About Us

Museum Overview

The Yamatane Museum of Art Mission Statement

The Yamatane Museum of Art, continuing to act on our founder's principle, "Contributing to society through art, " seeks to be a museum that transmits the fascination of nihonga, modern Japanese painting, polished in the context of Japan's natural setting and customs, to future generations and to bring moving experiences, new discoveries, joy, and peace to our visitors.

In preparation for the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of our museum in 2016, we decided upon this mission statement, based on the spirit and shared values that have guided us since its founding, on July 7, 2014.

Inspired by the commitment of our founder, Taneji Yamazaki (founder of Yamatane Securities, now SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.), to contributing through art to society and, above all, culture, our museum, the first in Japan to specialize in nihonga, opened in 1966. In the half century since then, the museum has continued to engage in collecting, studying, exhibiting, and educating about and popularizing art, with a focus on modern and contemporary nihonga.

Nihonga is an art form using mineral pigments, washi paper, and other natural materials. Valuing the beauty of nature and the sense of the seasons, in its subjects and styles, nihonga reflects the traditional Japanese aesthetic cultivated through living in harmony with nature.
The Yamatane Museum of Art seeks to bring more people―people of every age group, gender, and nationality―under the spell of nihonga, its fascination refined over the centuries in Japan's unique natural and cultural context. The museum's many programs are directed at ensuring that nihonga will continue to be appreciated and to thrive in the future as well.

Today, our social environment is changing at a dizzying rate, with globalization, computerization, and technological innovation all advancing rapidly. The significance of art and culture in enriching people's lives and the role of the art museum should play are being questioned anew in this changing world. In this challenging context, our museum's goal remains, through exhibitions, outreach, and other programs, to communicate the wonders of nihonga and Japanese culture, to bring moving experiences, new discoveries, joy, and peace to our visitors.

Greeting

Taeko Yamazaki
Director
Yamatane Museum of Art

Welcome to the Museum

In 1966, my grandfather, Taneji Yamazaki (founder of Yamatane Securities, now SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.), opened this museum, based on his own collection. In 1976, my father, Yamazaki Tomiji, became the museum's second director and worked to broaden and deepen the collection. I have served as its third director since 2007. "It is my wish that not only people who love art but also people with little connection to it thus far will experience the excellence of nihonga," Taneji said. Our museum will continue to implement our founder's vision and to raise awareness of nihonga in the twenty-first century through a variety of programs, including exhibitions, outreach activities, and providing information via the internet.

In 2016, the fiftieth anniversary of our museum's opening, we undertook several new efforts. First, we drew up the basic principles of our museum, putting the spirit we have inherited and our shared values in writing. We added a new symbol mark (designed by Take Satō) to our existing logo, to communicate the brilliance of nihonga more broadly. We also implemented a new award, the Yamatane Museum of Art NIHONGA AWARD: Seed 2016, relaunching the earlier Yamatane Museum of Art Award in a format more suitable to today. We plan to continue carrying out the new awards, to foster seeds of new talent that will carry nihonga on into the future and to make nihonga better known throughout the world.

Culture and art enrich our hearts and lives. Here in the twenty-first century with globalization advancing, we hope that our museum can spread awareness of the fascination of nihonga, a cultural asset unique to Japan, more widely in Japan and overseas and to continue activities of significance for international society. Through a variety of programs, from exhibitions with approachable themes to patient research, we will work to encourage and advance Japanese culture and scholarship.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Yamatane Museum of Art.

Yamatane Museum of Art

3-12-36 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0012

tel: +81-(0)47-316-2772

Open

10:00—17:00 Admission ends 16:30

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Yamatane Museum of Art

3-12-36 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0012

tel: +81-(0)47-316-2772