The Museum of Art, Kōchi, Art museum in Kōchi, Japan
The Museum of Art, Kōchi is a prefectural art museum in Kōchi City, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. Its exterior takes the form of a white-plastered kura storehouse, a design motif drawn from Tosa shikkui plaster. The building has three floors above ground and one below, with 11,906 m² of total floor area on a 20,000 m² site. It opened on 3 November 1993.
The museum opened in November 1993 as the first public art museum in Kōchi Prefecture. In the years that followed, it built up a focused collection of Western modern art, including a large group of works by Chagall.
The Chagall holdings centre on 1,202 prints, including the 800-plus works once owned by Kazuhiko Nishi, bought by Isao Okawa for 1 billion yen and donated in 1993; five oil paintings include "The Village Festival". The museum also keeps about 35,000 photographs by Yasuhiro Ishimoto, shown in a dedicated room.
The museum is a short walk from a tram stop, making it easy to reach without a car. Allow at least a couple of hours if you want to see the permanent collection and any temporary exhibitions.
Inside the building, there is a full traditional Noh stage that is used for actual performances, not just display. It is rare to find a working theater of this kind built into a modern art museum.
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