2023-07-20 / Last updated : 2023-07-21 Sylvain Samurai

Takahashi Family Residence: An Important Part of the Matsumoto Story

Matsumoto is a city proud of its samurai heritage, a past that can be explored at multiple historic sites. Matsumoto Castle is of course the most famous and prominent of those – a registered National Treasure and pride of the city. Popular shopping streets including Nawate Dori and the Nakamachi also align with the original moat and defensive systems of the castle complex, while to the north of the castle, the Takahashi Family Residence is one of Matsumoto’s last remaining samurai residences. A Short Distance from Matsumoto Castle Located 10 minutes walk from Matsumoto Castle, the Takahashi Family Residence is situated nearby the Former Kaichi School – Matsumoto’s second National […]

2022-09-22 / Last updated : 2022-09-22 Kevin Kato History

The Matsumoto Scale Museum: 1,300 Years in the Making

Among the iconic kura warehouses of Nakamachi Street sits an intriguing repository of Matsumoto’s past. Centuries of commerce and trade, A once-thriving sericulture industry. A couple of extra buildings out back and a collection of fuzzy photos from 1888. At a glance the range of exhibits appears quite eclectic. But there’s a common thread that winds through the Matsumoto Scale Museum, a part of town 1,300 years in the making. Keiichiro Tanaka’s Weighty Aspirations Born in the 19th Century in what is now the City of Ina, Keiichiro Tanaka came to Matsumoto in 1902. He opened up the Takeuchi Weights and Measures Shop. More than a retailer, Tanaka managed to […]

2022-09-06 / Last updated : 2022-09-25 Kevin Kato Art

Yayoi Kusama Print Works: Special Exhibition at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art

Yayoi Kusama, world-famous artist and native of Matsumoto, has her colorful and distinctive works displayed permanently at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art. But this summer the museum has put on a special exhibition, Yayoi Kusama Hanga-no-Sekai, that brings us down the road of her life as it leads us past her thoughts, represented in “hanga” prints and pieces that could have been created by no one else. Yayoi Kusama’s Work Yayoi Kusama is perhaps best-known for her red polka dots and her yellow spotted pumpkins works. But her work goes far beyond these. On permanent display are expressions of various media: lights and mirrors and three-dimensional objects of material soft […]

2022-05-01 / Last updated : 2022-05-01 Kevin Kato Other

Make Time for the Minute Details of the Matsumoto Timepiece Museum

I’d read somewhere that the huge pendulum clock on the Matsumoto Timepiece Museum was one of the largest of its kind in the world. Its pendulum was supposedly even longer than the one on London’s Big Ben. The museum’s own website claims it is the largest pendulum clock in Japan. But, failing to find an independent source to corroborate the claim, I decided to make time to go down and inquire directly. Thanks to museum manager Nishizawa-san, who pointed out various minute details of the exhibits during his gracious, impromptu personal tour, I now have answers to questions I didn’t even know I had – plus the one I had […]

2021-04-07 / Last updated : 2022-03-16 Kevin Kato History

Halls of History in Matsumoto: The Old Higher School Museum

During the Meiji Restoration, Japan established a network of special secondary schools to nurture the country’s best and brightest young minds. There were only forty-one of these ‘Higher Schools’ in Japan. Matsumoto was home to one of them. Most of these schools no longer exist, but you can still walk these halls of history right here in Matsumoto, at the Old Higher School Museum in Agata-no-Mori Park. Life of the Higher Schools When Japan opened its ports to the world in 1868, a deluge of western ideas came pouring in. To more deeply understand the ways of the west, Japan established a network of Imperial universities where students took science, […]

2021-03-24 / Last updated : 2022-03-16 Sylvain Notification

Matsumoto’s museums closure notification: Museum of Art & Kaichi School

Due to large-scale renovations, the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, the Former Kaichi School and the Matsumoto City Museum will begin their temporary closures from April 2021. Due to the importance of this work, these museums will remain closed for the near future. Please see below for further information regarding Matsumoto’s museums closure notification. The Matsumoto City Museum of Art showcases the works of many Japanese artists and houses a permanent exhibition of the world-renowned avant-garde artist, Yayoi Kusama. This museum will be closed for about one year following April 1st, 2021 due to large-scale renovations. Read our article Built at the beginning of the Meiji Period, The Former Kaichi […]

2021-02-02 / Last updated : 2022-03-16 Mike Stiles Art

Exploring the latest art trends at Matsumoto City Art Museum!

What’s with the modernist building with the huge funky flowers out front? The building is the Matsumoto City Art Museum and the “flowers” are sculptures by local artist Yayoi Kusama. I had an opportunity to visit the museum and browse. Kusama’s work can be quite immersive and usually puts a smile on my face! Yayoi Kusama – A living treasure Born and raised in Matsumoto, Yayoi Kusama spent much of her early life and career in France and the US. During the 1960s she was a major fixture of “The Happening” art scene in New York City. Kusama returned to Japan in 1972. Since that time she has continued to […]

2020-10-09 / Last updated : 2021-12-11 Sylvain History

Matsumoto Castle: The National Treasure through Modern Times (From 1871 to now)

The scheduled end of Matsumoto Castle (1871 and 1872) From September 1870, people were allowed to enter the castle freely for the first time since its construction. Then in 1871, Matsumoto Castle was placed under the jurisdiction of the newly formed national government who sold the castle at auction in 1872. The castle keeps were then scheduled for demolition. Matsumoto Castle rescued by local residents (From 1872 to 1901) Upon hearing of the planned demolition, a group of local residents led by Ichikawa Ryozo began collecting donations and raising funds in order to save the castle from destruction. They obtained permission to organize several events around the castle. Thanks to […]