Adachi Museum of Art

Around 200 kilometers northwest of Osaka lies a treasure trove of Japanese artwork. The Adachi Museum of Art is one of the most popular art museums in Japan, despite being far from any major city. Its home in the small city of Yasugi is not by accident; it is the hometown of Zendo Adachi, a wealthy self-made man who loved art and loved gardening. Self-described as a “wild boar of a man,” Adachi was quite the character.

He wanted a museum to showcase his love of Japanese painting, ceramics, and sculpture in an environment that paid homage to what he felt was the inspiration of all art: the beauty of nature. So was born the 165-hectare garden that surrounds the main museum building, providing an anchoring context for the world-class collection within. Maintained by a battalion of gardeners, the gardens are as much of a wonder as the collection Adachi amassed, which includes the most extensive collection of Taikan Yokoyama works in the world.