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The Okuda Genso Sayume Art Museum focuses on the work of two contemporary Japanese artists, Nihonga painter Genso Okuda and doll artist Sayume Okuda. Before the two became well known and started exhibiting their paintings and carved wooden figures all over Japan, both Genso and Sayume (née Kawai) grew up in Miyoshi, and when the couple later married, they shared a dream of opening a museum in their hometown. They hoped to create a place to exhibit their own pieces and simultaneously clear a path to bring other artists and museums to Miyoshi, and three years after Genso Okuda’s death, the two artists’ dreams finally came to fruition when the Okuda Genso Sayume Art Museum opened in 2006. Now, the museum is a popular destination for art lovers, who come to see the paintings and dolls made by the Okudas, and also the special exhibitions frequently hosted by the museum.

While the museum’s special exhibition is always changing to bring new art to Miyoshi, the permanent collection consists of 20 paintings and sketches from Genso Okuda, and 36 of the sculptural dolls carved by Sayume, a selection of which are rotated for display and shown throughout a series of sleek, modern galleries. Genso Okuda was known for his dramatic paintings of nature, featuring textured trees and mountains, often painted in a vibrant red against the night sky. In fact, he liked that red so much that he named the pigment “Genso red,” and not only does it show up in a huge number of his paintings, but the color is now a motif found around the museum. Genso Okuda’s art is easily recognizable thanks to that red paint, and the ever-present moon, so often glowing in the background of his works.

Sayume Okuda works with a very different medium from her late husband, carving figures out of wood and painting them with white or soft pastel colors. The dolls mostly feature beautiful women with long, flowing hair and skin so smooth it looks sculpted from porcelain, and many are fairly small in stature. The most notable exception to that rule is Sayume Okuda’s piece “Farewell Moon,” an enormous, larger-than-life doll created after Genso’s death. Genso Okuda died during a full moon, and this piece represents the beautiful celestial body that arrived in the sky that night to guide him.

The moon was an important symbol to both artists, and the museum was built with that importance in mind. In fact, thanks to its elegant architecture, the Okuda Genso Sayume Art Museum has been called the most beautiful museum in Japan, and one key feature is the structure’s lobby. A wall of glass looks out onto a pool of clear water, which shows its rocky bottom during the day, but reflects the night sky and the glowing moon after dark. Each month, on the night of the full moon, the museum stays open until 9 pm. There are quiet tea ceremonies, and concerts hosted in the lobby, and guests are free to stick around and admire the perfectly framed moon late into the night.

The museum also has a popular restaurant off of the lobby called Yoshoku Kobo, which looks out onto the greenery of the garden, and serves decadent beef stew beloved by local diners as well. For a full day of Miyoshi sightseeing, it’s also in a particularly convenient location, just down the street from Miyoshi Winery, Toretta Miyoshi, and Miyoshi Play Kingdom!