Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art
A Modern Art Museum with a Romantic Garden and A Serene Lake.
This museum is part of the DIC Corporation, a Japanese chemical company. It is designed to display the permanent collection owned by the company. However, over the years, the museum has also featured special exhibitions beyond its collection.
It is located in Chiba Prefecure, Japan, about a 2-hour train rides away from Tokyo. It is a good day trip for those based in Tokyo. Visitors can take the train from Tokyo Station to Sakura Station, and then take the free museum shuttle bus from Sakura Station. See the link at the end of this post for more details.
The museum complex includes a large garden, a lake, and 2 buildings: the main museum building and a separate building for the shop and restaurant. If you are planning to have a meal at the museum after seeing the artwork, I recommend you take a queue number at the restaurant before entering the main museum building as the wait can take a while.
Interior Architecture: Overlapping Circles, Swooping Curves and Symmetry
Designed by architect Ichiro Ebihara, the museum’s interior architecture features dramatic use of overlapping circles, curves, and symmetry. These were present in both minimal and decorative ways, from full-height glass windows to elaborate light features in the lobby.
The double-height lobby interior seemed very humble at first. However, upon entering the space, visitors will notice the curved staircase to the next floor and the twin light sculptures on the ceiling. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed in the gallery.
One gallery space stood out for me because of the curved glass windows on both ends of the room. Beyond the windows are views of the lush garden. The lighting in this gallery is also very much dictated by the natural light from the garden. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in this gallery.
Mark Rothko’s Seagram Murals Exhibition and a Dedicated Frank Stella Gallery
The highlights of the first floor for me were Mark Rothko’s Seagram murals. Seven of Rothko’s Seagram murals were displayed in a dedicated gallery space. This was quite an immersive experience of the murals due to the lighting and the smallish size of the room.
This museum is one of the 3 locations where these murals are located. The other locations are: Tate Modern London, National Gallery of Art Washington DC
As visitors exit this gallery, they will be directed to take the stairs to the second-floor galleries. The lighting in this staircase is dim, with full-height vertical lighting as a focal point in the middle. This looks like an art installation and is a nice photo opportunity.
The highlight on the second floor was the Frank Stella gallery: a large open space gallery, brightly lit, full of the artist’s large color paintings. A very different, but welcomed, experience from Rothko’s Seagram murals.
A Quiet Japanese Tea Room With A Garden View
Hidden in one of the first-floor galleries is a Japanese tearoom. Visitors can easily miss this tearoom because its entrance is located in a small corner with barely any signage.
There are only 2 menu options here: green tea mochi with tea set, warabi mochi with brown rice tea set.
The tearoom experience is very meditative. The interior is simply decorated with only calligraphy scrolls, and ikebana flower arrangements on 2 walls. The highlight of the experience is definitely the 2 large glass windows overlooking the garden and lake.
There are 2 rows of wooden benches and tables. All seats are designed to face the window. The lighting is very dim, with most of the lighting coming from the windows. There was no music. The only sound one can hear is the clattering of tableware and soft voices of the server. All visitors were quiet and respectful.
Overall, this museum has a very peaceful ambiance. Visitors can enjoy the garden and lake before and/or after the museum viewing.
Most of the visitors were locals during my visit, and the crowd was minimal, so it was worth the day trip!
Update: Temporary closure of the museum is planned for March 2025 due to financial reasons.