For some reason, the tower of the western-style Higashiyama Kaii Memorial Hall looks like a Haunted Mansion

In a residential area of Ichikawa, there stands a building that stands apart from the surrounding houses. It is the Higashiyama Kaii Memorial Hall. As the name suggests, this Western-style building with a tower was built to honor the achievements of Kaii Higashiyama, one of the most famous Japanese-style painters of the Showa period. The reason why the exterior of the building honoring a Japanese painter has a Western look is because Kaii Higashiyama's study in Germany influenced his humanity and artistic direction.

In other words, the exterior of the building is apparently modeled after German architecture. However, it is difficult for the layman to understand what exactly is German about this building. If it is said to be French, it looks French; if it is said to be Belgian, it looks Belgian. To an architectural expert, the style may be unmistakably German from any angle, but I could not understand it well. Furthermore, as a facility honoring a famous artist, it seems to me that the building itself should have some kind of explanation or thought behind it, but there was none.

It was not only the exterior of the building that was unclear to me, but also the exhibits. There was a chronology of Higashiyama Kaii's life, but not many of his actual works. If you visit the hall with the intention of fully appreciating Higashiyama Kaii's works, you may feel that you are missing something. Perhaps this memorial museum itself is a grand device to make you want to visit the Nagano Prefectural Museum of Art, which has more than 900 works of Higashiyama Kaii.

Comment via

日本語