The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

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The First National Museum of Art in Japan

As far back as the beginning of the Meiji period, there was a movement demanding the establishment of a museum to permanently display contemporary art. Although the petition was taken up several times in parliament, a national facility for the permanent display of modern art was never realized until the opening of this Museum.
In 1952, the government purchased the premises of the former headquarters of Nikkatsu Corporation in Kyobashi, Chuo-ku. In June that year, The National Museum of Modern Art was established as an institution governed by the Ministry of Education. The architect Kunio Maekawa directed the refurbishment and the Museum was opened that December. On two later occasions, neighbouring premises were purchased and the Museum was further enlarged and reformed.

Due to the growth of the Museum Collection and the expansion of special exhibitions, the display of works gradually got restricted. Just when the Museum was considering possibilities of moving, Mr.Shojiro Ishibashi,who was a trustee from the founding of the Museum, offered to donate a new building. Thanks to this donation, it was decided that a new wing would be constructed in Kitanomaru Koen. The new building was designed by Yoshiro Taniguchi and opened in June 1969.
After 30 years since moving to the present building, it became necessary to update the facilities to meet social demand. For two and a half years from July 1999, the Museum was closed and underwent large-scale extension and renovation designed by Sakakura Associates. The exhibition galleries were enlarged, a library allowing access to the public, a restaurant and museum shop were newly established, and lounge space was increased. In addition to improving the environment for viewing the works of art,construction work to make the building more earthquake-proof was carried out. The renovation work was completed in August 2001 and, in January 2002, an exhibition entitled The Unfinished Century: Legacies of 20th Century Art was held to commemorate the renewal and restart of activities anew.

represented artists

Magdalena Abakanowicz      Henri-Georges Adam      Blanka Adensamova      Masayoshi Aigasa      Ikuhiko Akabori      Shimpei Akabori      Yasunobu Akagi      Yusai Akaji      Unrei Akamatsu      Hiroshi Akana      Yuji Akatsuka      Fuku Akino      Miho Akioka      Nobuko Akiyama      Issei Akiyama      Josef Albers      Lewin Alcopley      Pierre Alechinsky      Henrik Allert      Hokajiro Amada      Kunihiro Amano      Ryuichi Amano      Kazumi Amano      Keiko Amemiya      Shodo Anayama      Shinji Ando      Sokei Anzai      Shigeru Aoki      Shigemichi Aomine      Takeichi Aono      Nobuo Aoyagi      Yoshio Aoyama      Kumaji Aoyama      Yoko Aoyama      Karel Appel      Hirokata Arai      Shori Arai      Tatsuo Arai      Terutaro Arai      Toyozo Arakawa      Shusaku Arakawa      Jippo Araki      Takako Araki      Diane Arbus      Satoe Arima      Saichi Arimichi      Toshio Arimoto      Ichiro Arioka      Ikuma Arishima      Armando      Willem Johan Cornelis Arondeus      Jean Arp      Benji Asada      Takashi Asada      Kiyotaka Asahara      Masahide Asahi      Yasuto Asahina      Chu Asai      Fumio Asakura      Kyoko Asakura      Setsu Asakura      Ryuzo Asami      Yae Asano      Sosen Asao      Kaji Aso      Saburo Aso      Eugène Atget      Yutaka Atomi      Gyokushi Atomi      Masakichi Awashima      AY-O      Umetaro Azechi      Hekiu Azuma      Ken Azuma      Kenjiro Azuma      Sadami Azuma      Takemi Azumaya      Akira Baba      Kashio Baba      Francis Bacon      Liliana Baczewska      Olle Bærtling      Jozsef Bakallar      Kokan Bannai      Alexander Baranowsky      Edmund Bartlomiejczyk      Georg Baselitz      Otto Baumberger      Herbert Bayer      Aubrey Beardsley      Max Beckmann      Hans Bellmer      Ira Jean Belmont      Bertozzi & Casoni      Bien-U Bae      Yutaka Bito      Karl Blossfeldt      Lorenzo Bonechi      Robert Bonfils      Varvara D. Boubnova      Sandro Bracchitta      Johannes Brauer      Anne Breivik      Jaroslava Brychtová      Fritz Buhler      Shunkai Bundo      Daniel Buren      Will Burtin      Sophie Calle      Sara Carone      Lawrence Carroll      Ayres Armindo Carvalho      Edouard Cazaux      Lee Chesney      Zenjiro Chikaoka      Shigeru Chino      Witold Chmielewski      Seiji Chokai      Abraham David Christian      Halina Chrostowska      Seymour Chwast      Arnaud Claass      Raphael Collin      Peter Collingwood      Robert Couturier      Tony Cragg      Dan Dailey      Hanne Darboven      Lawrence Daws      Roseline Delisle      Jean Despres      Anna Maria Dickinson      Tom Dixon      Tadeusz Dominik      Ken Domon      Yuumi Domoto      Hisao Domoto      Jean Dupas      Koichi Ebizuka      Katsumi Eguchi      Shu Eguchi      Akiko Endo      Toshikatsu Endo      Shoe Enokido      Chikatoshi Enomoto      Sayoko Erfi      Jumpei Eto      Georg Ettl      Kohei Ezaki      Francisco Farreras Ricart      Manuel Felguérez      Alan Fletcher

Roland Flexner      Jerzy Flisak      Arthur Flory      Frederick Franck      Lee Friedlander      Tokan Fudeya      Toshihisa Fudezuka      Shigeya Fudo      Shin Fujihira      Koyu Fujii      Tatsukichi Fujii      Eiko Fujikawa      Yuzo Fujikawa      Ako Fujiki      Hiroshi Fujimatsu      Toichiryo Fujimoto      Reiko Fujimura      Rieko Fujinami      Noboru Fujinuma      Ryushiro Fujio      Jun Fujita      Ryuji Fujita      Toshiaki Fujita      Yoshika Fujita      Ken Fujiwara      Shiho Fujiwara      Tsunenobu Fujiwara      Jusuke Fukami      Sueharu Fukami      Takashi Fukami      Koko Fukazawa      Yukio Fukazawa      Fumiaki Fukita      Koko Fukuda      Sakumi Fukuda      Keiichi Fukuda      Kiju Fukuda      Katsuji Fukuda      Shigeo Fukuda      Kintaro Fukuhara      Nobumitsu Fukui      Ryonosuke Fukui      Shigeki Fukumoto      Sho Fukumoto      Shihoko Fukumoto      Horin Fukuoji      Seiran Fukuoka      Tomohiko Fukuoka      Hamish Fulton      Shizuho Funaki      Saburo Funakoshi      Morio Funakushi      Seiichi Furuya      Gérard Garouste      Hubertus Giebe      Antony Gormley      Gaku Goto      Koho Goto      Koshi Goto      Andreas Gursky      Hiroshi Hamaya      Eisaku Hasegawa      Naoya Hatakeyama      Sheila Hicks      Rieko Hidaka      Ikuo Hirayama      Eikoh Hosoe      Hachiro Iizuka      Ryoji Ikeda      Leiko Ikemura      Miyako Ishiuchi      Yukihisa Isobe      Masami Isoi      Kizan Itaka      Keiji Ito      Yoshihiko Ito      Teizo Ito      Makoto Ito      Motohiko Ito      Hiroshi Ito      Koji Iwakura      Takuro Iwamoto      Soo-Cheon Jheon      On Kawara      Mokuma Kikuhata      Kimsooja      William Klein      Masato Kobayashi      Shigeaki Koeda      Michiko Kon      Josef Koudelka      Hiroji Kubota      Otto Künzli      Yayoi Kusama      Tadaaki Kuwayama      Ugo la Pietra      Wolfgang Laib      Colin Lanceley      Bertrand Lavier      Richard Long      Markus Lüpertz      Sally Mann      Brice Marden      Enzo Mari      Naofumi Maruyama      Taiji Matsue      Silvio Merlino      Keiko Minami      Ryuji Miyamoto      Aiko Miyawaki      Hisayuki Mogami      Daido Moriyama      Saburo Muraoka      Tadayoshi Nakabayashi      Yoshinobu Nakagawa      Hiroshi Nakamura      Kimpei Nakamura      Natsuyuki Nakanishi      Asako Narahashi      Katsuhito Nishikawa      Kozo Nishino      Rika Noguchi      Hitoshi Nomura      Oscar Oiwa      Martin Parr      Giuseppe Penone      Otto Piene      Gerhard Richter      Bridget Riley      Michael Rowe      Félix Rozen      Sebastião Salgado      Christian Schad      Michael Schmidt      Kurt Schwitters      Nobuo Sekine      Richard Serra      Raymundo Sesma      Toshio Shibata      Osamu Shiihara      Toko Shinoda      Kazuo Shiraga      Jutta Sika      Aaron Siskind      Martin Smith      François Stahly      Alfred Stieglitz      Niklaus Stoecklin      Yang Gyu Cho      Misao Yokoyama