Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art

The Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art is a prefectural art museum located in Suruga-ku, Shizuoka City, Japan. Established to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly, the museum opened on April 18, 1986. It is particularly renowned for its extensive collection of sculptures by Auguste Rodin and its focused holdings of both Western and Japanese landscape painting, alongside significant Japanese artworks. The institution aims to serve as an accessible cultural venue, integrating art, history, and nature on a verdant hill near the Nihondaira Plateau.

The museum opened its doors on April 18, 1986, fulfilling a vision to create a space celebrating the centennial of the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly. Positioned as a museum open to everybody, it has hosted lectures, workshops, symposiums, and concerts alongside its permanent collections and loan exhibitions. By the time of its 15th anniversary, the museum had welcomed over 3,000,000 visitors. A major expansion occurred on March 23, 1994, with the opening of the dedicated Rodin Wing, which significantly elevated the museum's profile by providing a specialized, naturally lit space for its growing collection of European sculpture.

The museum's collection is structured around several core areas: European landscape painting from the 17th century onward, Japanese painting and art, contemporary art, and a premier sculpture collection. The European painting holdings emphasize landscape traditions, featuring French, Dutch, and British schools, as well as watercolors and prints. Japanese art encompasses the 400-year history of the Kanō school, depictions of Mount Fuji and the Tōkaidō landscape, works associated with the Tokugawa shogunate, and local artists from Shizuoka Prefecture. The contemporary art section includes local avant-garde movements and modern Japanese painters, while the sculpture collection bridges the 19th and 20th centuries with a focus on Rodin and his artistic context.

The museum's most celebrated holdings are the 32 sculptures by Auguste Rodin housed in the Rodin Wing, including certified versions of The Thinker, The Gates of Hell, and The Burghers of Calais. The Bridge Gallery connecting the main building to the Rodin Wing holds 51 sculptures from periods before and after Rodin, featuring artists such as Constantin Brancusi, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, and Camille Claudel. In painting, the European collection includes works by Claude Monet (La Seine à Rouen), Rembrandt van Rijn, and J.M.W. Turner. Japanese highlights include Jakuchū Itō's painted folding screens Juka chōjū-zu byōbu, works by Taikan Yokoyama, and 21 paintings by the modern artist Tetsuya Ishida donated by his family. The museum also holds works by the 1960s local avant-garde group GEN-SHOKU (Phantom Touch), including members Issei Koike and Shoji Iida.

The main museum building encompasses 9,240 square meters and is situated on a verdant hill on the northern side of the Nihondaira Plateau, near the University of Shizuoka's Kusanagi campus. The site features a Sculpture Garden with a promenade leading to the main entrance, lined with twelve monumental works by Japanese sculptors such as Tadayoshi Sato and Yasutake Funakoshi, and American artists including George Rickey, James Rosati, and Tony Smith. The promenade is lit until 21:00, allowing for evening walks. The Rodin Wing, designed by the Shizuoka office of Nissoken Architects and Engineers, opened in 1994 as a 3,025 square meter domed structure. It features a bright, spacious interior illuminated by natural light from the ceiling, specifically designed to display the Rodin sculptures and the adjacent Bridge Gallery.

The Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art is located at 53-2 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka. The museum is open from 10:00 to 17:30 and is closed on Mondays, or the following Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday, as well as during the year-end holidays. The general admission fee for the permanent collection is 300 yen for adults and college students. The museum is accessible by bus from JR Kusanagi Station on the Tōkaidō or Shizuoka-Shimizu lines, and is also within walking distance from JR Kusanagi Station. Direct bus services are available from JR Shizuoka Station, and parking is provided for those arriving by car or taxi. The museum grounds feature diverse cherry trees and plantings, making it a popular destination during the spring.