The Museum of Art in Atami City

A Coalescence of Eastern and Western Creativity

Tyra 'nell Pille-Lu Apr 03, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Ascending the Circular Hall by long escalators or staircases</p>

<p>The lights are fascinating as they shift and change from one color to the other.</p>

<p>Be mesmerized by the visual magnificence of the Noh Theater. It feels eerily quiet being inside this small asymmetrical amphitheater.</p>

<p>Looking at the stage of Noh Theater from the opposite side, where the audience can see the entrance from the dressing room.</p>

<p>At the lobby, this voluptuous stone statue guards the entrance to the Golden Tea Room.</p>

<p>Sit on the elegant benches in the lobby, which overlooks the beautiful blue seascape beyond the bamboo trees.</p>

<p>An annual International Children's Art Exhibition is also held here where they aim to realize the founder's desire "to build a world-class museum in Atami to introduce the excellent sense for beauty innate in Japanese culture to people worldwide."</p>

<p>She greets visitors as they enter the main entrance after ascending very long escalators or staircases.</p>

<p>The Museum of Art was founded by Okada Mokichi (1882-1955)</p>

<p>Egyptian style art on the hard elegantly-designed concrete wall</p>

<p>Looking towards the great blueness of the sea and the forest of Cherry Blossoms over the hedge.  </p>

<p>One of the places where photos would look really great as the background shows the seascape on the horizon.  </p>

<p>The lights in this area change colors every minute.</p>

<p>One of the breaks from the long escalators and staircases going to the main entrance of the museum</p>

<p>A view of the entrance from the outside</p>

Creativity should not be dictated, otherwise, it won't flourish into a great talent. That's how I sum up the things I have learned from visiting the Museum of Art (MOA) in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The museum houses about 3,500 art works including three national treasures and 65 valuable cultural properties. The exhibits focused on calligraphy, painting, Japanese-style flower arrangement (Ikebana) and other art crafts from the East, yet they also showcase sculptures and Western artworks. The MOA also welcomes visitors to their Golden Tea Room, Ippaku-an Tea House, Circular Hall and Moore Plaza, among others.