Hirakushi Denchū Art Museum

Sculptor Hirakushi Denchu (1872-1979) lived to 107 and created work across a remarkable range of subjects and styles. Born in Ibara, Okayama, he struggled in Tokyo for years before recognition came through influential instructors. A recurring subject in his later work was the art critic Okakura Tenshin, whose early support proved decisive. The museum in Ibara holds a wide range of pieces, from fierce Buddhist-themed sculptures to intimate scenes of family life. One work, Ane Musume, shows his daughter pressing her hands to her ears to hear a neighbor's radio because her family could not afford one. His famous Kagamijishi prototype is kept here; the final work stands in the National Theatre of Japan.