Ohara Museum of Art

Japan's first private Western art museum was established in 1930 (Showa 5) by Magosaburo Ohara, a businessman who contributed to the cultural development of Kurashiki. The main building displays many famous Western masterpieces, including El Greco's ``The Annunciation,'' Claude Monet's ``Water Lilies,'' Renoir, and Gauguin. The museum also houses approximately 3,000 works of art, including ancient Egyptian art, modern Western art, and modern and contemporary Japanese art. [About the Ohara Museum of Art building] The designer, Kazue Yakushiji, joined the Kurashiki Silk Textile Co., Ltd., whose founder, Magosaburo Ohara, was the president, and as Ohara's right-hand man, he worked on many buildings related to the company and the Ohara family. The huge pillars at the entrance look like marble at first glance, but they are actually made of reinforced concrete, and are made by mixing stone powder with mortar and using plastering techniques. No photography allowed inside the building