| 碧南市
The last time I traveled to Hekinan in Aichi Prefecture was to pay a visit to the Kiyozawa Manshi Memorial Museum - a small facility dedicated to the 19th century Buddhist ascetic Kiyozawa Manshi (1863-1901).
Being a Monday, the nearby Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art was closed, so I returned recently to visit the modern museum and follow the trail of around 20 public art sculptures scattered throughout Hekinan. The map provided by the museum is not the easiest to follow, which adds to the satisfaction (or frustration) of actually tracking down the sculptures.
Three of the 20-odd pieces are by foreign artists with works by Karen Stalker, Elizabeth McDowell and Charles Worthen. Among the Japanese sculptors are such names as Sumikawa Kiichi, Horiuchi Masakazu, Kunishima Seichi, Oda Jyo, Suzuki Minoru and Sato Churyo.
The public art sculptures are mainly located in the areas around Hekinan Station and Hekinan-chuo Station.
The Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art is named after Fujii Tatsukichi (1881-1964), a locally-born, multi-talented craft artist of the Taisho and Showa periods, who preached that craft artists should do more than just perfect the form of their chosen craft but also show off their own artistry and originality in their work.
Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art
Otowa-cho 1-1
Tel: 0566 48 6602
Hours: 10am-6pm; Closed Monday
Hekinan Station can be reached on the Meitetsu Line from Nagoya, Kanayama and Toyota Stations changing at Chiryu.
The museum is a short walk south of the station, across the road from the Saihoji Temple, with is ancient, spreading pine tree.
© JapanVisitor.com |
