At the very southernmost tip of the main island of Japan, in the town of Kushimoto, is Japan’s smallest art museum. The Ōkyo Rosetsu Art Museum is composed of three buildings: The Exhibit Room, Muryōji Temple’s Main Hall, and the Collection Room.

I suppose your goal here is to see the Tiger Painting, right?

If you want to see the original, you have to look in the Collection Room. The work is carefully stored there; in order to protect it from the humidity, we can’t even open the doors on rainy days. We also can’t turn on the AC because the air will dry it out, so in summer, the room is hot, and in winter, it’s cold. But, because we take such measures to protect it, on sunny days you don’t have to look through a glass case to view the painting, but can rather see it right before your eyes.

But there’s no need to be disappointed if it’s raining. The replicated version on the sliding doors in Muryōji’s main hall is actually even more interesting. Thanks to recent digital technology, we were able to create a piece that is so close to the original, an ordinary person would never be able to tell the difference. Above all, you can also see the original space where Rosetsu painted the work, and observe the painting in its original arrangement. Through this, you can see how the location inspired him, and you’ll see how thoroughly planned out his ideas were.

However, before you go into the Collection Room or the Main Hall, I’d like for you to first visit the Exhibition Room. Not only does it have additional works besides the fusuma, but it also has a very informative video about the painting that we’d like you to watch before you see it. With the background information in this video, you can prepare your imagination for what’s to come.