A museum where you can appreciate Japanese culture and art in one location
The Adachi Museum of Art first opened in 1970 under the aegis of self-made businessman Zenko Adachi who had been born in the area. The main characteristic of the museum is that the major works of Japanese painting master, Taikan Yokoyama, make up such a large part of the exhibition that it can be called the Taikan Museum of Art. 120 of his famous works including “Autumn Leaves” and “Mountain After A Shower” are at the museum which provides a great amount of quantity and quality. Also, there are children’s paintings, pottery, wooden sculptures and the works of other famed contemporary Japanese artists. In accordance with the changing of the four seasons in the garden, the year is divided into 4 periods of exhibition to the public. In place of picture frames, the windows themselves provide views into the garden and with features such as “The Living Scroll” in which the outside gardens can be seen with the walls of the tokonoma alcoves taken out, the museum focuses on a presentation style which relates the message of “Being moved by beauty”.
The biggest attraction is the huge Japanese gardens which measure up to 165,000 square meters
Zenko Adachi believed that “The garden is also a picture”, and he himself went all around the country to amass rocks, pine trees and other examples of nature. Among the 6 gardens, the Dry Landscape Garden and the White Gravel and Pine Garden are especially popular. The elegant Dry Landscape Garden with its white sand and powerful arrangement of stones is like something out of an India-ink painting. And the scenery of flowing gravel at the tasteful White Gravel and Pine Garden takes on the motif of one of Yokoyama’s works, “Beautiful Pine Beach”. There is a dynamic expression from the large and small pine trees situated on the white gravel which leaves a deep impression upon all who visit. An American journal specializing in Japanese gardens has ranked it at No. 1, and the travel guide Michelin Green Guide Japon gave the highest ranking of 3 stars. The azalea of spring, the fresh leaves of summer, the colors of autumn and the snowscapes of winter provide splendid beauty throughout the four seasons so that it is worthy of frequent visits.