National Museum of Western Art

The National Museum of Western Art in Ueno Park is a singular institution in Japan, dedicated entirely to the art of Europe and the Western world. The museum building is itself a landmark of extraordinary significance, designed by the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 as part of an international recognition of Le Corbusier’s architectural legacy. Opened in 1959, the museum was built to house the Matsukata Collection, a group of approximately 10,000 Western artworks assembled by Japanese industrialist Matsukata Kojiro in the early twentieth century and repatriated from France after World War II. The collection covers European painting from the Gothic period through to the early 20th century, with particular strengths in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Works by Monet, Renoir, Rodin, Rubens, El Greco, and many others populate the permanent galleries. Auguste Rodin’s monumental sculptures including The Thinker and The Gates of Hell are displayed in the museum’s outdoor forecourt, offering a dramatic prelude to the experience within. The museum is located one minute from JR Ueno Station at the Park Exit and sits adjacent to the Tokyo National Museum. Temporary exhibitions draw significant international loans and regularly attract some of the largest attendance figures of any museum in Japan. The museum cafe and shop provide further amenities for visitors.