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[2025 Onomichi Attraction] Travel Guide for Hirayama Ikuo Museum of Art (Updated Feb)

2.8

Specialty exhibition halls

Hirayama Ikuo was a Japanese painter famous for his Silk Road paintings of dreamy desert landscapes. The museum is lovely and quaint and you can learn a lot about his life's work.

Address:

200-2 Setodachosawa, Onomichi, Hiroshima 722-2413, Japan

Recommended sightseeing time:

2-3 hours

Phone:

+81 845-27-3800

[Hirayama Ikuo Museum of Art] (Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, formerly Aki Province)

Ikuo Hirayama (1930-2009), a master of modern Japanese painting, was born on Ikuchijima, one of the Geiyo Islands. The Hirayama family is a distinguished family that has been in Setoda, the center of the island, for over 300 years. Ikuo, who was blessed with artistic talent from an early age, loved the calm scenery of the Seto Inland Sea that spread out before his eyes. In the early morning of August 6, 1945, Ikuo, who was a student at Shudo Junior High School in Hiroshima City, was mobilized to work at an army-related facility in the city. When Ikuo saw a suspicious parachute falling from the blue sky, he entered a storage shed to inform his friends, and a brilliant light and heat exploded. This atomic bomb turned Hiroshima into a burnt earth. Fortunately, Ikuo was able to escape the disaster by staying in a hut, but on his way back to Ikuchijima he walked through the burned streets of Hiroshima, and the aftereffects of the atomic bomb began to eat away at his body. After the war, Ikuo stayed at the home of his great-uncle, Shimizu Nanzan, a metal engraver, while attending Tadanoumi Junior High School in Mihara City. Nanzan was a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and a leading figure in metal engraving. Ikuo also aspired to become a painter after seeing Nanzan's experience of the highest peak of art. However, Nanzan strictly warned Ikuo to broaden his knowledge beyond art, and only allowed him to enter the art world once he had acquired the necessary knowledge. Nanzan then instructed Ikuo to pursue "beautiful things" single-mindedly and to learn hints from nature. This experience had a profound impact on Ikuo's painting career and its success, and he later left the following words: “For me, the only beautiful thing is the memory of the Seto Inland Sea, with its languid spring breeze. After leaving the island, I saw the devastation of Hiroshima and the desolate landscape of the burnt-out city. What I was able to paint honestly was the cheerful expressions of the copper-burnt fishermen and farm women, the quiet island atmosphere, and the smell of the sea.” After graduating from art school, Ikuo worked as an assistant to professor Maeda Seison and devoted himself to painting, but the aftereffects of the atomic bomb soon became apparent. At one point, his condition became so severe that he was prepared to die, but his difficult mental state led him to turn to the teachings of Buddhism, and his work “The Transmission of Buddhism,” which depicts an ancient seeker of the law, won high praise. Since then, he has established his position in the art world and conceived a series of grand works set along the Silk Road. In the 1960s, his longing for the Silk Road grew even stronger, and he visited China and the Middle East one after another. From his journey, which covered a total of approximately 400,000 km, Ikuo produced many masterpieces that became the core of his artistic career, and he eventually went on to hold important positions such as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador as a bearer of East-West cultural exchange that went beyond the art world. In particular, he continued to be active on a global scale, such as founding the Cultural Assets Red Cross, a foundation to protect cultural assets around the world that he considered to be the theme of his paintings and a "symbol of peace." Around the time Ikuo was working on cultural exchange, construction of the "West Seto Expressway" was underway in his hometown of the Geiyo Islands, and in the 1990s it was expected that Onomichi City in Hiroshima Prefecture and Imabari City in Ehime Prefecture would be connected via Ikuchijima. In response to this movement, the "Hirayama Ikuo Museum of Art" opened on Ikuchijima in 1997. A new tourist and cultural center was created, displaying works such as "A High Priest Returning to the East in Search of the Law" and clearly showing the connection between Ikuchijima's climate and Ikuchijima's painting. Furthermore, when the West Seto Expressway was completed in 1999, Ikuchijima created the "53 Stations of the Shimanami Kaido" to commemorate the completion of the expressway. He painted the scenery of Setouchi that can be seen from the Shimanami Kaido, including Ikuchijima, with a warm gaze. Today, the museum exhibits not only the 53 Stations, but also the scenes of Setouchi that Ikuchijima painted as a child, along with Ikuchijima's own recollections. You can re-examine the charm of Ikuchijima, which nurtured his immortal achievements and spirit, on a large scale. Particularly impressive was Ikuchijima's words that were attached to "The White Bridge Over the Sky: Setouchi Shimanami Kaido," which was painted the year after the Shimanami Kaido was completed. It seemed to embody the bright future of the Setouchi region that Ikuo envisioned, as he had experienced the horrific war firsthand and longed for peace. “Now, we can cross the sea as easily as birds. A long white bridge spanning a fast-flowing strait. It is truly a long-awaited bridge of hope, carrying the dreams of people since ancient times.” Recommended for solo travelers: ★★★★ (There are people, but not many. You can enjoy sightseeing in peace!) Visit date: Around 4pm on the 4th Monday of May Access: About 12 minutes by car from Ikuchijima Kita IC #Ikuchijima Museum of Art #Ikuchijima #Onomichi #Onomichi City #Shimanami Kaido #Shimanami JAPAN #Onomichi Trip #Onomichi Sightseeing #Hiroshima Trip #Hiroshima Sightseeing #Hirotabi #So I'm in love with Hiroshima #cocoronomichi #I love domestic travel #I want to connect with other people who love domestic travel #island trip #island trip #Setoda #I love art museums #tour of art museums #Ikuo Hirayama

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