Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum Main Building

The Gallery Building of 1934

The Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum Main Building (白鶴美術館本館) is a museum gallery building of 1934 in Sumiyoshiyamate, Higashinada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 18, 1999 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a 2-storey reinforced concrete building with a copper-sheet roof and a building area of 526 square metres; registration number 28-0057.

The Agency's commentary, however, calls the structure steel-framed reinforced concrete, so the two parts of its own record do not quite agree.

A Japanese-Style Gallery Facing South

The Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum Main Building stands on the upper part of the slope on the right bank of the Sumiyoshi River, its front turned to the south (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It was built to show the art gathered by Kano Jihei, seventh head of the Hakutsuru sake brewery; Takenaka Corporation designed and built it, and the design work is attributed to Washio Kuro.

Concrete carries the structure, yet the outside is dressed as a Japanese temple, and the Agency calls it a purely Japanese-style building. The museum describes the main building as a blend of East and West, tradition and modernity, which came through the war and the great earthquake still looking much as it did at the opening.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency registered the Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum Main Building as a model of design. A curator told the Kobe Shimbun that Kano Jihei cared as much about fire and earthquake resistance as about appearance, wanting a building that would protect the collection; the temple-like exterior over a solid concrete frame is that idea made visible.

What to Look For

The copper roof of the Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum Main Building has weathered to green, and that colour sets the tone of the whole building (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Kobe Shimbun). According to the Kobe Shimbun, the large gallery windows were meant to let visitors see the works in daylight, and cranes, a nod to Kano Jihei's art name Kakuo, appear on light fittings and nail covers.

The museum itself speaks of galleries filled with soft natural light. Between the display cases, watch how the light falls from the windows, and look for the cranes hidden in the fittings.

Visiting

The Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum Main Building is open as gallery space during the spring and autumn exhibitions, with an admission charge (museum website). It shows mainly Chinese and Japanese art, while Middle Eastern carpets are in the new wing. There are no ramps on the paths or stairs, and the official guidance says nothing about photography. Opening dates, fees and directions are on the Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum page.