Japanese City Guides: Miho Museum
An I.M. Pei Masterpiece in Western Japan
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Miho Museum
Designed by I.M. Pei to house the extensive collection
of art held by the Shumei family (founder of a Buddhist organization with
property and holdings in Shiga, Japan, and Colorado in the US), this is
one of the crown jewels in Japan's art collection.
The grounds of the museum are in a national park, and
it took six years of planning to win permission to begin construction.
In particular, a mountain literally had to be moved and then put back
to where it originally stood to satisfy local officials. The site, located
in the Shigaraki Mountains some 45 minutes outside of Kyoto, is as much
a work of art as that which lies within Pei's exquisite walls.
Pei, the architect of the Phase I and II of the Louvre,
as well as the East Wing of the National Gallery, in Washington, DC, said
that the Miho Museum is like the old Chinese tale "Peach Blossom
Spring." In this story, a fisherman comes upon a fissure in a moutainside
by accident - and discovers a hidden paradise lost in time. Hyperbole
perhaps, but wait until you arrive.
You go from a pavilion near the bus stop, either on foot
or by electric car, through an opening in a mountain. You walk through
an eerily silent tunnel, from which you emerge at a suspension bridge
on the other side. Crossing that, you angle towards the main building,
which looms upon high like a mountain shrine. Within awaits a stunning
collection of religious reliquary from the Middle East, Near and Far East.
Works from Egypt, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan (Gandhara),
Greece, Pakistan, China, (the Tang, Song, Han, Northern, and Southern
Dynasties) Korea, and Japan are represented.
Miho Museum
Miho Museum
300 Momodani,
Shigaraki-cho, Koga-gun,
Shiga Prefecture,
Japan 529-1814
Tel. 81-748-82-3411
Fax 81-748-82-3414
Opening Hours
10 am-5 pm (admission until 4 pm)
Adults: 000
High School/College Students: 00
Elementary/JH Students: 00
Access
From Kyoto Station, take a Japan Railways Biwako Line local train to
Ishiyama Station (13 minutes).
From there catch the Teisan bus to "Miho Bijutsukan." The ride
takes about 45 minutes. The museum may be closed due to snow in the winter season.
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