Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
ݪඒज़ؗ
, Hara Bijutsukan • 4-7-25 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku • Tues-Sun 11am-5pm, Wed until 8pm • ¥1000 •
T
03 3445 0651,
W
www.haramuseum.or.jp • Shinagawa station
In a quiet residential area around 800m south of Shinagawa station, the
Hara Museum
of Contemporary Art
has a small permanent collection including quirky installations,
such as
Rondo
, by Morimura Yasumasa, whose self-portrait occupies the downstairs
toilet. The building itself, a 1938 Bauhaus-style house designed by Watanabe Jin, the
architect responsible for Ueno's Tokyo National Museum and the Wakō department
store in Ginza, is worth a look, as are the tranquil sculpture gardens overlooked by
the museum's pleasant café.
9
Sengaku-ji
ઘַࣉ
• 2-11-1 Akanawa, Minato-ku •
Temple
Daily 7am-5pm; April-Sept to 6pm • Free •
T
03 3441 5560,
W
sengakuji.or.jp •
Museum
Daily 9am-4pm; April-Sept to 4.30pm • ¥200 • Sengaku-ji station
Around a kilometre north of Shinagawa is
Sengaku-ji
, home to the graves of
Asano
Takumi
and his
47 rōnin
(see box opposite). Most of what you see now was rebuilt after
World War II, but a striking gate decorated with a metalwork dragon dates back to
1836. The statue and grave of
Oishi Kuranosuke
, the avenging leader of the 47
rōnin
,
are in the temple grounds, while a
museum
to the left of the main building contains
the personal belongings of the
rōnin
and their master Asano, as well as a receipt for the
severed head of Kira.
