Kodansha Noma Memorial Museum

The Kodansha Noma Memorial Museum is a museum of Japanese fine art located in the Bunkyo ward of Tokyo, Japan. Opened in April 2000, it was established to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Kodansha, Japan's largest publishing company. The museum occupies the former residence of Sawako Noma, a former president of Kodansha and granddaughter of its founder, Seiji Noma. Its holdings center on the Noma Japanese Art Collection, assembled by Seiji Noma in the early twentieth century, and it also maintains a significant archive of publication culture materials. The museum is currently closed for renovations.

The museum opened in April 2000 as part of the ninetieth anniversary celebrations of the founding of Kodansha Publishing Company. The institution was created within the former residence of Sawako Noma, who served as president of Kodansha and was the granddaughter of the company's founder, Seiji Noma. This residential conversion linked the museum's physical space directly to the Noma family lineage and the publishing house's history. Since its opening, the museum has served as a venue for displaying art collections and cultural materials accumulated by the Noma family and Kodansha over multiple generations.

The museum's collections encompass two principal areas: the Noma Japanese Art Collection and the Publication Culture Collection. The Noma Japanese Art Collection consists of art objects gathered by Seiji Noma during the early part of the twentieth century, including works by modern Japanese and Western artists, sculpture, and ceramics. A distinctive feature of this collection is its holding of approximately 6,000 shikishi, decorated Japanese paper or silk pieces received directly from artists, originally used for artistic prose and poetry. These shikishi provide a broad overview of trends in the history of modern Japanese art. The Publication Culture Collection presents valuable cultural treasures collected from the Meiji Era through the Heisei Era, reflecting the documentary and material culture of Japanese publishing across more than a century.

The Noma Japanese Art Collection features works by several prominent modern Japanese artists. Featured names include Kawai Gyokudō, Uemura Shōen, and Kiyokata Kaburagi, alongside works by Yokoyama Taikan and other modern Japanese and Western artists. The collection of 6,000 shikishi represents a significant accumulation of direct artist contributions. The Publication Culture Collection holds materials spanning from the Meiji to the Heisei eras, though specific individual items in this collection are not detailed in available sources.

The museum is housed in the former residence of Sawako Noma, located in the Bunkyo ward of Tokyo. The building's previous function as a private residence for the head of one of Japan's major publishing families shapes its character as an intimate, domestic-scale venue for art display. No further architectural details or site specifications are recorded in available sources.