Before it was a museum, the Asakura Museum of Sculpture was the home and studio of sculptor Fumio Asakura, who moved to the Yanaka area after graduating from Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1907. He expanded the pwroperty over the years, completing a renovation in 1935 in order to open a sculp-ture school. The current sprawling building was dedicated as a museum in 1967, three years after Asakura’s death. It mixes Western styles—like the reinforced concrete, lofty ceilings and skylights of his studio—with the more traditional Japanese wooden structure where he lived with his family, like an enclosed garden and pond in the open-air center of the building. The liv-ing area, preserved with original furniture, offers an intimate look into the daily life of the artist. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Two Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Design Kunio Maekawa A new exhibition at Kinfolk’s Case Study Room in Tokyo. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Simone Bodmer-Turner Meet the artist throwing clay a curveball. Arts & Culture Issue 46 Studio Visit: Yoko Kubrick In the studio with a sculptor of monuments and mythologies. Arts & Culture Issue 41 CULT ROOMS Inside Alexander Calder’s studio, where chaos and kinetic art found a harmonious balance. Arts & Culture Issue 32 Seven Cuts An umbrella. An octopus. A mask. Tokyo seen through still life portraits. Arts & Culture City Guide Issue 32 Hoshinoya Tokyo A modern ryokan.
Arts & Culture Issue 46 Studio Visit: Yoko Kubrick In the studio with a sculptor of monuments and mythologies.
Arts & Culture Issue 41 CULT ROOMS Inside Alexander Calder’s studio, where chaos and kinetic art found a harmonious balance.
Arts & Culture Issue 32 Seven Cuts An umbrella. An octopus. A mask. Tokyo seen through still life portraits.
