Introduction
Yugawara Art Museum features a large number of excellent artworks, in addition to handing down important local cultural heritage to future generations.
Yugawara is known as an onsen (hot springs) health resort that was even mentioned in the Manyoshu in ancient times, and during the Showa period (1926-1989), many people of culture visited the town to relax and recuperate.
Seiho Takeuchi, a Japanese-style painter who is referenced in the saying “Taikan of the East and Seiho of the West,” and Sotaro Yasui, a Western-style painter, both had their studios and residences constructed in Yugawara in their later years and engaged in artistic endeavors there.
As well, Reiji Hiramatsu, who is currently active as a leading artist in modern Japanese painting, also has affinity for this area, and his work is published as the cover art of the monthly magazine “Bungei Shunju.” With his production of the “Ten Views of Yugawara,” he also created his studio within the Yugawara Art Museum, and about twenty of his works are permanently exhibited by theme in the Reiji Hiramatsu Hall, with the cooperation of Ryotokuji University.
Other exhibits in the museum include those of Shinsui Ito, a painter of Ukiyo-e portraits of beautiful women, Katsumi Miyake, a watercolor painter, and other artists.
From the observation resting room you can relax while viewing the museum’s Japanese garden, with its seasonal flowers and water lilies inspired by Monet’s paintings.
The first floor features a free space, which anyone can enter and utilize.
Take your time appreciating the works of art for as long as you like in the soothing atmosphere of this museum.
| Admission | Adults: 600 JPY (500 JPY) Elementary and junior high school students: 300 JPY (200 JPY) ※Figures in parentheses indicate discount fees for groups of 15 or more, and holders of discount tickets. |
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| Hours | 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Last entry: 4:00 p.m.) Closed Wednesdays (open when a national holiday falls on Wednesday, and closed the next day instead), and Dec. 28th – 31st ※There may be other temporary closures. |
| Access | 623-1 Miyakami, Yugawara-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa [By car] From the Tokyo area, do not turn at “Chitosebashi” Intersection on National Route 135→keep going straight for 10 more minutes. Free parking (max 15 cars) 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. [By train or bus] From JR Yugawara Station: Take the bus for Oku-Yugawara/Fudodaki from Bus Stop 2, and get off at Bijutsukan-mae Bus Stop (about a 12-minute ride). The museum is next to the bus stop. [By taxi] About an eight-minute ride from Yugawara Station. |
| Inquries | Yugawara Art Museum Phone: 0465-63-7788 Yugawara Art Museum Website (machine-translated): http://www.town.yugawara.kanagawa.jp.e.td.hp.transer.com/kyoiku/museum/ |
The Reiji Hiramatsu Hall
Always on display in this hall are about twenty works of Reiji Hiramatsu, a highly-popular artist who is active as a leading painter in the modern Japanese art world.
This hall is the first to serve as a permanent exhibition of his works. In commemoration of its opening, some seedlings of water lilies from Monet’s garden pond in Giverny, France, were replanted and grown here in the museum’s garden.
Reiji Hiramatsu’s Biography
1941 Born in Tokyo
1960 Awarded a prize for the first time at Seiryu-sha’s exhibition.
1989 Won the grand prize at the Yamatane Museum of Art Award Exhibition.
1995 Started sketching pictures of his trips to Monet’s garden in France, among other places.
2000 Took charge of the cover pictures of the weekly “Bungei Shunju.” He is in charge even now.
2001 Won the grand prize of the MOA (Mokichi Okada Award).
2002 Held “the Reiji Hiramatsu Exhibition〜Tidal Current to Japanese Painting and Innovations〜”
at art museums connected with Yugawara.
2006 After becoming professor at Tama Art University, he took office as President of Ryotokuji University.
“The Reiji Hiramatsu Hall” was opened in Yugawara Art Museum. He is living in Kamakura now.
The permanent museum
In addition to the works of Seiho Takeuchi, the authority on Japanese painting who had his studio in Yugawara, and Sotaro Yasui of Western painting, the museum owns works connected with Yugawara, and about twenty of them are constantly being exhibited.
Facilities in the museum
| Café “Yamamomo an” | The name of the café is derived from “Yamamomo-an (也馬茂々庵),” the studio of Seiho Takeuchi, an authority on Japanese painting. When the Reiji Hiramatsu Hall was opened, the atmosphere of Japonism was created through a French-style interior. The café has many Japanese-style items on the menu such as “Bracken starch Dumpling Set” and “Matcha Green Tea Set,” because of Seiho’s hometown being Kyoto. |
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| Museum Shop | Apr. 1 – Oct. 31 |
| The Japanese Garden | The Japanese Garden can be observed from the resting space inside the exhibition room. In spring it turns into a world of fresh green, sprouting young leaves , then in summer, Monet’s water lilies have cute flowers. In autumn, trees all over the hills have red and yellow foliage, and in winter, Yugawara is sometimes unusually blanketed in snow, and as winter changes back into, spring, petals of winter cherry blossoms flutter into the ponds and ume plum trees bloom fragrantly. |
【 Notice on Copyright 】
The copyrights for images used in this website belong to the artists who made them or the copyright holders who obtained them. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
