Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki, Art museum in Senba Park, Mito, Japan.
The Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki is an art museum in Mito, Japan, housed in a granite-walled building with a green roof on the edge of Lake Senba. The building was designed by architect Junzō Yoshimura and holds a large collection of modern works from Japan and abroad.
The museum opened in October 1988 and has built up a collection of more than 4,000 works since then. The collection traces how modern art developed in Japan and Europe from the late 19th century onward.
The museum displays works by Japanese painters such as Yokoyama Taikan alongside Western artists like Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet. Seeing these works together shows how Japanese and European painting traditions met and influenced each other over time.
The museum sits within Senba Park, about a 20-minute walk from Mito Station. It is worth leaving extra time to walk along the lake before or after your visit.
The museum contains a reconstructed atelier of local painter Nakamura Gakuryū, with his personal belongings and historical documents on display. This room gives a concrete sense of how a modern Japanese painter worked and lived day to day.
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