Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum

The Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum is a prefectural museum located in Dejima-machi, Nagasaki, Japan. Opening its doors on April 23, 2005, it operates under the concept of a breathing museum, a dynamic space that absorbs external stimuli and evolves alongside its community. The institution holds approximately 8,000 works, distinguished by two primary collecting areas: art related to Nagasaki and Spanish art. The Spanish art holdings, centered on the Suma Collection assembled by diplomat Yakichiro Suma, are recognized as one of the largest and most significant collections of Spanish art in East Asia.

The current institution supersedes the former Nagasaki Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, which opened in 1965 and closed at the end of 2002. Alongside the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture, which also opened in 2005, the new art museum was established to replace the predecessor facility. Since its inauguration, the museum has continued to acquire new works, inheriting the core of the earlier museum's collection while expanding its scope in both Nagasaki-related and Spanish art.

The museum's collection is divided into three main acquisition categories: artworks associated with Nagasaki or made by artists associated with Nagasaki, Spanish art including the Suma Collection, and other excellent works appropriate for a museum collection. The Nagasaki-related holdings encompass Japanese art from the Meiji period onward, featuring works by artists born in the prefecture or pieces using Nagasaki as a subject. This section spans diverse media, including conventional painting and sculpture, as well as contemporary art, photography, design, and documentary materials. The Spanish art collection covers a broad chronological range, from medieval Christian artworks to modern and contemporary pieces, allowing visitors to experience the full history of Spanish art in one location.

The cornerstone of the Spanish art collection is the Suma Collection, formed by Yakichiro Suma during his tenure as envoy extraordinary to Spain from 1941 to 1946. While in Madrid, he acquired over 1,760 items ranging from paintings and sculptures to fine crafts. Following long negotiations after the war, 78 items were bequeathed to Nagasaki Prefecture in 1970, and through gifts and purchases, the museum now holds 500 to 501 works from the Suma Collection. Highlights include modern masterpieces such as Pablo Picasso's Still Life with Dove and Joan Miro's Painting, alongside works by Salvador Dali. The collection also features earlier historical pieces, such as a late 15th-century Hispano-Flemish painting of Saint Stephen from the Aragon or Catalonia school, and a late 16th-century Ecce Homo reflecting Counter-Reformation dramatic realism.

Designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, the museum is a modern and spacious complex situated adjacent to the Nagasaki Waterfront Park. The structure consists of two separate wings built on either side of a canal, connected by a striking glass corridor on the second floor. Constructed with a steel frame, reinforced concrete, glass curtain walls, and granite cladding, the building is airy and bright. A distinctive breezy corridor houses a cafe overlooking the water, and the structure features a rooftop garden with lawn space, outdoor sculptures, seating areas, and sweeping views of Nagasaki Harbor and Mount Inasa. The roof garden is accessible from both inside and outside the museum, allowing the general public to enjoy the site freely.

The museum is located at 2-1 Dejimamachi, Nagasaki City, postal code 850-0862. It is accessible via a two-minute walk from the Medical Center tram stop or a three-minute walk from the Dejima tram stop. General admission for the collection exhibition is 420 yen, with reduced fees of 310 yen for university students and seniors aged 70 and over, and 210 yen for elementary, junior high, and high school students. The museum is open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, closing on the second and fourth Monday of each month, or the following Tuesday if a holiday falls on a Monday. The museum shop sells items from the Museo Nacional del Prado and original goods by artists with ties to Nagasaki. Partial English language support is provided in signs and permanent exhibition rooms.