When Western ideas entered Japan following the Meiji Restoration (1868), many artists set out to master oil and canvas. Others poured new energy into nihonga (Japanese-style painting, typically done with mineral pigments on silk or paper) and that's what is featured here. From the collection of 1800 works, a small number are displayed in thematic exhibitions (some famous works are usually included). Note that the museum is closed between exhibitions.
Yamatane Museum of Art
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.75 MILES
If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including…
8.6 MILES
This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…
2.88 MILES
Golden Gai – a Shinjuku institution for over half a century – is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a…
0.86 MILES
Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world (and definitely in Japan), Shibuya Crossing is like a giant beating heart, sending people in all…
14.25 MILES
This impressively slick attraction is dedicated to, you guessed it, cup noodles. But in reality, its focus is more broad, with numerous exhibitions…
1.72 MILES
Digital-art collective teamLab has created 60 artworks for this museum, open in 2018, that tests the border between art and the viewer: many are…
3.02 MILES
The Imperial Palace occupies the site of the original Edo-jō, the Tokugawa shogunate's castle. In its heyday this was the largest fortress in the world,…
6.32 MILES
Tokyo’s most visited temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy), which, according to legend, was miraculously pulled out of…
Nearby attractions
1. Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum
0.59 MILES
A painter and sculptor, Okamoto Tarō was Japan's most recognised artist from the post-WWII period, a rare avant-garde figure with mass appeal. His works…
0.66 MILES
It's hard to imagine, but Shibuya Crossing actually sits on the confluence of two rivers: the Shibuya-gawa and the Uda-gawa, which were diverted…
0.67 MILES
Photos, vintage bottles and posters document the rise of Yebisu, and beer in general, in Japan at this small museum located where the actual Yebisu…
0.68 MILES
Nezu Museum offers a striking blend of old and new: a renowned collection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean antiquities in a gallery space designed by…
0.71 MILES
This is a branch of one of Tokyo's more influential contemporary-art galleries, which shows both Japanese and international artists.
0.71 MILES
Lifestyle brand D&Department combs the country for the platonic ideals of the utterly ordinary: the perfect broom, bottle opener or salt shaker (to name a…
0.72 MILES
This shopping and cultural centre was built on the site of the original Yebisu Beer Brewery (1889) that gave the neighbourhood its name. Unlike most…
0.73 MILES
From below, Shibuya Sky, the rooftop observatory atop Shibuya's newest tower, Shibuya Scramble Square, looks like one of those harrowing infinity pools –…