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.

Animals on Ice by Noboru Kunimatsu (1972)

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

A Spring Day on the Beach by Miematsu Tanabe (1937)