Exploring Japan - Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art in Kyoto

Although the title suggests something to do with beer, this property actually has little to do with beer itself but more with the link that this has with Asahi Beer as a company. Shotaro Kaga, a wealthy businessman from Kansai region, owned this property now titled 'Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art' at the southern foot of Mt. Tennozan in Oyamazaki Town, Kyoto Prefecture. He had helped found Nikka Whisky Distilling and was part of the same finance world as his close friend, Tamesaburo Yamamoto, the first president of Asahi Breweries.

After the death of Shotaro Kaga in 1954 Asahi were asked to collaborate with the government to restore this villa back to its original condition, the property itself had slowly fell in to ruin. In 1996 they reopened the villa to the public with a new building by Japanese architect Tadao Ando that was incoporated in to the property and has become a small museum to view pottery and other artworks by both Western and Japanese artists.

I think the pottery is nice, covering some of the more iconic works by English potter Bernard Leach and Japanese potter Kawai Kanjiro. I felt like most of the focus was actually on the front garden that has a Claude Monet "Water Lilies" vibe to it. The mix between western and eatern traditions is especially notable in this property, so I wanted to showcase a few photos for you to be inspired by and it will also give you a basis to investigate for yourself. Most intriguing for me was the mix of architecture, especially the old and the new by Tadao. Quite a contrast to see suck striking concrete against an old English style property! Enjoy.