Summer in Tokyo: The National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (MOMAT)

Today we went to the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT), where we explored the largest collection of modern Japanese art. We have studied extensively Western-style paintings, but don't know much about Japanese art, so the museum was really interesting and a great exposure of the work by Japanese artists through the 1900s. The museum was well-designed in that the collection started on the 4th floor, starting with a "highlights" section of a handful of pieces that gave an idea of each period. Then we were led around each floor (3 total) starting from the earliest 1900s to the most contemporary works at the bottom. There were a handful of paintings by Western artists, like Klee, Kandisky, and Miro, that showed how their Impressionist and Cubism styles influenced the Japanese artists, such as Kishida Ryusei, Munakata Shiko, Kuroda Seiki, and Yokoyama Taikan. We always linger over the 1880s-1930s period with the beautiful Impressionist works and amusing Cubist pieces, but hurry through the more jarring works in the contemporary period.

After the museum, we crossed the street back in the Imperial Garden and then over into Ginza, the elegant boulevard shopping area, for some window browsing. We peeked into an 11-story (!) stationary shop full of origami paper, envelopes, cards, and fans. Noticing a bakery full of people, we popped in and bought one of their famous Anpans, sweet buns made of sake yeast and filled with red bean paste. We later found out the store was Kimuraya Sohonten, the first Western bakery in Tokyo, opened in 1869.

Imperial Palace- East Garden