The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National art museum in Kitanomaru Park, Tokyo, Japan.
The National Museum of Modern Art in Kitanomaru Park displays Japanese painting, printmaking and crafts from the past century and a half inside a multi-storey building with large windows. The structure stands on quiet grounds near the Imperial Palace and combines clean lines with views over trees and park paths.
The institution opened in 1952 as Japan's first national art collection in a different building and relocated here to Kitanomaru Park in 1969. Postwar architects designed the structure as a response to the growing collection and the need for a modern exhibition space.
The name of this institution in Kitanomaru Park reflects the period when Japan opened to Western artistic forms after 1868 and blended them with local traditions. Visitors today see works by Japanese artists who experimented with oil painting, ink and printmaking while mixing European styles with local subjects.
The museum opens from Saturday through Thursday between 10 and 17, and on Fridays until 20, most easily reached via Takebashi Station. Finding your way is straightforward as signs in the park guide you and the building is accessible from several entrances.
Visitors often do not notice that the building stands on part of the old Edo Castle grounds and the view from the windows shows the same hills the shogun regents once saw. The architects also chose materials and proportions that echo the traditional storehouses around the area.
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