Frank Brangwyn "Portrait of Kojiro Matsukata" (1916) Matsukata family
©David Brangwyn

Frank Brangwyn "Aerial Perspective of
Kyoraku Art Museum, Tokyo"
The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
©David Brangwyn
©David Brangwyn

More than words, paintings have the power to move souls. In his day, underprivileged Japanese art students had never had a chance to see high-quality Western paintings. To improve the situation, Kojiro, as a wealthy, famous man, decided to buy Western paintings and bring them back to Japan. He had a plan to build a museum named Kyoraku Bijutsukan ("Sheer Pleasure Fine Arts Pavilion") where everybody could enjoy the art.

Lefevre Gallery, one of the art galleries Kojiro frequented

During WWI, posters designed to evoke patriotism were seen everywhere in the United States and Europe. Comparing these posters with their significantly less sophisticated counterparts in Japan, Kojiro realized how far behind Japan was in terms of art facilities. He began purchasing paintings by Sir Frank Brangwyn, the creator of the WWI posters. In Japan at that time, magazines were the only available means to see excellent works of art, but the magazines were scarce. For art students to see fine art, they had to travel overseas. How could poor students afford that? Kojiro, moved by a fervent desire to remedy this situation, decided to devote the rest of his life to the collection of outstanding Western paintings. His collection eventually came to more than 10,000 items, and was later named the "Matsukata Collection."

当時の時代背景

A pair of revolutions, known as the "February Revolution" and the "October Revolution," took place in Russia. The October Revolution led to the rise of the world's first socialist nation, which shocked the world.

An artist's image of Kyoraku Bijutsukan

Kojiro embarked on collecting works of art, but he admitted that he did not have an eye for picking out good paintings. Sometimes he fell prey to foreign art dealers who sold him questionable works of art. Kojiro decided to hire an advisor whom he could trust, and that person coincidentally happened to be Frank Brangwyn, the creator of the first Western painting Kojiro had purchased. Bonded by their shared mission to popularize art, Kojiro and Brangwyn became close friends, and together purchased many paintings from around the world.

When the collection grew very large, Kojiro came up with the idea to build a museum to house it. Upon hearing of this plan, Brangwyn expressed his support and willingly accepted Kojiro's request to design the museum. They decided it would be called Kyoraku Bijutsukan ("Sheer Pleasure Fine Arts Pavilion") where everybody could enjoy the art. Initially, the name "Matsukata Museum" was proposed, but it is said that Kojiro dismissed the idea, calling it "petty-minded." He said, "I'm doing this for Japan and the Japanese people." This was the point at which Kojiro's dream began to take shape.

当時の時代背景

With a mission to achieve international cooperation, the League of Nations was formed. It was a multinational coordinated effort to maintain world peace based on lessons learned from WWI.

Claude Monet and Kojiro Matsukata

Kojiro had the opportunity to meet the great impressionist painter, Claude Monet, to discuss the purchase of his paintings. It is said that meetings were organized at least twice, and Kojiro bought a total of 34 paintings, but the exact numbers of visits and paintings are unknown. As they met at Monet's home, Kojiro became familiar with the artist’s taste. He always brought with him a bottle of Monet's favorite wine "Napoleon," at which Monet exhibited child-like excitement.

After viewing Monet's paintings at his studio, Kojiro asked if he could purchase 18 of them. They were all Monet's favorites and he was determined not to sell them to collectors. Despite Monet's unfavorable response, Kojiro convinced him that the purpose of the purchase was to show Monet's wonderful paintings to underprivileged Japanese art students. Learning that Kojiro's motive was altruistic, Monet agreed to sell the paintings.

当時の時代背景

After WWI, the world's first disarmament conference was held in Washington D.C., the capital of the United States. As a result, an international treaty to limit the naval armament of major powers was concluded, and participating nations scrapped battleships and battle cruisers then under construction

How the Matsukata Collection came to be what it is today

The Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 seriously jeopardized the construction of the Kyoraku Bijutsukan. Infrastructure in the entire Kanto region was destroyed and the museum plans were halted. The news of the abeyance of the project from Kojiro was a disappointment to Brangwyn. On top of the devastation of the earthquake, the Japanese government was suffering from a trade deficit, and to remedy the situation, a luxury goods customs act imposing duties of up to 100% on goods including paintings was legislated. Because of this new legislation, Kojiro had to return the works he had collected in Europe when they arrived at the Port of Kobe. Tragic incidents did not stop there. A severe worldwide economic depression occurred, severely affecting Kawasaki’s business, and most of Kojiro’s paintings were seized by the Jugo Bank. To make things worse, this was followed by a fire in London which burnt a warehouse housing his paintings there, and the paintings that survived the fire were confiscated as "enemy properties" by the French government. Other masterpieces stored in different parts of the world were also scattered and lost, ruining Kojiro's dream of building the Kyoraku Bijutsukan.

当時の時代背景

A global war broke out between the Axis Powers (Japan, Germany, and Italy), and the Allied Powers (the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, France and others). The war incurred tremendous human casualties and property damage, far more than the previous world war.

The National Museum of Western Art

Behind the scenes of the 1951 Peace Conference in San Francisco, Shigeru Yoshida, then prime minister of Japan, requested the French foreign minister to return the Matsukata Collection to Japan. Yoshida spoke passionately to the minister, as if he was an envoy from Kojiro, and the minister apparently responded with a simple "yes." As an essential condition for the return of the works of art, the French government required the Japanese government to build a dedicated art museum for the collection so that the works would not be scattered again. In 1959, a collection of 308 paintings, 63 sculptures and five books were returned to Japan. The Matsukata Collection found its home in the National Museum of Western Art. At the Museum's opening ceremony, Kojiro's eldest daughter, Hanako, on behalf of her father, made an address in French expressing her gratitude. The Matsukata Collection had its origin in Kojiro's desire to collect works of art for underprivileged art students. Forty long years after Kojiro’s vision of building a museum, his dream finally came to fruition, against all odds.

当時の時代背景

At a peace conference for post-WWII settlement between Japan and the Allied Powers, the Peace Treaty of San Francisco was signed and Japan's sovereignty was restored.

2016 marks the 120th anniversary of the foundation of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. The National Museum of Western Art in Ueno, Tokyo, which houses much of the remaining Matsukata Collection, was recently listed as a world Heritage Site. The listing has renewed public awareness of the collection. As a pre-event to the 150th anniversary celebration of the opening of the Port of Kobe, the Matsukata Collection Exhibition is being held in Kobe for the second time in 27 years.

The previous exhibition was in 1989, held in commemoration of the centennial of the City of Kobe at Kobe City Museum, and attracted approximately 190,000 visitors. The current exhibition features five paintings from the Matsukata Collection that were retained in France, including "Woman seated in a Garden" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, "Woman Reading" by Pablo Picasso, and watercolor works by Paul Cézanne and Gustave Moreau owned by the Louvre Museum. Besides the Matsukata Collection, about 20 selected works from French museums are also being exhibited.

46 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec "Woman in a Garden ; Justine Dieuhl"
(1891) Musée d'Orsay ©RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) /
Hervé Lewandowski / distributed by AMF
Claude Monet "Vétheuil"
(1902) The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Camille Pissarro "The Harvest"
(1882) The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Auguste Rodin "Eternal Springtime"
(1881-84) The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Frank Brangwyn "Aerial Perspective of Kyoraku Art Museum, Tokyo"
The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
©David Brangwyn
Frank Brangwyn "Portrait of Kojiro Matsukata"
(1916) Matsukata family
©David Brangwyn
Paul Gauguin "Watering Trough"
(1886) Shimane Art Museum
Camille Corot "Mary Magdalene"
Private collection
Constant Troyon "Market Day"
(c. 1859) Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art
Charles-François Daubigny "Les Sables-d'Olonne"
Bridgestone Museum of Art
Gustave Courbet "Woman with the Naked Breast"
(1867) The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Gustave Moreau "Giotto di Bondone as Shepherd in Florence Gustave Moreau"
(c. 1882) Musée du Louvre département des Arts graphiques: epôt du Musée d'Orsay
© RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) / Tony Querrec / distributed by AMF
Léon Lhermitte "Landscape with Shepherdess and Her Flock"
(1909) Hyogo House
Camille Pissarro "Harbour of Rouen"
(1898) Private collection
Paul Cézanne "Pastoral Concert "
(1878) Musée du Louvre département des Arts
département des Arts graphiques: epôt du Musée d'Orsay
© RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) / Tony Querrec / distributed by AMF
Jules Bastien-Lepage "Woman Washing at the Riverside"
Private collection
Maurice Denis "Little Boy Writing"
(1920) The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Pierre-Albert Marquet "Les Sables d’Olonne"
(1921) The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Edvard Munch "Snow Rakers"
(1910) Private collection
Chaïm Soutine "Hanging Cock"
(1925) Musée national d'art moderne,
Centre national d'Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou
© Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais /
Droits réservés / distributed by AMF
Kitagawa Utamaro "Needlework"
(1794-1795) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Needlework"
(1794-1795) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Needlework"
(1794-1795) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Mosquito Net"
(1797) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Raw Fish"
(1798-1799) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Three Beauties in Yoshiwara "
(1793) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Mosquito Net for a Baby"
(1794-1795) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Sheltering from a Sudden Shower"
(1799-1800) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Sheltering from a Sudden Shower"
(1799-1800) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Sheltering from a Sudden Shower"
(1799-1800) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "An Array of ancing Girls of the Present Day"
(1793-1794) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Female Geisha Section of the Yoshiwara
Niwaka Festival (Seiro Niwaka Onnageisha no Bu) /
Azumabune, Folding Fan Seller (Ougiuri),
Utamakura" (1793) Tokyo National Museum
Kitagawa Utamaro "Female Geisha Section of the Yoshiwara
Niwaka Festival (Seiro Niwaka Onnageisha no Bu) /
Folding Fan Seller, Round Fan Seller,
Barley Pounder" (1793) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "View of Yotsuya Juniso"
(1804-1807) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Mt. Fuji Viewed from under Takabashi Bridge (Takabashi no Fuji)"
(1804-1807) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Fly-Fishing (Kabari-nagashi),
from the Series One-Thousand Pictures of the Sea (Chie no Umi)"
(1832) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Fishing with Handheld Nets (Machi-ami),
from the Series One-Thousand Pictures of
the Sea (Chie no umi)"
(1832) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Line-Fishing in the Miyatogawa River
(the Sumidagawa River)(Miyatogawa Naganawa),
from the Series One-Thousand Pictures of the Sea (Chie no umi)"
(1832) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Bowl-trap Fishing on the Kinugawa River
(Kinugawa Hachibuse), from the Series One-Thousand
Pictures of the Sea (Chie no umi)"
(1832) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Fishing by Torchlight in Kai Province
(Koshu Hiburi), from the Series One-Thousand Pictures of
the Sea (Chie no umi)"
(1832) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Straw Work Show"
(1820) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Straw Work Show"
(1820) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Straw Work Show"
(1820) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Straw Work Show"
(1820) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Parody of Junidan Story (Yatsushi Junidan no Zu)"
(1799) Tokyo National Museum
Katsushika Hokusai "Teahouse in the Hall of the Votive Pictures"
(1801-1805) Tokyo National Museum