Seikado Bunko Art Museum

In short

The Seikado Bunko Art Museum is an art museum located on the first floor of the Meiji Seimei Kan, an Important Cultural Property in Marunouchi, Tokyo, and is affectionately known as "Seikado @ Marunouchi." It houses a collection accumulated across two generations by Iwasaki Yanosuke, the second president of Mitsubishi, and his son Koyata, the fourth president, which includes 7 National Treasures and 84 Important Cultural Properties. In October 2022, it relocated here from Okamoto in Setagaya.

• ​Meiji Seimei Kan​​: A Classical-style building completed in 1934, it was the first Showa-era structure to be designated as an Important Cultural Property.
• ​Glass-Ceiling Foyer​​: An open atrium foyer surrounded by four exhibition galleries.
• ​National Treasure Yohen Temmoku​​: The museum houses one of only three known complete Yohen Temmoku tea bowls in the world.

History and Highlights

Seikado, the parent organization of the ​Seikado Bunko Art Museum​​, was founded as a library in 1892 inside the Tokyo Surugadai residence of Mitsubishi's second president, Iwasaki Yanosuke. His son Koyata, the fourth president, expanded the collection, which today houses approximately 200,000 classic books and 6,500 works of ancient East Asian art, including 7 National Treasures and 84 Important Cultural Properties. The name "Seikado" was Yanosuke's hall name, taken from a passage in the classic Chinese Classic of Poetry (Shijing), meaning that the offerings before the spirits of ancestors are beautifully arranged.

Public exhibitions of the artworks began in Okamoto, Setagaya, in 1977, and the Seikado Bunko Art Museum was newly established there in 1992. Exhibitions at that location continued until June 2021, and in October 2022, exhibition activities began on the first floor of the Meiji Seimei Kan in Marunouchi under the nickname "Seikado @ Marunouchi." Marunouchi was the place where Yanosuke had wished to build an art museum. The storage of the library books and artworks still continues in Setagaya today.

The Meiji Seimei Kan was completed in 1934. It was designed by Okada Shin'ichiro, who was a professor at the Tokyo Fine Arts School, and his younger brother Shogoro. In 1997, it became the first structure from the Showa era to be designated as a national Important Cultural Property. After World War II, it was requisitioned by the GHQ, and the first meeting of the Allied Council for Japan was held here in 1946.

Viewing and Experience Points

• ​Foyer​​: The center of the museum is an open-atrium foyer with a glass ceiling. Natural light filters in through the glass from the high ceiling, and four exhibition rooms surround the foyer. Busts of Iwasaki Yanosuke and Koyata are also placed here.
• ​Masterpieces​​: The most renowned work is the National Treasure Yohen Temmoku tea bowl acquired by Koyata, also known as the "Inaba Temmoku." Featuring a brilliance reminiscent of a night sky full of stars, it is one of only three complete bowls said to exist in the world, all of which are in Japan and designated as National Treasures. Tawaraya Sotatsu's National Treasure folding screen "Scenes from The Tale of Genji (Sekiya and Miotsukushi)" is also in the collection. Displayed works change depending on the period.
• ​Traces of Its Construction​​: In one of the exhibition rooms, an elevator from the time of the building's completion remains, and the arch visible in the back also dates back to the time of construction.

Walking Tips

The museum entrance is on the first floor of Meiji Yasuda Village. It is directly connected to Exit 3 of Nijubashimae Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, and a 5-minute walk from both the Marunouchi South Exit of JR Tokyo Station and the International Forum Exit of JR Yurakucho Station. If you walk around toward the moat side of the building, giant Corinthian colonnades spanning five stories stand in a row, tapering as they go upward. At the Meiji Seimei Kan, visitors can also view major rooms such as the second-floor conference room that served as the venue for the Allied Council for Japan. About 160 meters to the east-southeast is the red-brick Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo.