Heian Court Design in Reinforced Concrete
The Gotoh Museum Main Building (五島美術館本館) is a museum building designed by Yoshida Isoya of 1960 in Kaminoge, Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 27, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a reinforced-concrete building of one storey, partly two and partly with a basement, with a building area of 1,143 square metres, renovated in 2012; registration number 13-386.
A Concrete Hall after the Shinden Style
The main building of the Gotoh Museum was built in 1960 to mark the 77th birthday of Goto Keita, founder of the Tokyu railway, and was designed by Yoshida Isoya (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
It sets out to express tradition in reinforced concrete, recalling the Heian court with a plan based on shinden-zukuri palaces, thick round columns, fittings modelled on lattice shutters and bamboo blinds, and broad verandas and deep eaves that stress the horizontal (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency counts it among Yoshida's major works.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it as a model of design.
What to Look For
Look for the thick round columns and the strong horizontal lines of the broad verandas and deep eaves (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
It is owned by the Gotoh Museum foundation (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the museum's website, it is open from 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) and closed on Mondays (the next weekday after a public holiday) and between exhibitions; entry to the garden alone costs 300 yen. The main building and the two tea houses are introduced together on the Gotoh Museum page.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1960 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Who designed it?
- Yoshida Isoya.
- What did it commemorate?
- Goto Keita's 77th birthday.
- What is its design?
- Heian court forms rendered in concrete.
- When was the Gotoh Museum Main Building registered?
- On October 27, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Gotoh Museum Main Building (五島美術館本館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 112-3 Kaminoge 3-chome and other lots, Setagaya Ward, Tokyo |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2017/10/27 (Heisei 29) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Reinforced concrete, one storey, partly two, partly basement, 1,143 m² |
| Owner | The Gotoh Museum (public interest incorporated foundation) |
| Public Access | 5 minutes on foot from Kaminoge Station on the Tokyu Oimachi Line (Gotoh Museum) |
References
- Gotoh Museum Main Building (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011889
- Gotoh Museum (official website)
- https://www.gotoh-museum.or.jp/
Last verified: 2026.10.25
