Seikadō Bunko Art Museum (静嘉堂文庫美術館) is a museum of East Asian art that opened in Setagaya, Tokyo in 1992.[1] The museum's gallery moved to Meiji Seimei Kan in Marunouchi in Chiyoda, Tokyo in October 2022, but the foundation continues to operate and manage its collection in its former building in Setagaya.[2]
History
Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Seatagaya.
The core collection of the museum was created by Yanosuke Iwasaki (1851–1908), the second president of Mitsubishi in its earliest form. "Seikado" was the studio-name of this corporate leader.[3]
In the 1890s, Yanosuke began collecting artworks and manuscripts. The process of collecting was continued by his son, Koyata Iwasaki (1879–1945), Mitsubishi's fourth president.[3]
In 1940, Koyata established The Seikado Foundation and opened the Seikado Bunko Library which was composed of books from his personal collection (80,000 Japanese volumes and 120,000 Chinese volumes.[3]
In 1992, in commemoration of hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Seikado collection, this museum galleries were opened to the public.[3]
Collection
The Seikado Bunko Museum houses 200,000 classic books and 6,500 East Asian cultural artifacts. As of September 2023, the Japanese government has designated 7 of these items as National Treasures and 84 as Important Cultural Properties. The museum's collection occupies an important place among private collections in Japan. The museum has four small galleries and only a few thematic exhibitions per year. As a result, only a small portion of the collection is on display at any one time.[2]
