Kanazawa Nakamura Memorial Museum, Art museum in Hondamachi, Japan.
The Kanazawa Nakamura Memorial Museum is an art museum in Hondamachi that focuses on Japanese tea ceremony arts and related crafts. The collection includes calligraphy, paintings, lacquerware, and pottery displayed across multiple exhibition spaces and traditional rooms.
The museum was founded in 1965 by Eishun Nakamura, president of Nakamura Sake Brewing Company, who wanted to share his private collection publicly. Kanazawa City took ownership in 1975, transforming it into a municipal institution.
The collection reflects items valued in Japanese tea ceremony practice, including a Joseon dynasty tea bowl and a tea caddy from the Southern Song and Ming periods. These objects remain displayed in dedicated spaces that show the aesthetic tastes that guided Japanese collectors.
The museum typically operates during standard business hours and offers a quiet visiting experience with minimal crowds. The location in Hondamachi is easily walkable, and the traditional room layout encourages a leisurely pace through the displays.
The museum contains two authentic tea house structures named Bai-an and Koun-an where visitors can experience an actual tea ceremony in traditional garden settings. This hands-on experience is uncommon in museums and provides insight into a living cultural practice.
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