The Ukiyo-e Ōta Memorial Museum of Art (浮世絵 太田記念美術館 Ukiyo-e Ōta kinen bijutsukan) is a small museum located in Harajuku that houses the woodblock print (ukiyo-e) collection of Ōta Seizo V (1893-1977), a former president of Tōhō Insurance. He amassed over 12,000 prints that are presented on two small exhibition floors and frequently rotated.

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The collection comprises iconic works, such as Hiroshige's 'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo' and the 'Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō', Hokusai's 'Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji', and the art of countless other ukiyo-e masters including Utamaro and Sharaku. The exhibitions are often arranged by seasons or topics and come with bilingual explanations. A short introduction to woodblock printing illustrates the complex step-by-step procedures of several artisan teams (painters, carvers and printers).

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The museum shop in the basement sells tenugui (手拭い), thin hand towels made of cotton, and other small gifts. Unfortunately, the ukiyo-e prints on sale cannot rival the originals on display. The literature on sale is in Japanese except for a bilingual book on Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (¥3,250 at the time of our visit in September 2018, no credit cards).

It is not allowed to take photos.

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Address: 1-10-10 Jingu-mae Shibuya, Tokyo, 150-0001; phone: 03-3403-0880
Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10:30 am - 5:30 pm, closed on Mondays. It is closed on several days in the month; please check their website for more information.
Admission: regular exhibitions 700 JPY (500 JPY for university and high school students), 1,000 JPY incl. special exhibitions (700 JPY for students).
Access: from JR Harajuku Station, a 5-minute walk from Omotesandoguchi exit.