Sakhalin Regional State Museum of Art, Art museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia

The Sakhalin Regional State Museum of Art occupies the former Hokkaido Takushoku Bank Toyohara branch, built in 1930 by an unknown Japanese architect in late Art Nouveau style. The two-storey building in central Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk was reconstructed in the mid-1980s and handed to the museum by the Sakhalin branch of the USSR State Bank. Its galleries hold over 16,000 items, from Christian icons to Korean contemporary art.

The museum was created by order of the RSFSR Ministry of Culture on 1 August 1983, followed by a Sakhalin regional culture department order on 20 September 1983; its exhibitions opened on 25 March 1989. It occupies the former Hokkaido Takushoku Bank building, built in 1930 by an unknown Japanese architect in late Art Nouveau style. In the mid-1980s the building was reconstructed and handed to the museum by the Sakhalin branch of the USSR State Bank.

The museum's name in Russian is Sakhaliнский областной государственный художественный музей. Its permanent displays include Christian Art, Modern Art of Korea and Russian Art of the 19th to early 20th centuries. A separate section is devoted to artworks about Anton Chekhov, who travelled across Sakhalin in 1890.

Visitors can arrange guided tours through the collections and participate in educational programs and community events organized by museum staff. It is helpful to check ahead about which activities are available during your visit.

The building itself is the overlooked fact: it was built in 1930 as the Hokkaido Takushoku Bank's Toyohara branch, designed by an unidentified Japanese architect in late-modernist style. In the mid-1980s the Sakhalin branch of the USSR State Bank reconstructed it and handed it to the museum. It is listed as a regional cultural heritage site.