Noh costume, with cherry blossom and spider web motifs on kanto stripe background, Edo period (19th century)

Courtesy of Suntory Museum of Art

The March 30 opening of the Suntory Museum of Art and 21_21 Design Sight, both located in the new Tokyo Midtown development, completes what’s known as “Art Triangle Roppongi.” Following on the heels of the National Art Center, Tokyo, which opened on January 21, and the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills, the area offers an exciting new alternative to Ueno’s cluster of museums, which have traditionally attracted the largest number of Tokyo’s art-lovers.

The Suntory Museum of Art opened in Marunouchi in 1961 as the cultural arm of the famous distillery.
Then President Keizo Saji spearheaded what is now
a 3,000-piece collection containing one National Treasure and 12 Important Cultural Properties among its priceless ceramics, folding screens, kimono, lacquer ware, textiles and glasswork.

Well-known architect Kengo Kuma was chosen to recreate the new ¥2 billion (US$17 million) museum. The six-floor building contains 1,000m² of exhibition space on the third and fourth floors, smaller than most Tokyo museums. A traditional Japanese tea ceremony room called Genchoan on the sixth floor was brought over from the old location.

Using new technology and traditional Japanese design elements, Kuma has created what he calls “a cozy space without tension, an urban living room where people can relax and enjoy art.”
The architect’s signature vertical lattice design covers the exterior, while the interior features a sliding lattice stretching about ten meters high that controls the flow of light. Natural materials like laminated paulownia wood for the interior lattice, washi for the atrium walls, and recycled whiskey barrel wood (think Suntory) for the flooring create warmth throughout the building.

“The new technology we are using allows us to fully control the color, depth and temperature of the light,” explains Chief Curator Yoshiya Ishida while pointing to a 19th-century noh costume displayed as part of the inaugural exhibition. “I was amazed to discover details on works I’d never seen before, like the beautiful, fine spider-web motif woven into this noh costume.”

The museum’s debut show, “Iwai: Arts of Celebration,” offers 150 works with festive themes. The National Treasure is a 13th-century cosmetic box once owned by the famous “nun shogun” Masako Houjou, and will be on display only until mid-April. Executive General Manager Wataru Imai likens the museum to the Japanese spice called sanshou. “We have a saying, ‘Sanshou wa kotsubu de piriri to karai,’” he says. “’Just a small amount of sansho has a big, spicy and flavorful impact.’ It’s like the museum—it’s small but leaves a big impression.”

21_21 Design Sight

Courtesy of Masaya Yoshimura/Nacasa & Partners, Inc.

The same could be said of 21_21 Design Sight, but here the flavor is contemporary. The name is a play on the term for perfect 20/20 eyesight, suggesting vision “into the future.” The sleek, 1,700m², Tadao Ando-designed concrete structure sits in a green landscaped corner of the Midtown development. The building is classic Ando, but with light-inducing windows and openings possibly influenced by directors Issey Miyake, Taki Satou and Naoto Fukazawa.

It’s one of Ando’s best works. On the sunny spring afternoon of the press preview, light flooded the cavernous, below-ground floor that contains the two gallery spaces. On the first floor, a row of budding cherry trees could be viewed through the angular windows. The roof design, which gives the impression of massive connecting sheets of steel, mimics Miyake’s“one piece of cloth” clothing design concept.

As praise to the hardworking construction staff, Ando organized a book and a brief exhibition titled “A Hard Fought Process,” up through April 18, which documents the building’s creation. “I was awed by the [construction company] foreman,” says the architect. “He was so dedicated, worked so hard all day, slept in a small shed on the site at night, and only returned home once a month.”

As a design research center and exhibition space for commissioned works, 21_21 Design Sight will not accumulate a collection.

The inaugural exhibition, “Chocolate” (April 27-July 29), will feature works made with the irresistible ingredient.

Tokyo Midtown is directly accessible by Hibiya and Oedo lines at Roppongi station. See exhibition listings (Akasaka/Roppongi) for details.

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