Gotoh Museum

The Gotoh Museum in Kaminoge presents Japanese artworks in a building that echoes traditional architecture and includes several exhibition rooms and a landscaped garden. The rooms display scrolls, ceramics, and textiles in cases that allow close viewing of details.

Keita Gotoh, who built the Tokyu railway lines, collected Japanese artworks for decades and founded the museum in 1960 to display them. After his death, descendants expanded the collection and organized the management of the holdings.

The collection holds artworks that Gotoh personally gathered, including tea ceremony objects and Buddhist paintings from the 8th to 14th centuries. Visitors experience the presentation in quiet rooms where rotating exhibitions direct attention to lacquerware, ink painting, and hand-copied sutras.

Access is through the Tokyu Oimachi Line to Kaminoge Station, from where it is a five-minute walk. Exhibitions rotate, so checking current themes beforehand is worthwhile if specific artworks are the focus of the visit.

Architect Isoya Yoshida designed the building in the style of noble residences from the Heian period, with wide roofs and an open room structure. This reference to historical dwellings fits into the surrounding garden that encircles the museum grounds.

Location: Kaminoge

Inception: 1960

Architects: Isoya Yoshida

Official opening: April 18, 1960

Address: 3 Chome-9-25 Kaminoge, Setagaya City, Tokyo 158-0093

Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-17:00; Monday off

Phone: +81357778600

Website: https://gotoh-museum.or.jp/en/overview-en

GPS coordinates: 35.61244,139.63536

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:30