Hours: 11:00-16:00 (Admission ends 30 min. before closing time)
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Closed during the New Year holidays and in between exhibitions

Koganei City HAKENOMORI Art Museum opened in April, 2006 thanks to a donation from the Nakamura Kenichi Memorial Foundation. We aim to become a platform that connects the community with art through art exhibits, cultural activities and educational programs.
Exhibitions are changed 3-4 times a year and they mainly consist of our collection of pieces by Japanese Western-style painter Kenich Nakamura. Special exhibitions also are held 1-2 times a year.

◎Oil paintings, watercolors, sketches and pottery by Kenichi Nakamura
◎Kenichi Nakamura’s palette, painting tools and art supplies
◎Artworks by artists associated with Kenichi Nakamura

Kenichi Nakamura was born in Fukuoka. He joined the painting club “Palette Kai” during high school, which led him to become a professional painter. He studied western–style art at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (presently Tokyo University of the Arts). After he graduated, he studied in France from 1923 until 1928. In those years, he became friends with a French artist Maurice Asselin (1882-1947) and also a member of the Salan d’Automne in 1927. After returning to Japan, he showed his paintings mainly at the Imperial Art Exhibition (Teiten), and actively worked on the depictions of the battlefield during World War 2. After the war, he participated in the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition (Nitten), the Kofukai Art Exhibition and exhibitions organized by other art associations. He lived in Koganei from 1945, where he continued working as a painter, creating artworks until the end of his lifetime.

Koganei City is rich in nature and water, and is a good representation of the Musashino area. It is said that the cliffs that extend over the western region of Tokyo had been formed over a long period by the old Tamagawa River cutting away at the Musashino uplands. This cliff is called “Hake” in Japanese. There are a lot of clear fresh water springs and interesting places to explore in the surrounding area.

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Cultural Property (structures) Kenichi Nakamura’s former residence and tea house stand within a garden behind Hakenomori Art Museum. Nakamura’s friend Hidezo Sato (1897 1978), one of the famous architects in the Showa era, designed and built them as requested by Nakamura. They have attracted much attention as famous pieces of architecture. In the year of 2018, the two buildings were registrated as National Registrated Tangible Cultural Property (structures). The former residence is now used as a museum caf  that offers a relaxing time for the visitors while viewing the beautiful greenery.