Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art

The Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art is a public art museum located in Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, at the base of Mount Shinobu. Established in 1984, it serves as the prefecture's principal institution for the collection, preservation, and exhibition of fine art. The museum holds particular significance as a cultural anchor in the Tōhoku region, housing nearly 4,000 works that span Western Impressionism, modern Japanese painting, American realism, and regional craft traditions. Its role in the community has been marked by major milestone exhibitions and resilience following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

The museum's origins trace to May 1977, when a citizens' meeting was convened to consider cultural matters for the prefecture. A survey followed, and in January 1978 a report encouraging prefectural cultural promotion was submitted to the governor. In February 1979, a more detailed plan for cultural promotion was delivered, leading to the establishment of funding regulations for cultural facilities in March 1979 and the creation of a ten-member investigative committee in June 1979 to plan the museum's foundation. Regulations for art acquisition funding were set in December 1979. In January 1980, the committee issued its formal report, and in February the decision was made to locate the museum and library in Fukushima City. That same month, artist Kiyoshi Saitō donated 227 works to the prefecture. In April 1980, the former site of the Fukushima College Economics Department was selected. The first acquisitions, including Andrew Wyeth's painting 'Pine Baron,' were decided in May 1980. Construction began in July 1982 and concluded in March 1984. The museum opened on July 22, 1984. It reached one million visitors in June 1995, two million in May 2006, and three million in May 2011. The museum closed from March 12 to April 15, 2011 due to damage from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Major exhibitions have drawn significant attendance: 67,125 visitors for Picasso in April 1998; 77,601 for 'Art of Star Wars' in July 2004; 74,378 for Studio Ghibli in February 2011; 155,592 for Itō Jakuchū in September 2013; 104,510 for Vermeer and Rembrandt in April 2016; and 116,344 for a second Itō Jakuchū exhibition in April 2019. The museum's 100th exhibition, held in September 1999, commemorated the centenary of Sekine Shoji. Its official website was launched in October 1999.

The museum's collection encompasses approximately 3,800 to 4,000 works spanning multiple periods and media. Its strengths lie in four principal areas: French Impressionism and Western modernism, modern Japanese painting, twentieth-century American realism, and regional Japanese craft and applied arts. The collection also includes prints, earthenware, ceramics, textiles, and sculpture. A particular emphasis falls on art from Fukushima Prefecture and the broader Tōhoku region. The permanent collection is reinstalled four times annually, with each of the four galleries presenting distinct themes and atmospheres to create varied viewing experiences.

Among the museum's Western holdings are paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet's 'Wiese in Giverny' (1890), Paul Gauguin's 'Kinder der Bretagne' (1889), and Georges Rouault's 'Miserere' (1922-27). The sculpture collection includes Auguste Rodin's 'Büste von Mme. Funail' (1898-1900) from the Ishihara Collection, and works by Marino Marini including 'Reiter' (1956-57). The museum owns a significant portion of Ben Shahn's Lucky Dragon series (1960), which addresses the Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident, the Japanese fishing boat exposed to radiation during the 1954 Bikini Atoll hydrogen bomb test. Modern Japanese painting is represented by works including Shimomura Kanzan (1923), Mira Sakai (1919), Hayami Mifune (1931), Ogawa Taro 'Money' (1921), Haruko Ikeda (1932), Sotaro Yasui (1912), Ryusei Kishida (1918), Shoji Sekine (1918), Kaita Murayama (1914), Junsuke Matsumoto (1942), Toshiyuki Hasegawa (1935), and Kikuji Watanabe (1940). The craft collection features work by Toshihiko Isago and Fukumi Shimura, while postwar art includes pieces by Toeko Tatsuno and Tadanori Yokoo. Sculptures of note include Gensato's 'Hibernation' (1928) from the Mieko Yoko Collection, Sosaku Miki's 'Kaya no Hime no Kami' (1927), and works by Tadayoshi Sato (1982), Takeyoshi Inoue (1989), and Kakuzo Jianbatake (1987).

The museum occupies a campus of over 60,000 square meters shared with the Fukushima Prefectural Library, which was established simultaneously in 1984. Despite the shared campus, the museum maintains its own separate grounds and gardens. The building complex is characterized by modern, clear architecture that harmonizes with the surrounding landscape at the foot of Mount Shinobu. A large sculpture garden complements the museum complex, integrating art with the natural setting. The site was formerly the location of the Fukushima College Economics Department.

The Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art is located in Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, at the base of Mount Shinobu. It is a prefectural institution, owned and operated by Fukushima Prefecture. The museum's official website is https://art-museum.fcs.ed.jp/. As a public cultural facility, it continues to serve its role as a center for art appreciation, education, and exhibition in the region, hosting both permanent collection displays and major temporary exhibitions that have historically drawn substantial audiences from across Japan.