ALL ABOUT LOVE at Matsumoto
2:21 AM
In the picturesque castle town of Matsumoto is the birthplace of the highly acclaimed and popular contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama. Kusama has recently opened a museum in the heart of Tokyo, but we visited the Matsumoto City Museum of Art in Nagano instead where she is having an extensive exhibit of her work. Currently, an exhibition entitled: here is currently a special exhibition “Yayoi Kusama: All About My Love” which will be in display til July 22. 
In the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, Yayoi Kusama has a permanent collection entitled “Yayoi Kusama: The Place for My Soul” which including her early works. The two exhibits is the largest collection of Kusama’s works in display in one venue. There are a total of 180 pieces in the exhibit. You can see the progression of her art from her early works as a young child to her current works and her experimentation of material and techniques. Suffering from visual and auditory hallucinations, she turned them into elements of her works. This has developed in her own unique style There are pencil drawings and works of art on textile and seed sacks. There are small and large sculptures, paintings, light installations to name a few.. A prolific artist, she still creates art in her studio.
Make sure to watch the film (10 mins) in the exhibit hall on the 2nd floor near the stairwell where you can see how she creates her current works.
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| Yayoi-Chan & Toko-ton |
Make sure to watch the film (10 mins) in the exhibit hall on the 2nd floor near the stairwell where you can see how she creates her current works.
The map of the museum also has detailed descriptions of her works and you can read her books on the museum floor. Just follow the footsteps of Yayoi Chan, Toko Ton, and Ring-Ring on the floor to guide you through the exhibit There are English captions and translations of the exhibits.
There are a total of 3 levels of exhibit. Most of the areas of the exhibit do not allow photography. You can only take photos of at the exterior display and in the “My Eternal Soul” on the 2nd exhibition hall on the 2nd floor. The installations with lights do not allow photography too.
You can take photos of her works “The Visionary Flowers” and “Great Gigantic Pumpkin” in the exterior of the museum and at the courtyard. There are signages which will guide you if photos are allowed. This however allows you to appreciate more her works as you take in her art in the moment.
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| "Flowers that Bloom at Midnight" right before the entrance to the 1st exhbit level |
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| "My Eternal Soul" at the 2nd Exhibition Hall |
If you want to appreciate her work, I would highly suggest taking the day trip to Matsumoto and seeing it in person. We left with a greater appreciation of her work and her journey as an artist. It would take you about half the day to visit the museum. You can spend the rest of the day exploring the city or visiting the Matsumoto Castle.
Matsumoto is almost 3 hours by train from Tokyo. You can take the Super Azusa or Azusa train from JR Shinjuku Station directly to Matsumoto Station. You can use JR Pass or the JR EAST Nagano/Niagata Pass for this. The earliest train from Tokyo leaves at 7AM and will arrive at 9:39 AM. It is about a 12-15 minute walk to the museum.
You can take the Sneaker town bus (green route) Y200 (doesn’t accept IC, SUICA,etc) but it will take you longer coz the museum is on the back part of the route. You can also take a taxi it would be just flagdown rate.
You can take the Sneaker town bus (green route) Y200 (doesn’t accept IC, SUICA,etc) but it will take you longer coz the museum is on the back part of the route. You can also take a taxi it would be just flagdown rate.
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| Dots Obsession starts at the Bus Stop at the Matsumoto Station |
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| inside the bus |
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| there are signages to the museum and castle |
There are buses decorated with her work of art and have other installation of her works in the Matsumoto city area. A map of her other works is on the Museum’s map.
Don’t forget to stop by the museum shop for some retail therapy. You can get keychains, stationary, postcards, note blocks, folders, homeware etc,
TIP: Getting tickets to her museum in Tokyo was difficult to get. We tried to get tickets 2 hours after the tickets for May was opened in early March and was unable to get any. It was already sold out in the 2 hours it was opened. If you want to visit her Tokyo Museum I would suggest to purchase months ahead and should try to purchase within hours of the slots are released. Tickets are often sold out months before and are released 2 months prior to the month of visit. Fortunately, while researching for ticket options we chanced upon a special exhibition of her works in Matsumoto.
WEBSITE: www.matsumoto-artmuse.jp/en/
ENTRANCE FEE: Y1200
HOW TO GET HERE: 12 min on foot or Eastern route (green line) of town sneaker to Matsumoto City Museum of Art (Bus Stop) Y200
NEAREST TRAIN STATION: JR Matsumoto Station
TRAIN OPTIONS from Tokyo: earliest train SUPER AZUSA ETD: 7:00 AM ETA: 9:39AM (Platform 9)
; AZUSA 3 ETD: 7:30 AM ETA: 10:23; SUPER AZUSA #5 ETD: 8:00AM ETA: 10:38 AM HOURS OF OPERATION: 9:00AM -5:00 PM
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