Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
189
MOT or Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (Tokyo-to Gendai Bijutsu-
kan)
The MOT is inconveniently located but well worth the trek if you're a fan of
the avant-garde (you'll pass the Fukagawa Edo Museum, described below, on the way, so
you may wish to visit both). This modern structure of glass and steel, with a long corridor
entrance that reminds me of railroad trestles, houses both permanent and temporary
exhibits of Japanese and international postwar art in rooms whose sizes lend themselves
to large installations. Although temporary exhibits, which occupy most of the museum
space, have ranged from Southeast Asian art to a retrospective of Jasper Johns, the smaller
permanent collection presents a chronological study of 40 years of contemporary art,
beginning with anti-artistic trends and pop art in the 1960s and continuing with mini-
malism and cutting-edge contemporary works, with about 100 works displayed on a
rotating basis. Included may be works by Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Roy Lichten-
stein, David Hockney, Frank Stella, Sandro Chia, Mark Rothko, and Julian Schnabel.
Depending on the number of exhibits you visit, you'll spend anywhere from 1 to 2 hours
here. It might be useful to know that there are two pleasant places to dine here, a restau-
rant and a cafe.
4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto-ku.
&
03/5245-4111.
www.mot-art-museum.jp. Admission to permanent collec-
tion ¥500 adults, ¥400 college students, ¥250 high-school students and seniors, free for children; special
exhibits cost more. Tues-Sun 10am-6pm. Station: Kiyosumi-Shirakawa (exit A3, 15 min.). On Fukagawa
Shiroyokan-dori St., just off Mitsume Dori.
The National Art Center, Tokyo
Japan's newest national museum doesn't have
a collection of its own. Rather, its purpose is to exhibit works organized by Japanese art-
ists' associations, its own curators, and joint efforts by mass media companies and other
art institutions. The range of changing exhibitions, therefore, can be staggering, with past
exhibitions showing masterworks from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam; fashion and archi-
tecture organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; works by Monet
and Lalique; and a retrospective on Japanese government-sponsored art exhibitions held
the past 100 years. Even the building itself—with an undulating, seductive facade of
glass—attracts crowds with its Paul Bocuse restaurant, museum shop, and changing
exhibitions by national artists' associations. This museum, the nearby Mori Art Museum,
and Suntory Museum of Art, all within walking distance of one another, have been
dubbed Art Triangle Roppongi.
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku.
&
03/5777-8600.
www.nact.jp. Admission ¥500-¥1,500 for most exhibi-
tions. Wed-Mon 10am-6pm (to 8pm Fri). Station: Nogizakai (exit 6, 1 min.) or Roppongi (exit 4A or 7,
5 min.)
7
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (Tokyo Kokuritsu Kindai
Bijutsukan)
This museum houses the largest collection of modern Japanese art
under one roof, including both Japanese- and Western-style paintings, prints, watercol-
ors, drawings, and sculpture, all dating from the Meiji Period through the 20th century.
Exhibits change four times a year, but names to look for include Kishida Ryusei, Munak-
ata Shiko, Kuroda Seiki, and Yokoyama Taikan. A few works by Western artists, such as
Picasso, Klee, and Kandinsky, are also on display as examples of Western artistic styles of
the same period. Expect to spend about 1 hour here.
Your admission here allows entry also to the nearby
Crafts Gallery
(
&
03/3211-
7781
), housed in a handsome Gothic-style brick building constructed in 1910 as head-
quarters of the Imperial Guard and now used to exhibit contemporary crafts, including
pottery, ceramics, kimono, metalwork, glassware, lacquerware, bambooware, and more.
