Shimane travel guide (Adachi Museum of Art, WAKOU museum) 2023-3
The Adachi Museum of Art (足立美術館)
The Adachi Museum of Art, located in Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture, is an art museum focusing on modern and contemporary Japanese paintings, with a collection of over 120 works by Yokoyama Taikan in particular². The museum is also famous for its extensive Japanese garden, which covers an area of 50,000 tsubo².
The garden at the Adachi Museum of Art has been voted the best garden in Japan for 20 consecutive years¹² by the Journal of Japanese Gardening, an American magazine dedicated to Japanese gardens. The ranking is based on “the excellence of Japanese gardens that can be appreciated today,” and the Adachi Museum of Art is especially highly rated for its extensive garden that is well maintained down to the smallest detail¹.
The gardens are beautifully laid out in different styles, including a “dry landscape garden,” a “white sand and green pine garden,” a “moss garden,” and a “pond garden. The gardens are cared for and cleaned daily, reflecting founder Zenyasu Adachi’s belief that a garden is also a painting¹².
The Adachi Museum of Art was established in 1970² by Zenkasu Adachi, a successful businessman, who wanted to give back to his hometown. Zenkou Adachi first wanted visitors to experience the natural beauty of the four seasons through his Japanese garden, and then to appreciate the appeal of Japanese painting through the works of artists such as Taikan Yokoyama¹.
The above features make the Adachi Museum of Art a very attractive place where visitors can enjoy both Japanese paintings and Japanese gardens. ¹²
(1) Adachi Museum of Art – Wikipedia. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B6%B3%E7%AB%8B%E7%BE%8E%E8%A1%93%E9%A4%A8.
(2) What is the charm of Adachi Museum of Art, “the best garden in Japan” | Shimane Tourism Navi | Shimane …. https://www.kankou-shimane.com/pickup/2901.html.
(3) [Shimane Prefecture] Highlights of Adachi Museum of Art, which has the best garden in Japan …. https://matcha-jp.com/jp/3804.
(4) Adachi Museum of Art ｜ eMuseum. https://e-museum.jp/shimane/adachi-museum/.
(5) https://www.adachi-museum.or.jp/.
(6) https://www.sankei.com/article/20180122-Y6MX6SCJGZOMFCP4U2UDR5Q6UQ/.
Wako Museum (Japanese traditional steel “Tatara” museum 和銅博物館)
The Wako Museum is Japan’s only comprehensive museum on tatara iron manufacturing. Here, visitors can learn about “wagane,” or Japanese steel, which was produced from iron sand and fueled by charcoal. There are exhibits on the origins, history, and distribution of the tatara iron manufacturing method, as well as a special exhibition on Japanese swords and a hands-on corner¹.
(1) Wako Museum | A comprehensive museum about tatara, a traditional Japanese iron-making method. http://www.wakou-museum.gr.jp/.
About “Tatara”
Tatara iron making is an iron manufacturing method that developed in Japan from ancient times to the early modern period. In this method, iron sand and iron ore are reduced at relatively low temperatures using charcoal in a clay furnace to produce iron of high purity. The process of blowing air through foot bellows in tatara iron making is also used in the production of tama-hagane, the raw material for Japanese swords¹.
The name “tatara iron-making” derives from the fact that the bellows used to feed air into the furnace were called “tatara. Although this iron manufacturing method declined sharply after the Meiji period (1868-1912), there are still facilities in Hokkaido and elsewhere that are used to produce tama-hagane, a raw material used to make Japanese swords¹.
Tatara ironmaking is an ancient Japanese ironmaking process that produces iron by burning iron sand and charcoal, and has been practiced in the Chugoku Mountains since ancient times. The area was a major iron production center² due to the wide distribution of granite containing high-quality iron sand, the raw material for iron, and the vast forests that produced charcoal, the fuel.
(1) Tatara iron making – Wikipedia. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%9F%E3%81%9F%E3%82%89%E8%A3%BD%E9%89%84.
(2) What is Tatara Iron Manufacturing? – Unnan, the sacred place of Tatara, the mythical village of Izumo. https://unnan-tatara.jp/tatara_about.html.
(3) What is Tatara Iron Manufacturing? https://shimanekuni.com/industry/tatara/sub6-1/.