Maureen Pies
The legacy of Adachi Zenko
This museum was created by Zenko Adachi to showcase his passions Japan, art and gardens. A rich businessman from humble beginnings, he wanted to give something back to his rural home town Yasugi. The museum houses his art (including numerous works by Yokoyama Taikan) and pottery collection and is surrounded by an elaborate formal Japanese garden. As you walk around the museum is is hard to tell where the gallery ends and the garden begins. The art work is presented in a very accessible way, it is not some test of your knowledge of art history and style, he just wants you to look at and enjoy his collection.
Pick your favorite picture and you might win a prize. The garden seeks to represent the perfect landscape and at time is borderline "tellytubbie". But the overall effect is entrancing; the carefully selected stones with glistening moss, the verdant perfectly round bushes, the distant waterfall, the borrowed landscape and the carp leaping into dragon form. Do not rush it.
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