Okawa Museum of Art

The Okawa Museum of Art is an art gallery in Kiryū, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, dedicated to modern Japanese art. Established in 1989, it houses the personal collection of Eiji Ōkawa, a local-born businessman and writer, and has become a significant regional institution for the study and display of twentieth-century Japanese painting and drawing.

The museum opened in April 1989, realizing the collecting vision of Eiji Ōkawa (1924-2008), who was born in Kiryū. Ōkawa pursued parallel careers in business and literature, and over decades assembled a substantial private collection focused on modern Japanese art. The institution he founded continues to operate under its original mandate, with its holdings now serving as a permanent public resource rather than a private assemblage.

The collection numbers approximately 6,500 items. Its defining character lies in deep concentrations around two central artists, Shunsuke Matsumoto and Hideo Noda, with numerous additional works by figures associated with their circles. This structure suggests a deliberate, relationship-driven approach to collecting rather than broad survey. Beyond these cores, the museum holds significant works on paper: roughly one hundred sketches by Takeji Fujishima and two hundred drawings by Toshi Shimizu. While the majority of holdings are by Japanese artists, the museum's exhibition programming has not been restricted to Japanese art.

The signature strength of the collection is its group of about eighty works by Shunsuke Matsumoto and Hideo Noda, augmented by pieces from artists in their orbits. The Fujishima sketch group and the substantial Shimizu drawing archive represent important holdings of preparatory and graphic work by major figures in modern Japanese art. The collection also includes the broader body of works that constitute the remaining thousands of items beyond these named concentrations.

The Okawa Museum of Art is located in Kiryū in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Its official website is http://okawamuseum.jp/. The institution continues to function as a public art gallery, maintaining the collection assembled by its founder and presenting exhibitions that may range beyond the Japanese modern art that forms the collection's core.