Ukiyo-E Ota Memorial Art Museum

Save
  • Address
    1-10-10 Jingūmae, Shibuya-ku
  • Phone
    3403 0880
  • Transport
    underground rail: JR Yamanote Line to Harajuku (Omote-sandō exit), or Chiyoda Line to Meiji-jingūmae (exit 5

Let us know if these details are incorrect

Lonely Planet review

This cosy museum, which asks that you trade your shoes for a pair of slippers at the door, has an excellent collection of ukiyo-e (wood-block prints). The original collector, Ota Seizo, former head of the Toho Life Insurance Company, began to buy ukiyo-e when he realised that many important examples of Japanese wood-block prints belonged to foreign museums, making it impossible for Japanese to view many of the genre's masterworks. The museum usually displays no more than a few dozen works at a time from its collection of over 10,000 prints, including those by masters of the art such as Hokusai and Hiroshige.