices in ( ) are for groups of 20 or more people. *600 (500) yen each for a person with disabilities and up to one attendant. *Free admission for infants. *Discounts are available under certain conditions. |
Facilities | Wheelchair parking available (contact at least 2 days prior to use), slopes, elevators, multipurpose restrooms, guide dogs allowed |
Note | There is no general parking. Please use public transportation. |
Official Web site |