Recognized as one of the "Most Beautiful Museums in the World" by the 2024 Versailles Prize, the Simose Art Museum is a true art garden by the sea, a place where every experience awakens the senses.
Art, craftsmanship, architecture, cuisine, and nature intertwine to offer visitors unique experiences. This singular place, which inspires reflection and nourishes the imagination, offers total immersion in a world where every element is an invitation to discovery.
The architecture of the Simose Art Museum is as captivating as its contents. The museum's structure, with its entrance hall, exhibition space, and administrative building, extends parallel to the sea. These spaces are connected by a 190-meter-long, 8,5-meter-high corridor that forms a mirrored glass screen, reflecting the surrounding beauty while concealing the large buildings. Behind this glass screen, eight movable galleries, arranged on a water basin and clad in colored glass, create a symbolic landscape inspired by the Setouchi Islands.
Outside, the Émile-Gallé Garden, located at the northern end of the glass screen, completes this immersive experience. Scattered with plants and flowers that inspired the French artist Émile Gallé, whose works form a significant part of the museum's collection, it embodies the harmony between art and nature. The reflection of the landscapes on the mirrored glass accentuates this impression, almost erasing the presence of the buildings.
Conceived in 2018 (and opened in 2023) at the initiative of the Simose Foundation, established to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Marui Sangyo Corporation, the Simose Art Museum is the brainchild of Yumiko Shimose, the company's president, and her family. The museum preserves and displays a rich collection of over 500 pieces, including traditional Japanese dolls, modern paintings, and Western handicrafts, amassed over decades by Yumiko Shimose and her parents. Through the foundation, the Simose Art Museum has become a key player in promoting art and culture in the Hiroshima region, fostering a unique dialogue between Japanese artistic traditions and those of other countries.
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