Inside the Tokoro Museum

This is a follow on post from this earlier one. The most striking thing about the inside of the gallery is the wooden lattice roof that runs the length of the building and suffuses the interior with light.

The long, narrow interior has the space divided into descending levels that go down the hillside. Some of the interior space is divided by curved partitions.

The gallery/museum is located on the island of Omishima between Hiroshima and Ehime and is now part of the Shimanami Kaido which connects Shikoku to Honshu via a series of bridges and islands.

At the lower end of the gallery is a small cafe and patio with fantastic views across the Inland Sea. The end of the building is completely open, allowing the wind and weather in and giving the feeling that the museum is outside.

On display are contemporary scuptures belonging to the collection of wealthy art-collector Atsuo Tokoro, including artworks by Noe Katz, Marisol, Norichika Hayashi, and Takashi Fukai, none of whom I have heard of before as I no longer follow any kind of art scene.

Also on the small island are the nearby Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, the Ken Iwata Mother and Child Museum, a big museum on the calligraphy of Murakami Santo, the Omishima Museum of Art, and several museums at Oyamazumi Shrine displaying samurai armour and weaponry, so worth spending a day there.