The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

The National Museum of Western Art is the only place in Japan where European masterpieces reign supreme. Why? Because one man had a vision—a very expensive and very artistic vision.

That man was Matsukata Kojiro, a shipping magnate with a taste for fine art and even finer friendships. Not content with just hoarding paintings, he rubbed elbows with the likes of Claude Monet and set out to share his love for Western art with Japan. His dream? A museum dedicated entirely to European masters. The result? This very institution, designed by none other than Le Corbusier, the French architect who knew a thing or two about modernist charm. And so, in 1959, the doors swung open, revealing the treasures of the Matsukata Collection to the Japanese public.

Today, this museum isn’t just a modest little gallery—it’s a treasure trove of 4,500 works, spanning the 14th to the 20th century. The main hall is a crash course in Renaissance and Baroque grandeur, featuring Veronese and Rubens, whose religious imagery is as dramatic as a historical soap opera. Venture into the new wing, and suddenly you’re surrounded by the geniuses of modern art—Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Picasso. As if that weren’t enough, the museum’s drawing collection boasts sketches by Boucher, Moreau, Rodin, and Cézanne, while the print collection spans five centuries of artistic brilliance.

So whether you’re here for the old masters, the Impressionists, or just to impress a date with your cultured side, the National Museum of Western Art serves the purpose all the same. So, step in, soak it up, and remember—Kojiro Matsukata dreamed big so you could admire bigger!