The Nezu Museum (根津美術館, Nezu bijutsukan), formerly known as the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, is an art museum in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan.[1]
The museum is home to the private collection of pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art assembled by Nezu Kaichirō (1860–1940). Established upon Nezu's death in 1940, the museum foundation began opening exhibitions to the public in 1941. During World War II, the museum's collection was safeguarded away from central Tokyo, avoiding the destruction suffered by the estate property during the bombing in May 1945. Exhibitions resumed after the war in 1946.
Closed due to large-scale renovation and renewal starting in 2006, the museum reopened in the fall of 2009 with a brand new building designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.
Of the collection, the museum considers the byōbu (folding screen)IrisesbyOgata Kōrin, designated as a National Treasure, to be the centerpiece of the collection. This byōbu is displayed for a limited time each year during a special exhibition from April to May to coincide with the blooming season of the irises planted in the museum's Japanese garden. Kaichirō Nezu acquired this byōbu in 1914, and even before the museum was founded, he held exhibitions and tea ceremonies to display it for the enjoyment of his many guests.[3][4]
The museum's collection also includes 1,200 of the 3,000 pieces of Japanese sword fittings collected by Meiji era industrialist Mitsumura Toshimo, making it one of the largest collections of Japanese sword fittings in Japan.[5] The collection also consists of Chinese bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
