Ohara Museum of Art

Overview

The Ohara Museum of Art was founded by Magosaburo Ohara, a businessman from Kurashiki, to honor the memory of the prematurely deceased painter Kojima Torajiro and to pass on his achievements to future generations. Kojima, with Ohara's support, studied Western art in Europe and brought back many masterpieces to Japan. These include El Greco's "Annunciation" and Monet's "Water Lilies," which are now among Japan's leading Western art collections. The museum building is in a classical style reminiscent of a Greek temple and harmonizes with the townscape of Kurashiki. In addition to the main building, there are annexes, the Crafts Museum/Oriental Art Museum, and Yurinsou, each offering exhibitions on different themes. In particular, the water lilies floating in the pond next to the Crafts Museum were propagated from Monet's home garden and bloom with beautiful flowers in each season. The Ohara Museum of Art is an attractive place not only for art lovers but also for those interested in history and culture, and is a must-see spot when visiting Kurashiki.