Sumida Hokusai Museum

すみだ北斎美術館

The Sumida Hokusai Museum is dedicated entirely to Katsushika Hokusai, who lived and worked in Sumida ward for most of his life. The striking Kazuyo Sejima-designed building houses permanent and rotating exhibitions of Hokusai's woodblock prints, paintings, and illustrated books.

The Sumida Hokusai Museum is dedicated entirely to Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), arguably the most internationally recognized Japanese artist in history and the creator of The Great Wave off Kanagawa and the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series. The museum was built in Sumida ward because Hokusai lived and worked in the area for most of his 90-year life, producing an estimated 30,000 works across woodblock prints, paintings, illustrated books (manga), and sketches.

The building itself, designed by Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA, is a striking aluminum-clad structure with angular slits that create unexpected sight lines to the surrounding neighborhood. The permanent exhibition includes a life-size reconstruction of Hokusai's studio with a remarkably detailed wax figure of the artist at work. Rotating special exhibitions draw on the museum's own collection and international loans, covering different periods and themes of Hokusai's career. The Ryogoku location pairs naturally with the Edo-Tokyo Museum and the sumo arena.

Practical info

Address: 2-7-2 Kamezawa, Sumida City, Tokyo 130-0014
Hours: 9:30-17:30 (last entry 17:00); closed Mondays
Admission: 400 yen (permanent); special exhibitions vary
Nearest station: Ryogoku Station (JR Sobu line), 9-minute walk; or Morishita Station (Toei Oedo, Shinjuku lines)

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