Hiroshige Museum of Art, Ena

Overview

The Hiroshige Museum of Art in Ena, Gifu Prefecture, is a municipal museum devoted to ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Centered on Utagawa Hiroshige, one of Edo's foremost print artists, its collection of roughly 1,500 works also includes pieces by artists such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Opened in September 2001 in Ena, a town that flourished as a post station on the Nakasendo highway, it conveys the world of Hiroshige, who spent his career depicting travel and landscape. The building itself won the Chubu Architecture Award, making the architecture as much a highlight as the art.

Highlights

• ●A collection of about 1,500 ukiyo-e centered on Utagawa Hiroshige
• ●Architecture honored with the Chubu Architecture Award
• ●Rotating and special exhibitions built on the Tanaka and Yoshimura collections
• ●A location beside the townscape of Nakasendo's Oi-juku

History

The museum takes its name from the Nakasendo highway and the print master Utagawa Hiroshige. Hiroshige rendered scenery from across Japan, including the Tokaido and the Kiso road, in woodblock prints, resonating naturally with Ena's history as home to the post town of Oi-juku. Built around holdings such as the Tanaka and Yoshimura collections, the museum has centered its program on rotating and special exhibitions since opening in 2001.

Map

35.4529, 137.4101 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Head from JR Ena Station to the Hiroshige Museum of Art
2. 2View prints by Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi in the current exhibition
3. 3Take in the award-winning architecture of the building
4. 4Round off the visit by strolling the nearby Oi-juku townscape

Did you know?

💡 The very fact that the delicate prints preclude a permanent display gives the museum its charm of offering different works each time you visit. From Hiroshige's celebrated masterpieces to Kuniyoshi's inventive designs, each exhibition opens a varied window onto the world of ukiyo-e.

Nearby spots