10 Art Museums in Hiroshima Prefecture That You Shouldn't Miss

Half of the paintings in this round museum in the center of Hiroshima are by the French masters, including Degas, Renoir and Monet, and the other half are by Japanese artists.

Hirayama Ikuo was born in Setoda-chō, Hiroshima Prefecture in 1930 (in the fifth year of the Showa Era) where he spent his childhood in the region richly endowed with nature. Mystical tide and ultramarine oceans of the island had strong influence over his mind. We could say his sensibility was gained by the environment. Hirayama Ikuo survived atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Though he suffered the aftereffects of radiation, he produced a series of paintings depicting the introduction of Buddhism to Japan to longing for peace. In search of roots of Japanese culture influenced by Buddhism, his inspiration spread across time and space toward Silk Road where eastern and western cultures was interacted. His travel and researches in tracing Buddhist monk Xuanzang whose footstep expanded eastward stretched over 350,000km. Campaigning for the preservation and restoration of the world's cultural heritage, he earnestly worked on so called the "Red Cross Spirit for Cultural Heritage" whiles his busy schedule. Prayer for peace might serve as the driving force for all those works. A variety of Hirayama Ikuo's work are displayed at as part of the museum's collection including his childhood paintings, sketches, rough copies, late year works. Hirayama Ikuo said "I was greatly influenced by the culture of Seto Inland Sea". We hope you find those sprits in our museum. At the end, we wish our museum offer information about culture and the arts. We also aim to provide children responsible for the next generation with an emotional richness. Thank you for your assistance and cooperation.

Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art was established on May 3, 1989. The first public art museum in Japan devoted exclusively to contemporary art, it is located in the Hijiyama Park which has a splendid view of Hiroshima and is famous for its cherry blossoms. Designed by Kisho Kurokawa in a style reminiscent of, among other things, a colonnade, agora, and a Japanese storehouse (Kura), the museum presents an image not restricted to a single country or era. As the building rises from its foundations the natural fabric of stone gives way to man-made tiles and aluminum, reflecting the development of civilization from the past to the future along the stream of time. The museum provides opportunities for education by art and presents programs possessing both local qualities and an international character, enabling visitors to consider Hiroshima from the world and the world Hiroshima linking the contemporary to the future.