The thinking man and World Cultural Heritage
The first president of Kawasaki Shipyard, Kojiro Matsukata(1866-1950) made an enormous fortune. When he went to London on business in 1916, his collection of art started. Although he amassed a lot of art including valuable masterpieces, World War Ⅱ broke out and he had to left his own collection in both London and Paris. The collection in London was burned by a fire. After the War, when Japanese government required France to return it to Japan, France accepted it on a certain condition that an appropriate art gallery should be built. That's why National Museum of Western Art was completed in 1959 for Matsukata Collection, designed by Le Corbusier in Ueno Park. Last year, it was registered as World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Since my teens, I have been to this museum several times and seen the collection which includes various masterpieces. In my two tours, Discovery of Japan's modern architecture & Gardens and Former Residence of Great Artist in Yanaka & Ueno Free Tour, this museum is each one of destinations. I would like you to appreciate both architecture and art. Why don't you join me?
