Adachi Museum of Art

The Adachi Museum of Art is a private museum of modern and contemporary Japanese art located in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Opened in 1970, the institution is distinguished by its exceptional holdings of nihonga (modern Japanese paintings), particularly works by Yokoyama Taikan, and by its celebrated Japanese gardens, which have been ranked as the finest in Japan for over two decades. The museum occupies a 165,000 square-meter site and holds approximately 1,500 works in its collection.

The museum was founded in 1970 by Adachi Zenko (1899-1990), a businessman and collector who was born in the Yasugi area. Adachi's passion for nihonga had been ignited in 1948 when he encountered the works of Yokoyama Taikan in Osaka, an experience that shaped his collecting for the remainder of his life. His son, Adachi Takanori, became director in 1987 and later served as an ambassador for the "Yokoso! Japan" tourism campaign from February 2009. The museum's holdings were significantly expanded through the acquisition of the collection of Kitazawa Toshio (1917-1997). In April 2020, the museum opened a separate hall dedicated to the works of Kitaoji Rosanjin, reflecting the continued growth and specialization of its collections.

The museum's collection centers on nihonga, with particular strength in works associated with both the Okakura Tenshin school and the Kyoto school. The painting collection encompasses works by Takeuchi Seiho (1864-1942), Kawai Gyokudo (1873-1957), Matsumura Shoen (1875-1949), Hashimoto Kansetsu (1883-1945), Murakami Kagaku (1888-1939), Hayami Gyoshu (1894-1935), and Ito Shinsui (1898-1972). Ink drawings by Tomioka Tessai, the last major painter in the nanga style, are also held, along with children's pictures by Suzuki Toshio and wood sculptures by Hirakushi Denchu (1872-1979). The museum possesses Munakata Shiko's series "Ten Great Disciples of Shaka" (Shaka ju daideshi). The ceramic collection, housed in its own dedicated building, features important works by Kitaoji Rosanjin (1893-1959) and Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966). The collection of approximately 1,300 works is displayed on a rotating basis, with presentations adjusted to harmonize with seasonal light conditions. In 2012, the museum participated in the Google Art Project, making 150 works by 62 artists available in high-resolution digital format.

The most prominent feature of the collection is the dedicated building for Yokoyama Taikan, the founder of modern Japanese painting, containing twenty of his works. This structure reflects Adachi Zenko's lifelong fascination with the artist. The ceramic collection is similarly distinguished by its own dedicated building, housing significant pieces by Kitaoji Rosanjin and Kawai Kanjiro. The separate Rosanjin Hall, opened in April 2020, further emphasizes the museum's commitment to this artist. The Michelin Green Guide Japan awarded the museum its top rating of three stars for elegance, while the French-language Guide Bleu (Hachette) also granted it three stars.

The museum complex occupies 165,000 square meters, with its gardens covering approximately 42,000 square meters. The site is surrounded by an extensive Japanese garden that employs shakkei (borrowed scenery), incorporating distant mountains into its composition. The garden unifies various traditional types into a single experiential whole, including a stroll garden, a large karesansui (dry rock garden) with carefully trimmed shrubs alongside naturalistic plantings, scattered boulders, and a tall waterfall at the coe edge. A defining characteristic of the design is that the garden cannot be entered but is viewed from within the museum through carefully planned narrow windows that frame the landscape like hanging or handscroll paintings. The tea house in the garden is a replica of Shokin-tei from the Katsura Villa, originally built by Kobori Enshu (1579-1647), and was named Juryu-an by Sen Hanso Soshitsu, the fifteenth head of the Ura-Senke school. In 2024, the garden was ranked as the finest Japanese garden by the American publication Sukiya Living Magazine: The Journal of Japanese Gardening for the twenty-second consecutive year.

The museum is located in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, near the castle town of Matsue, the prefectural capital. Access is provided by free shuttle bus from Yasugi Station, which is approximately fifteen minutes by JR train southeast of Matsue. Matsue is about thirty minutes from Izumo and Yonago airports, and three hours by train from Hiroshima. Additional free shuttle services operate from JR Yonago Station, Tamatsukuri Onsen, and Kaikei Onsen. The museum receives approximately 10,000 visitors annually. Nearby attractions include the castle town of Matsue, the ruins of Toda Castle, Kiyomizu-dera temple with its pagoda, and Izumo Taisha, one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan. Several traditional ryokan gardens in the vicinity also rank among Japan's finest, including Saginoyusou adjacent to the museum.