About Ohara Museum Of Art
The Ohara Museum of Art, Japan's first private museum focusing on Western art, was opened in 1930 as a result of the deep friendship between OHARA Magosaburo, a businessman born in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, and KOJIMA Torajiro, a painter from Okayama. With Ohara's support, Kojima studied painting and traveled to Europe three times. Their close age relationship transcended that of artist and patron, and they developed a lifelong friendship. With funding from Ohara, the museum displays and exhibits works collected by Kojima during his stay in Europe, as well as works by Kojima, who died at the young age of 47. Based on the belief that ‘an art museum is something that lives and grows’, the museum has amassed a rich collection and also focuses on educational outreach and other activities for children and adults.
The museum consists of several buildings, including the main building, an annex (closed as of August 2024) and the Crafts and Toyokan, and a special exhibition will be held at Arinon-so, the villa of the Ohara family opposite the museum.
*The Torajiro Kojima Memorial Museum is scheduled to open in spring 2025.
The water lilies in the pond in the courtyard next to the Arts and Crafts Museum were planted on the 70th anniversary of the museum in 2000 from the garden of the artist Claude Monet's Giverny home. The pretty yellow and pink flowers bloom every year and are at their best in summer.
Access and use of Ohara Museum of Art
Address | 1-1-15 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
Tel | 086-422-0005 |
Access from nearest station | 15 min walk from JR Kurashiki Station. |
Opening hours | 《Dec-Feb》 9:00-15:00 (last admission 14:30) 《Mar-Nov》 9:00-17:00 (last admission 16:30). *Varies according to the time of year. |
Closed | Mondays, closed during winter (open if the closing day falls on a public holiday or substitute holiday; late July-August). |
Admission | 《Honkan / Crafts & Toyokan common》 Adults ¥2,000, high school, junior high school and primary schools students (under 18 years old) ¥500. |
Facilities | no parking; free luggage storage next to the ticket office; free wheelchair and stroller rental. |
Official website |
Highlights of the Ohara Museum of Art
Collections
Ohara Museum of Art has a collection of approximately 3,000 items, including masterpieces of Western and Japanese art, mainly from the modern and contemporary periods, as well as antiquities from China and the Orient. It is one of Japan's leading museums focusing on Western art, where visitors can also admire masterpieces such as El Greco's ‘Annunciation’, Monet's ‘Waterlilies’, Gauguin and Renoir.
The museum's representative works include "The Belgian Girl in Kimono", painted by KOJIMA Torajiro, who made a major contribution to the establishment of the museum, when he studied in Belgium, and "Takamochihi Fence" by MUNAKATA Shiko, who loved Tsuyama in Okayama Prefecture and was a frequent visitor to the area.
Architecture
The Ohara Museum of Art was designed by Okayama-born architect YAKUSHIJI Kazue. The exterior of the main building, with its massive exterior modeled on the Ionic columns of ancient Greece, gives the museum a stately appearance befitting an exhibition of the works of a master artist. The building, together with two sculptures by Auguste Rodin near the entrance, welcomes visitors in a solemn atmosphere and can be considered a symbol of the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter.
The Crafts and Toyokan, where works by artists involved in the Mingei movement and East Asian antiques can be viewed, was converted from an Edo period rice warehouse. Like the main building, YAKUSHIJI Kazue designed Yurinso, the villa of the Ohara family.
Representative past exhibitions
The Ohara Museum of Art holds several exhibitions a year in addition to its permanent collection in its Honkan, Crafts and Toyokan and Arinenso. The exhibitions held in the Yurin-so Villa are particularly popular, with many visitors attracted by the atmospheric way in which the Japanese and Western-style rooms are used to great effect.
〈Main exhibitions〉
Special exhibition at Arinon-so in spring 2023: ‘Monochrome: Colors that Resonate with Space’ (2023).
‘ARKO2023: Natsuko Tanihara’ (2023)
Autumn 2023 Arinrin-so special exhibition ‘Family Shapes’ (2023)
‘AM Kurashiki vol.17 TAKAMATSU Asuka - Light travels around the world’ (2024).
Special exhibition ‘Do different cultures resonate? Opening the door to the contemporary through the Ohara Collection' (2024)
Museum shop
The museum shop at the Ohara Museum of Art, which reopened in 2022, offers a wide variety of goods featuring works from the museum's collection. Postcards, catalog books, reproductions of master paintings, as well as T-shirts, scarves, sacoche, fans and other attractive items to add color to daily life are available in abundance.
Opening hours:
《Dec - Feb》10:00 - 16:00
《Mar-Nov》 Main shop 10:00-17:15.
Closed: Shops in the museum are closed in accordance with the museum.
*For more information, see the Ohara Museum of Art website.
Cafés and restaurants information
There is no café/restaurant in the museum. Recommended cafés in the neighbourhood are listed under the following headings.
Recommended places around the Ohara Museum of Art
Cafe El Greco
Next to the Ohara Museum of Art, there is a café called Cafe El Greco. The atmospheric ivy-covered exterior of this eye-catching building was built at the end of the Taisho era as the office of OHARA Magosaburo, founder of the OHARA MUSEUM of ART, and was later opened as a café in 1959 at the suggestion of Magosaburo's eldest son, Soichiro. Visitors can enjoy coffee, cakes and other refreshments in the shop, which displays, among other things, a reproduction of El Greco's Annunciation.
Address | 1-1-11 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture (next to Ohara Museum of Art) |
Tel | 086-422-0297 |
Access from nearest station | 15 min walk from JR Kurashiki Station. |
Opening hours | 10:00-17:00 (last admission 16:40) |
Closed | Mondays (open if Monday is a bank holiday) |
Official website |
Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter
The Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter in Okayama Prefecture is a classic sightseeing spot in Okayama, with whitewashed mansions, namako walls and traditional wooden houses that retain their Edo era appearance. It has been selected as an ‘Important Preservation Area for Groups of Traditional Buildings’ by the national government. In particular, the beautiful willow-tree-lined Kurashiki River and the old street ‘Honmachi-dori’ with its rows of wooden townhouses are highlighted when walking around the town.
There are many stylish cafés and souvenir shops in renovated "machiya" and "kura", as well as shops selling Kurashiki brands such as Kurashiki Canvas and Kurashiki Denim. There are also many other attractive cultural facilities in close proximity to the Ohara Museum of Art, making it an area where you can spend a whole day and enjoy yourself at your leisure.
UKIYO-E KURASHIKI / Kuniyoshikan
The UKIYO-E KURASHIKI / Kuniyoshikan, located in the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, was created as part of a project to promote the appeal of ukiyo-e to the world from the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter. It is also the first museum in the world to permanently exhibit the works of UTAGAWA Kuniyoshi, a leading ukiyo-e artist of the late Edo period. UTAGAWA Kuniyoshi has received high acclaim in recent years both at home and abroad for his bold compositions and outlandish ideas. The museum has a large collection of his works, including "The Ancient Interior of Soma", "Dragon Palace Tamatori Hime no Zu", "Dragon Palace: Three Souvenirs for Tawara Tota Hidesato", and about 100 selected works are on permanent display.
The museum café ‘Chaya Kuniyoshi’, where visitors can enjoy green tea and coffee surrounded by ukiyo-e prints, is also popular.
Address | 1-24 Honmachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
Tel | 090-8242-1443 |
Access from nearest station | 15 min walk from JR Kurashiki Station. |
Opening hours | 10:00-18:00 (last admission 17:30) |
Closed | Tuesdays (open if Tuesday is a public holiday), year-end and New Year holidays and temporary closures. |
Admission | ¥1,300 (1,000) for adults, ¥1,000 (800) for university and high school students, ¥500 (300) for junior high and primary school students, free for pre-school children. Prices in ( ) are for groups of 15 or more. |
Facilities | no parking. Use pay parking in the vicinity. |
Official website |
Kurashiki City Museum of Art
The Kurashiki Municipal Museum of Art is located in an area close to the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter. In addition to a rich collection of works by IKEDA Youson, a Japanese painter associated with Kurashiki City, the museum also houses approximately 11,000 paintings, sculptures and craft works by local artists such as Western-style painter SAKATA Kazuo and wood craftsman OHNO Showasai.
The building was designed by world-renowned architect TANGE Kenzo and utilizes the main building of the former City Hall, which has been designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. The distinctive third-floor auditorium design and the atrium entrance are among the museum's highlights. Special exhibitions are held several times a year and exhibition-related events and gallery talks are actively organized.
Address | 2-6-1 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
Tel | 086-425-6034 |
Access from nearest station | 15-minute walk south from JR Kurashiki Station. |
Opening hours | 9:00-17:15 (admission by 16:45) |
Closed | Mondays (or the following day if a bank holiday or substitute holiday), closed on year-end and New Year holidays, etc. Other temporary closures apply. |
Admission | 210 (150) yen for adults, 100 (70) yen for high school and university students, 50 (30) yen for elementary and junior high school students. Admission to collection exhibitions. Special exhibition fees are not included. Group discount rates for groups of 20 or more in brackets ( ). |
Facilities | no parking. Use pay parking in the vicinity. Wheelchair-accessible toilets available. |
Official website |
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