About The Himeji City Museum of Art
The Himeji City Museum of Art is located within the special historical site of Himeji Castle, a National Treasure and World Heritage Site. The museum is a popular place for citizens to relax and enjoy art surrounded by rich nature, and many people can be seen enjoying a stroll in the garden with outdoor sculptures.
The museum is characterized by its red-brick building, which stands out against the lawn, and houses a wide range of masterpieces of art related to the local area and modern and contemporary art from home and abroad.
The Himeji City Museum of Art, which was opened in 1983, has just celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023, and since 2021, as one of the bases of the All Himeji Arts & Life Project, has been involved in various initiatives such as the Garden Art Project and special exhibitions by invited artists-in-residence. During the Collection Gallery, volunteer staff regularly hold interpretation sessions to provide visitors with opportunities to deepen their understanding of the artworks.
Access and Visitor Information of The Himeji City Museum of Art
Address | 68-25 Honmachi, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, east side of Himeji Castle |
Tel | 079-222-2288 |
Access from the nearest station | 20 min walk from JR Himeji Station. |
Opening hours | 10:00-17:00 (admission by 16:30) |
Closed | Mondays (if Monday is a public holiday, the museum is closed on the following weekday), 28 Dec to 3 Jan, with temporary closures for exhibition changes. |
Admission | [Collection gallery] Free. [Special Exhibition Rooms] Admission varies according to the event. [KUNITOMI Keizo Collection Room] 210 (160) yen for adults, 150 (120) yen for university and high school students, 100 (80) yen for elementary and junior high school students *Prices in ( ) are for groups of 20 or more people. |
Facilities | 2 wheelchairs available for rent ( inside the museum ), 1 multipurpose toilet in the entrance hall on the 1st floor, 2 strollers available for rent ( inside the museum ), 1 nursery space in front of the women's toilets on the 1st floor. |
Note | There is no parking at the museum. Use a nearby pay parking lot. |
Official website |
Highlights of The Himeji City Museum of Art
Collections
The Himeji City Museum of Art has a collection of approximately 5,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, posters, crafts and swords. The museum's collection is based on three criteria: ‘outstanding works by artists associated with the local area and works of art related to local history and customs’, ‘modern and contemporary art from Japan’ and ‘modern and contemporary art from Belgium and other countries’.
Besides the Collection Gallery and the Special Exhibition Room, there is also the Kunitomi Keizo Collection Room, where works donated by Kunitomi Keizo, a resident of Himeji City in 1994, are on permanent display. Visitors can enjoy masterpieces of Western art, including Corot and Courbet representing modern French art, Monet and Pissarro of the Impressionist school, and Vlaminck and Matisse of the Fauvisme (Fauvisme) school.
Archetcture
The Himeji City Museum of Art is eye-catching with its distinctive design, including red bricks and gabled roofs (kirizumayane). The building was designed by MIYAMOTO Heiji and IDA Kumakichi, engineers of the Ministry of the Army, and was built in 1905 as the west warehouse of the Himeji Army Ordnance Depot. After the war, it was used for a long time as Himeji City Hall, but was reopened as an art museum when the City Hall was relocated.
When the building was renovated, it was awarded the ‘1st Hyogo Prefecture Green Architecture Award’ and the ‘10 Environmental Colours and Public Colours Award’ for its beautiful appearance and historical value, and in 2003 it was registered as a national tangible cultural property.
Representative past exhibitions
The Himeji City Museum of Art has just celebrated its 40th anniversary, and in 2023 it held an exhibition entitled ‘40th Anniversary Collection Exhibition: “The Rite of Spring” - The Land that Creates the Power of Life’. This exhibition sought inspiration from the ballet music "The Rite of Spring", which had a broad influence on 20th century art due to its innovation, and was organised into four chapters: "tradition", "innovation", "nostalgia" and "rhythm".
Attention has also been drawn to the work of NAKAYA Fujiko, an invited artist to the Garden Art Project in the All Himeji Arts & Life Project, who is working on a three-year plan to create a trilogy of ‘Fog Sculptures’ from 2022.
<Major exhibitions>
"Images of Japan: Swords, Fengyun and Seascapes" (2021)
"NODA Hiroshi: The Realism of Truth"(2022)
"TeamLab: Existence in an Infinite Continuum"(2023)
"40th Anniversary Collection Exhibition: The Rites of Spring - The Earth That Gives Birth to the Power of Life" (2023).
Museum shop
The museum shop of the Himeji City Museum of Art is located in front of the temporary exhibition rooms. In addition to current and past exhibition catalogs, the shop also offers a wide range of other items, such as picture postcards, clear files, Himeji's traditional craft, Home Leatherwork, and advance tickets for neighboring museums.
※The museum shop is only open during special exhibitions.
Café and restaurant information
The cafe is located in a corner of the Himeji City Museum of Art Hall. The open, relaxing space overlooking the museum's front garden is the perfect spot to take a breather between art visits.
Places to visit around the Himeji City Museum of Art
Himeji Castle
In 1993, Himeji-jo became Japan's first World Heritage Site, along with Horyu-ji Temple in Nara. It is a popular tourist site visited by many people from all over the world. It is also known as Shirasagi-jo (White Heron Castle) because of its beautiful white plaster walls, which look like a white egret spreading its wings.
Himeji Castle, famous for the legend of MIYAMOTO Musashi's extermination of ghosts, is lit up at night together with the Himeji City Art Museum, giving it a fantastic appearance. The castle is located to the west of the museum and is within walking distance, so be sure to extend your visit when you visit the museum.
Address | 68 Honmachi, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture |
Tel | 079-285-1146 |
Access from the nearest station | Take a Shinki Bus from the North Exit of JR Himeji Station, get off at Otemon-mae and walk for 5 minutes, or walk for 20 minutes from JR Himeji Station or Sanyo Himeji Station on the Sanyo Line. |
Opening hours | 9:00-17:00 (gates close at 16:00). *Varies according to season. |
Closed | 29 and 30 December. |
Admission | ¥1,000 for adults (18 years and older), ¥300 for children (elementary, junior high and high school students). |
Facilities | [About parking]. ・Private cars can park in pay parking lots in the vicinity. ・Small motorbikes and motorised bicycles can be parked in the Central Underground Bicycle Parking Area, Otemae Underground Bicycle Parking Area and Station West Underground Bicycle Parking Area. ・Large motorbikes should park in the Otemae Park Underground Parking Lot. |
Note | Wheelchair users are not allowed to visit Himeji Castle alone. However, if two or three skilled carers assist them, they can visit from the entrance to the castle tower area. Visiting the buildings is not permitted. (More than one carer is required as there are many steep slopes and steps). Japanese-guide, foreign-language tentative guide and Himeji Castle Premium Audio Guide available (all for a fee). |
Official website |
Himeji City Museum of Literature
Himeji City Museum of Literature is located north-west of Himeji Castle. The museum opened in April 1991 as part of the city's 100th anniversary celebrations. The museum comprises ‘the Himeji Castle Historical Monogatari Corridor’, which introduces the history of Himeyama, where Himeji Castle stands, and the stories born there; ‘the Kotoba no Mori Exhibition Room’, which introduces the charm of the people and works of authors through words; and "the SHIBA Ryotaro Memorial Room". The unique design of the building, designed by architect ANDO Tadao, is another attraction.
Address | 84, Yamano-i-cho, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture |
Tel | 079-293-8228 |
Access from the nearest station | 【From Shinki Bus Terminal in front of JR or Yamaden ‘Himeji’ Station.】 ◎Take a bus from platform 9, 10, 17 or 18, get off at ‘Ichinohashi Bungakukan-mae’ and walk north for approx. 4 minutes. (Some buses do not stop at Ichinohashi Bungakukan-mae, so please confirm if necessary.) ◎Take a 10-minute ride on the Castle Area Sightseeing Loop Bus from platform 6, get off at Shimizu Bridge (in front of the Museum of Literature) and walk west for about 3 minutes. |
Opening hours | 10:00-17:00 (admission by 16:30) |
Closed | Mondays (open if Monday is a public holiday), the day after a public holiday (open if Saturday or Sunday), year-end and New Year holidays (25 December to 5 January). |
Admission (permanent exhibition) | ¥450 for adults, ¥300 for university and high school students, ¥150 for junior high and primary school students. *Groups of 20 or more people get a discount of two percent each; prices for special exhibitions vary. |
Facilities | free parking (50 spaces), disabled parking (2 spaces), indoor/outdoor ramps/elevators, wheelchairs for rent, strollers for rent, multipurpose toilets (3 places), AED, nursing rooms, etc., Allowed to enter with assistance dogs (service dogs, guide dogs, hearing dogs). |
Official website |