Matsue, Shimane Prefecture. It has the modern architecture standing on the lakeside, I plan to return to experience the “art museum in the sunset.”
The Prefectural Art Museum in Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture. It is about a 20-minute walk from JR Shimane Station, on the shores of Lake Shinjiko. I’m sorry to say this, but I didn’t have high expectations in the location of Shimane. However, it was an impressive museum.
Homepage state that this is “A lakeside museum in the sunset,”. A museum’s selling point is that it is a museum where you can see the sunset. The proof that they have sunset viewing in mind is that the opening hours are set to 30 minutes after sunset (This is applicable from March to September. It closes at 18:30 from October to February).
By the way, the longest day around the summer solstice is when the sun sets at around 7:30 p.m., so the museum is open until 8 p.m. Closing times for art museums are generally 5 or 6 p.m., and 7 p.m. is rare. Therefore closing at 8 p.m. is quite rare. As long as I know, in Tokyo, the only museums that are open until 8 p.m. are the New Museum and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, on Fridays and Saturdays.
First, let me write about the museum building. When I enter the site from the road, I see a building made of glass from floor to ceiling, allowing me to see inside. In front of the building is a rotary where cars can make rounds.
Waved eaves of the roof look like a building with a recent design. However it actually opened in 1999, which is surprisingly early. Taking Tokyo as examples, there are the Mori Art Museum (opened in 2003), the New Museum of Art (opened in 2007), and the Yokohama Triennale (started in 2001), so this museum is older than these.
Enter through the main entrance. It’s a large space. There is a reception desk on the left, and I can see Lake Shinji ahead. The side facing the lake is made of floor-to-ceiling glass, with rows of chairs. I wasn’t able to visit at sunset, but I’m sure there will be a lot of people in the evening. It seems people can wander around the space without buying a ticket. Therefore it must be a luxurious experience to come here when people want to relax, sit in a chair, and enjoy the view of Lake Shinji.
The exhibition rooms are on the first and second floors. The first floor is at the back left of the entrance. It seems that special exhibitions are usually held there, but when I visited, it was closed. When I go up the stairs next to the reception desk, I found a mezzanine floor with a small bookshelf and tables for browsing. I could also see the view of Lake Shinji from here.
The exhibition room on the second floor is the permanent exhibition room. This is also another highlight of the museum. There is a lobby about 20m x 20m, and there are five exhibition rooms around it. The ceiling of the lobby is about 10m high. There are benches facing the wall. It is an open space that I cannot find in art museums in Tokyo. There are five exhibition rooms, 1 through 5, and exhibition room 1 displays the highlight of the museum.
The exhibition mainly features Japanese paintings, but there are also Western works. What caught my eye the most was a folding screen painting of unknown author in the Azuchi-Momoyama period (16th century)
I apologize for the rude way of saying it, but it suited Shimane well. When I visited, exhibition room 3 was the “Hokusai Collection”. There were Ukiyoe (colored woodblock) prints in a dimly lit space.
There is a lot of space next to Lake Shinji outside. People are walking, running, and walking with their dogs. There are few people in this museum. Therefore it creates a relaxing space. If you have the opportunity to go to Shimane, please visit.
Visit in 2025
Basic information
■ Name : Shimane Art Museum
■ Address : 1-5 Sodeshi-cho, Matsue-shi, Shimane, Japan
■ Homepage : https://www.shimane-art-museum.jp/en/
