About the Building
The renowned Japanese architect Kuma Kengo designed and supervised the re-building of the Nezu Museum, which was completed in 2009. Kuma tried to create a sense of harmony between the building, its collection of artistic masterpieces, and the garden, a delicate, and characteristically Japanese, serenity. Reaching the museum from Omotesandō, a bustling street lined with fashionable shops, visitors are welcomed by a graceful approach surrounded by bamboo trees. The expanse of the massive roof and the quiet vertical line of the walls signal that one is entering a special place. Extensive use of glass in the entrance hall brings the magnificent garden and the Buddhist statues inside the museum into the same picture frame.
The six galleries utilize the latest display and lighting technologies. Their use expresses the museum's commitment to provide the best possible conditions both for optimal viewing and for the conservation of classical Asian works of art made of fragile materials.