Kita Area

The National Museum of Art, Osaka

A fully underground art museum—a rarity even on a global scale. The entrance gate, designed to evoke the vitality of bamboo, makes a striking impression.

The National Museum of Art, Osaka

The National Museum of Art, Osaka opened in 1977 within Expo ’70 Commemorative Park
with the aim of collecting, preserving, and exhibiting
works of contemporary art from Japan and abroad, as well as conducting related research and projects. Due to the aging of the original facility,
it was relocated in 2004 to Nakanoshima, Osaka, where a new, fully underground museum was constructed.
The building’s exterior was
designed to evoke the vitality of bamboo and the development and growth of contemporary art; it was designed by Argentine-born architect
César Pelli.
The museum houses a collection of approximately 8,200 works and regularly hosts a diverse range of exhibitions.