Oyamazaki Villa Art Museum

Taisho Era house set in a beautiful garden

Cathy Cawood Jun 06, 2014 - 1分鐘閱讀時間

<p>The graceful main building with its tall chimney</p>

<p>One of the villa's gables rises from the trees.</p>

<p>The garden is green and lovely in May and June</p>

<p>A peaceful pond surrounded by mature trees is beautiful in every season  </p>

<p>An arched stone bridge crosses the pond  </p>

<p>Orange koi glides beneath a rippled surface</p>

<p>A wisteria covered pergola stands beside the pond</p>

<p>One side of the annex designed by famous architect Tadao Ando.</p>

<p>For me, the most striking piece of art was a metal sculpture of a leaping hare</p>

<p>The main building is Tudor Gothic style</p>

<p>Wall of moss covered boulders on the road up to the villa</p>

Oyamazaki Villa was built between 1912 and 1932, and is home to an excellent collection of objects from the Mingei Arts and Crafts Movement. A modern annex designed by famous architect Tadao Ando contains original Monet water lily paintings, and is open to the public. The garden is one of the most beautiful I have seen. I visited in June, when everything was lush and green, but the garden is outstanding at cherry blossom time, and also in autumn when there are many red maple trees.

Tadao Ando

Cathy Cawood @cathy.cawood

I came to Japan in 2003 to teach English. I lived in Shiga prefecture for 1 year, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I lived in Kyoto for 9 years, then moved to Machida, Tokyo in 2014 after meeting my Japanese partner. I love to take photos, and my Japan in Pictures Facebook page ha...