Designed to fulfill a vision, the Miho Museum promotes beauty peace and joy through art. It stands amid the natural beauty of the mountains. This is Shigaraki in Shiga prefecture.
The Miho Museum opened in November 1997. Mihoko Koyama founded it. She wanted to promote beauty peace and joy through art. Her collection includes Japanese art. It also includes ancient art from Egypt and Western Asia. There is art from Greece and Rome. You will also see pieces from Southern Asia and China.
I.M. Pei designed the approach to the Miho Museum. He is famous for the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris. Visitors walk down a path. Cherry trees envelop this walkway. They pass through a tunnel. The path crosses a bridge. This is before arriving at the museum. The design takes inspiration from an ancient Chinese work. It is called Taohua Yuan Ji. It is also known as The Peach Blossom Spring. Tao Yuanming wrote it. The story tells of a fisherman. Drawn in by the fragrant scent, he roams into a grotto. The scent is from a forest of blossoming peach trees. He emerges to find an idyllic village. The inhabitants all live joyfully. They welcome the fisherman into their homes.
The Miho Museum mirrors this village. It blends natural beauty and architecture. Art and food also play a role. All of this exists amid vibrant seasonal colors.
Takeshi Umehara was the first Museum Director in 1997. He was appointed when the Miho Museum opened. The Shumei Culture Foundation runs the museum. Hiroo Inoue became Museum Director in 2000. Nobuo Tsuji took over in 2005. By 2006, one million people had visited. The tenth anniversary of opening was in 2007.
In 2010, there was a special exhibit. It was called “Miho Grandama—Arte della Luce.” It marked 100 years since the founder’s birth. Visitor numbers reached two million in 2014. Isao Kumakura became Museum Director in 2016.
Mihoko Koyama collected Japanese art for over 40 years. Shinto and Buddhist art are included. You can see paintings and ceramics. There is lacquerware too. You can also view tea ceremony utensils. The collection has 3000 pieces of Japanese and Oriental art. From these, only 250 to 300 are on display at one time. Special Japanese art exhibitions happen several times a year. These are in the North Wing. Permanent exhibitions are in the South Wing.
The museum owned six Important Cultural Properties as of March 2022. These were designated by the Japanese government. They included two Buddhist statues. There was a Buddhist painting. A Buddhist scripture was present. A quiver was part of the collection. A tea bowl completed the set. The government announced more designations in November 2022. Three hanging scrolls became Important Cultural Properties. This brought the total to nine. Two scrolls came from the Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga emakimono. Sections were cut out and reworked. The other scroll came from the Masuda family’s Jigoku zoshi emakimono.
The museum displays Zo to kujira-zu by Itō Jakuchū. It is also known as Elephant and Whale. Itō Jakuchū was a popular Japanese painter. This late masterpiece made headlines in 2008. It was found in an old house in the Hokuriku region.
The museum has over 1200 objects. They seem to come from Achaemenid Central Asia. Some say these are part of the Oxus Treasure. The treasure was lost after its discovery in 1877. It was rediscovered in Afghanistan in 1993.