Nagano Prefectural Art Museum 長野県立美術館

Nagano Prefectural Art Museum

Opening hours	Art Museum　　9:00a.m　5:00p.m (Last admission at 4:30 p.m)
Closed	Every Wednesday (The following Thursday when Wednesday falls on a national holiday) New Year holidays (December 28–January 3)
Admission fees	Special Exhibition admission fees vary. Please check the Special Exhibition page for details. Collection exhibit (Includes Main Building and Higashiyama Kaii Gallery) Adults： 700(600)yen University students & 75 and over： 500(400)yen High school students & children under 18： Free ※ Fees in brackets are for groups of 20 visitors and more as well as discounted services. ※ Discounts may not be combined. ※ Visitors with a Physical Disability Certificate, Medical Rehabilitation Handbook, or Mental Disability Certificate, as well as one companion, are admitted for free. ※ University students and visitors 75 years old and over are required to show IDs.

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Location

Nagano Prefectural Art Museum
1-4-4 Hakoshimizu, Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture 380-0801 Japan
(Located in Joyama Park, on the east side of Zenkoji Temple)
Tel +81-(0)26-232-0052
Fax +81-(0)26-232-0050
HP https://nagano.art.museum/

By Car

There is no general visitor parking available at the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum.
The parking space located at the north of the annex, Higashiyama Kaii Gallery, is reserved for vehicles designated under the Shinshu Parking Permit Program, including motor coaches and vehicles for persons with disabilities.
※ Parking spaces in areas around the museum may fill up quickly.
　 Use of public transportation is strongly encouraged.

Public Transport

① From the No.1 bus stop of the Zenkoji Exit bus station at the JR Nagano Station, take the Alpico Route 11 bound for Uki via Zenkoji Temple, Route 16 bound for Wakatsuki Higashijo via Zenkoji Temple and Wakatsuki Danchi, or Route 17 bound for Wakatsuki Higashijo via Zenkoji Temple and Nishijo, and get off at the Zenkoji-kita bus stop. It takes about 15 minutes. The museum is a 3-minute walk east from the stop.

② From the No.1 bus stops of the Zenkoji Exit bus station at the JR Nagano Station, take Binzuru-go buses bound for Zenkoji Temple, and get off at the Zenkoji Daimon bus stop. The ride takes approximately 13 minutes. Walk along the omotesando approach up to the main hall of the Zenkoji Temple, then turn right toward Joyama Park; approximately a 10-minute walk.
On weekends and holidays, get off at the Joyama Koen-mae bus stop.

③If you take the Nagano Dentetsu Line, get off at Zenkoji-shita Station and walk toward Joyama Park; approximately 10 minutes.

This museum was originally opened in 1966 in Joyama Park near Zenkoji Temple’s main hall, which is designated as a national treasure. Rebuilt due to its deterioration, the museum was reopened as the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum on April 10, 2021, in the concept of a “landscape museum,” aiming to forge scenery in harmony with the streetscape of the temple town and the area’s natural splendor. With free zones anyone can access, it welcomes visitors as a “museum open to the public,” just like a park where anyone can feel free to stop by.

The Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum, the predecessor of the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum, had collected and exhibited a variety of works by artists associated with the local area, as well as landscape paintings which show the beautiful nature of Nagano. The new art museum obtained the existing collections of more than 4,600 pieces, accumulated over 50 years. In the wake of the opening of the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum in 2021, we established four collection policies:

To collect great modern and contemporary artworks by artists born in or connected to Nagano Prefecture (paintings, sculptures, watercolors, drawings, block prints, craftworks, designs, photographs, video pictures, etc.)
To collect artworks reflective of Japan’s beautiful mountain landscapes and spiritual culture
To collect artworks significant to modern and contemporary art history both nationally and internationally
To collect and preserve various artworks and materials important to the understanding of modern and contemporary art history.

We now seek to further enhance the quality of our collections as we display them in the Collection Gallery located in the newly constructed Main Building.

In addition to exhibiting our collections, we offer special exhibitions, collect, research and display modern artwork, provide a variety of learning programs, and conduct exchange activities in and outside the museum. Through these initiatives, we aim to make this museum a place of mutual learning for those who gather in it, including artists, curators and visitors.
Our mission is to contribute to a richer and more culturally fulfilling lifestyle for the residents of Nagano Prefecture and those outside of it and foster creative growth.

Collections in Main Building

From its opening in 1966, the Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum, predecessor to the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum, mainly collected and exhibited works by artists associated with the area, as well as landscape paintings showing the beautiful nature of Nagano. It also acquired 390 works from the Shinano Dessin Museum Collection in fiscal year 2019. The new art museum obtained the existing collections of more than 4,600 pieces, accumulated over 50 years. In the wake of the opening of the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum in 2021, the museum is now seeking to further enhance its collection.

Main collection works

Hishida Shunso《Rafusen》
ca. 1901

Ogihara Rokuzan《Woman》
1910

Murayama Kaita
《Pissing monk with no clothes》
from the Shinano Dessin Museum Collection
1915

Higashiyama Kaii Gallery Collection

With a contribution of his own works and related books by Higashiyama Kaii (1908–1999), one of the greatest nihonga painters, the Higashiyama Kaii Gallery opened in April, 1990, as an annex of the then Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum. Within the 970-some pieces of the collection are 36 of the artist’s own paintings, including Vibrant Green, Forest with a White Horse, and Evening Silence; early works such as Landscape in Europe, Sketch During Travel, Scenery in China, studies and series sketches including Landscapes in Northern Europe, Four Seasons in Kyoto, Landscapes with A White Horses, and Spring and Autumn in Yamato. In addition, the collection contains trial paintings for the Nitten exhibitions and sliding door murals for Toshodaiji Temple. The artworks contained in this collection display not only the artist’s keen interest toward nature, but also his entire process of production.

Kaii Higashiyama's work covering Shinshu

《Vibrant Green》
1982

《Passing Autumn》
1990

Architecture of the Buildings

The Main Building was designed by Miyazaki Hiroshi. His Plants Associates Inc. was selected through a proposal for public building designers in 2017. Facing Zenkoji Temple, the building is embedded in the 10-meter gap between the east-side road and Joyama Park. This design allows visitors to enter the museum from outside all floors horizontally without using any staircases, with the exception of the basement.

In addition, the museum has significantly expanded its capabilities to exhibit, collect and conserve works of art in order to receive recognition as a Facility Approved for Display, which grants official permission to exhibit various types of works including national treasures. With open, multipurpose space facing Joyoma Park, the museum is built as one structure bringing together both flexibility of use and high standards for preservation of important artworks.

Located next to the Main Building, the Higashiyama Kaii Gallery designed by Taniguchi Yoshio was completely renovated in 2019, 30 years after its construction. Visitors can enter the gallery not only directly from the front entrance as before, but also through the Connecting Bridge to the Main Building, which faces the gallery with a water landscape between them.