🗺️ Tokyo Chihiro Art Museumちひろ美術館・東京

The renowned Japanese painter and picture book author Tomohiro Iwasaki, known for his gentle brushwork, has created many children's paintings. The museum was built on the original site of her home and studio where she spent the last 22 years of her life. Established in 1977 as the world's first picture book museum, the "Tomohiro Iwasaki Picture Book Museum" underwent renovations and expanded its open areas in 2002, and it continues to this day. The entire museum is designed to be accessible. Inside the exhibition rooms, visitors can experience sitting on the sofa that Iwasaki loved while admiring her works, and there are precious displays that authentically recreate her former studio. In "Iwasaki's Garden," plants and flowers that she cherished and loved to garden are cultivated. The displayed artworks are changed several times a year, ensuring that both first-time visitors and those who have been there multiple times will discover something new. Additionally, to become the "first museum" that children visit in their lives and to be loved by visitors, many thoughtful details have been incorporated. The artworks are displayed at a height of 135 centimeters from the ground, allowing children to view them from their own perspective. There is also a "Library" featuring about 3,000 picture books from both domestic and international sources, a "Children's Playroom" filled with wooden toys, as well as a nursing room and diaper changing area. It is a museum where young children can happily visit together.

The works of the renowned artist Iwasaki Tomohiro, known for his gentle watercolor children's paintings, are exhibited multiple times a year, along with special exhibitions by other picture book artists. Facilities are available for infants and young children to enter the museum safely, including a nursing room. Admission is free for high school students and younger. Both the Tomohiro Art Museum in Tokyo and the Azumino Tomohiro Art Museum offer annual passes for unlimited entry at 3,000 yen (valid for one year from the date of purchase). The museum is designed to be accessible. The shop features picture books and merchandise by Iwasaki Tomohiro as well as other domestic and international artists.