Museum · Yanaka

Asakura Museum of Sculpture 朝倉彫塑館

Sculptor Fumio Asakura's home and studio in Yanaka, a mix of concrete atelier and wooden Japanese house around a water garden, with a rooftop garden and his many cat sculptures.

About

Fumio Asakura, often called the Rodin of Japan, designed this house and studio himself and lived here until his death in 1964. The black concrete studio has a soaring double-height space where his large bronze figures stand, while the adjoining sukiya-style wooden residence wraps around a courtyard pond garden built with five large stones symbolising Confucian virtues. Upstairs rooms look over the garden, and a rooftop garden, where Asakura trained students in growing vegetables, offers views over Yanaka's temples and rooftops. Asakura adored cats, and many sculptures of them are displayed; in 2026 the special exhibition ASAKURA ZOO 2026 (Jul 18 to Dec 27) highlights his animals. Visitors remove shoes at the entrance.

Highlights

• Double-height concrete atelier with monumental bronzes
• Courtyard water garden viewed from tatami rooms
• Rooftop garden overlooking Yanaka
• Dozens of cat sculptures by Asakura
• ASAKURA ZOO 2026 exhibition (Jul 18 – Dec 27, 2026)

Tips

• Shoes come off at the entrance and are carried in a bag; wear socks.
• Closed Mondays and Thursdays; a roughly week-long closure for exterior painting is planned between October and December 2026.
• Walk on to Yanaka Ginza and Yanaka Cemetery, both a few minutes away.
• Bring ID: discounts and Taito resident exemptions need proof.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Yuyake DandanPhoto Spot · 150 m away
• Tennōji TempleTemple · 210 m away
• Nippori Station · Keisei & JR Transfer Coin LockersLuggage Storage · 220 m away
• HAGISOLocal Secret · 230 m away
• Yanaka GinzaLocal Secret · 260 m away
• Yanaka Cemetery & Old TownLocal Secret · 350 m away
• Yanaka Fujimizaka SlopePhoto Spot · 360 m away
• YANESEN Tourist Information & Culture CenterTourist Info · 360 m away