Facility Outline:
The center of art and culture in southern Hokkaido

The Hakodate Museum of Art, Hokkaido, was opened in 1986 as the fourth prefectural art museum in Hokkaido, and serves as an art and cultural hub in southern Hokkaido. It showcases masterpieces produced since modern times under three themes: art in southern Hokkaido, Oriental art and calligraphy, and contemporary art related to characters and symbols. In particular, it has approximately 300 works of Otei Kaneko, Japan’s leading calligrapher from Matsumae in southern Hokkaido. The museum also displays a number of Western sculptures, such as a Bourdelle piece at the front entrance and works by Rodin and Renoir.

Special exhibitions not only cover a wide range of genres in Japan and beyond, but also enable visitors to enjoy closer contact with art, for example, by holding a variety of related events.

Permanent Exhibition:
A collection related to Otei Kaneko, a calligrapher known as the first person to write out modern poetry in calligraphy, is on display

In the museum’s permanent exhibition space, works featuring southern Hokkaido and contemporary art are displayed, and the Otei Memorial Room is dedicated to a collection of Otei Kaneko, a calligrapher from Matsumae. These exhibits change with the seasons, as the museum highlights its collections from various angles.

Recommended Activities:
The museum houses the work of Miematsu Tanabe, a well-known painter from Hakodate, and other characteristic works

The museum provides visitors with opportunities to enjoy unique collections as it continues to collect works of art. These include outstanding works by artists associated with southern Hokkaido (e.g., Hakyo Kakizaki, a painter from Matsumae during the Edo period (1603 – 1868), and Miematsu Tanabe, Shuzo Iwafune and Saburo Hashimoto, artists from Hakodate), calligraphy works by Otei Kaneko and others, and works of Oriental and contemporary art concerning characters and symbols.