Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum
Words, voices and images: Connecting to cultures around the world
"It is fitting that the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum takes its place here as an expression of openness, knowledge and creativity to the west and beyond".
Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum is a fine example of Japanese museum design. This place of culture was designed by architects Kengo Kuma and Nihon Sekkei.
The museum was constructed on a site adjacent to Dejima district in Nagasaki. The Dejima district is itself remarkable because during Japan’s period of isolation, which spanned 250 years of the Edo Period, Dejima was the only place where foreigners were allowed to live. All trade with the outside world was prohibited, except from the port of Nagasaki. So this tiny island was Japan’s only engagement with the west for a very long time.
“It seems that the fan shape of the Dejima is somehow related to this structure because a fan can be opened and closed freely. This residential area for foreigners was tentatively open, but in the event that the government policy of the period changed, it could be closed immediately and the foreigners expelled overseas. This is reminiscent of how a fan works, it can be opened and closed in the blink of an eye” Kengo Kuma
You will not be alone in thinking that perhaps the UK should read some lessons from Japanese history. A particular point to absorb is that increasingly, and as time went by, the long period of isolation made Japan vulnerable, as it did not keep up with the progress being made by other nations. The entire cultural, social and economic history of the period of isolation eventually unravelling in the catastrophe of WWII. So it is far more sensible for us all to engage with the world in peace and trade, than not to do so.
It is fitting that the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum takes its place here as an expression of openness, knowledge and creativity to the west and beyond.
Kengo goes on to say that rather than the site being close to the sea, it incorporates the sea.
The building itself is in two parts, the west wing and the east wing. The entrance to the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum is in the west wing, the central canal between the two buildings is crossed via a glass covered bridge.
The west wing of the gallery contains the public gallery, museum gallery, atelier and shop. The east wing has the gallery spaces, staff offices, research facilities, gallery storage and loading dock.
The gallery has rooftop gardens, which appear as an extension to the close by Nagasaki Seaside Park.
The idea of bridging is again expressed by Kengo:
“The sequence of having visitors first cross over the bridge before they experience art is very important. When people cross the bridge they have the opportunity to feel the sea and this awakens a new delicate feeling in them. And the sequence of awakening this feeling and having people encounter and experience art is very important. This sequence transforms the entire art museum building into something that exists as a bridge”.
As if to echo the idea of connecting us, in 2016 and in the east wing of the building was the exhibition A journey to the land of immortals: Treasures of Ancient Greece. The exhibition of more than 300 objects from over forty locations in Greece sets out the cultural foundations of Western Civilisation.
The museum was constructed on a site adjacent to Dejima district in Nagasaki. The Dejima district is itself remarkable because during Japan’s period of isolation, which spanned 250 years of the Edo Period, Dejima was the only place where foreigners were allowed to live. All trade with the outside world was prohibited, except from the port of Nagasaki. So this tiny island was Japan’s only engagement with the west for a very long time.
“It seems that the fan shape of the Dejima is somehow related to this structure because a fan can be opened and closed freely. This residential area for foreigners was tentatively open, but in the event that the government policy of the period changed, it could be closed immediately and the foreigners expelled overseas. This is reminiscent of how a fan works, it can be opened and closed in the blink of an eye” Kengo Kuma
You will not be alone in thinking that perhaps the UK should read some lessons from Japanese history. A particular point to absorb is that increasingly, and as time went by, the long period of isolation made Japan vulnerable, as it did not keep up with the progress being made by other nations. The entire cultural, social and economic history of the period of isolation eventually unravelling in the catastrophe of WWII. So it is far more sensible for us all to engage with the world in peace and trade, than not to do so.
It is fitting that the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum takes its place here as an expression of openness, knowledge and creativity to the west and beyond.
Kengo goes on to say that rather than the site being close to the sea, it incorporates the sea.
The building itself is in two parts, the west wing and the east wing. The entrance to the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum is in the west wing, the central canal between the two buildings is crossed via a glass covered bridge.
The west wing of the gallery contains the public gallery, museum gallery, atelier and shop. The east wing has the gallery spaces, staff offices, research facilities, gallery storage and loading dock.
The gallery has rooftop gardens, which appear as an extension to the close by Nagasaki Seaside Park.
The idea of bridging is again expressed by Kengo:
“The sequence of having visitors first cross over the bridge before they experience art is very important. When people cross the bridge they have the opportunity to feel the sea and this awakens a new delicate feeling in them. And the sequence of awakening this feeling and having people encounter and experience art is very important. This sequence transforms the entire art museum building into something that exists as a bridge”.
As if to echo the idea of connecting us, in 2016 and in the east wing of the building was the exhibition A journey to the land of immortals: Treasures of Ancient Greece. The exhibition of more than 300 objects from over forty locations in Greece sets out the cultural foundations of Western Civilisation.
Nagasaki Design Awards
Nagasaki also has a very strong design culture and this is expressed in this outstanding range of entries into the Nagasaki Design Award (Nagasaki Industrial Design Network). The aim of the award is to encourage continual improvement of design standards, particularly for manufactured products, within the Nagasaki Prefecture. The finalists are displayed in the grand twelve metre high entrance hall in the west wing of the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum.
Nagasaki Design Awards
Nagasaki also has a very strong design culture and this is expressed in this outstanding range of entries into the Nagasaki Design Award (Nagasaki Industrial Design Network). The aim of the award is to encourage continual improvement of design standards, particularly for manufactured products, within the Nagasaki Prefecture. The finalists are displayed in the grand twelve metre high entrance hall in the west wing of the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum.
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