Kumaya Art Museum
Opened in 1965, the Kumaya Art Museum displays the private collection of the Kumaya family. The estate that houses the museum has been the family’s residence since it was first built in 1768 by Kumaya Goemon Yoshiatsu (1719–1791), a wealthy merchant and official purveyor (goyō shōnin) to Chōshū domain. The Kumaya were among the most powerful merchant families in Hagi during the Edo period (1603–1867) and were extremely wealthy. Four of the estate’s buildings—the main house (omoya), annex (hanarezashiki), main warehouse (hongura), and treasure house (takaragura)—are designated Important Cultural Properties.
The museum collection contains approximately 3,000 items and includes paintings by famous Muromachi-period (1336–1573) painter Sesshū Tōyō (1420–1506), tea ceremony utensils made by eleventh-generation Raku ware master Keinyū (1817–1902) and potter and painter Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743), in addition to other items such as folding screens (byōbu), old maps, antique Hagi ware, paintings, calligraphy, old coins, and many different kinds of tea ceremony utensils. “Folding Screen of Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons” by Unkoku Tōban (1635–1724) is another notable work. The exhibits are changed a few times each year.
On permanent display is the oldest piano in Japan, a British-style pianoforte. It was given to the fourth Kumaya Goemon (1795–1860) in 1828 by the German doctor Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796–1866), who was employed by the Dutch East Indian Company on Dejima.
