Concept / Outline

Greeting

Striving to Create a Museum That Lasts for 100 Years

My father, the owner of this museum, was born and raised in Kyoto, and it was also in Kyoto that he started his business. He frequently said that it was the generous support of local residents that enabled him to continue with his work, and expressed his gratitude for the encounters he had with outstanding works of art and his relationship with the Arashiyama area. This led to his decision to build this museum as a way of realizing his wish to someday repay Kyoto for its kindness.

For the next 15 years, my father devoted himself to acquiring art. His collection, consisting of works by major artists from the Edo Period to the modern era, is made up of some 1,800 items with an emphasis on pieces from the Kyoto circle of painters.

Associated with poetry since ancient times and loved by nobles and cultured people, Arashiyama has long served a source of inspiration for superb art. Today, as one of Japan’s leading tourist destinations, the area attracts sightseers from all over the world. Along with scenery that changes from season to season, Arashiyama is blessed with the flowing waters of the limpid Oigawa River, and Togetsukyo Bridge, which seamlessly blends into the surrounding landscape. By creating a place to view works by some of Japan’s greatest artists on this site, a product of the beautiful natural landscape, we hope to make a positive contribution to the transmission and succession of Japanese culture.

It is our dream that this museum will last for 100 years. We are committed to making every effort to convey and preserve the endlessly stunning scenery of Arashiyama and priceless art and culture for future generations.

Kawabata Misa
Director, Fukuda Art Museum

The Fukuda Art Museum Opens
in the Saga-Arashiyama
District of Kyoto in October 2019

A Harmony of Beautiful Nature and Japanese Art –
A New Place to Transmit Japanese Culture

Since ancient times, the Saga-Arashiyama area, home to the Fukuda Art Museum, has been loved by nobles and cultured people, and served as a source of inspiration for outstanding art. Today, the area has become one of Japan’s leading tourist destinations, attracting domestic sightseers as well as visitors from all over the world. By enabling viewers to enjoy the beautiful natural landscape along with works of Japanese art, it is our hope that Arashiyama will become one of the world’s leading sites for culture.

About the Building’s Design

Japanese Architecture Suited Both to Arashiyama and the Future

Based on the essential qualities of Kyoto’s traditional machiya townhouses, the museum building aims for a new kind of Japanese architecture that will serve as a standard for the next 100 years.

Collection

The Elusive Collection by Prominent Artists Boasts a Universally Impressive Selection of Works