Homma Museum of Art

Yamagata

Gardens & Nature

Visual & Performing Arts

# Merchant Houses

# Garden

# Cafe

# Art

# Museum

A traditional two-story Seienkaku villa with a tiled roof, surrounded by a lush Japanese garden.

A wide view of the Homma Garden (Kakubu-en) pond, featuring a small stone bridge and white flowering shrubs.

Interior view of a tatami room in the Seienkaku Villa, with wide wooden framed windows overlooking the traditional garden.

Key Points

Centered on a beautiful strolling pond garden
Exhibitions include Edo period ceramics, scrolls, and gifts from feudal lords
Former villa of the Homma family, wealthy merchant-landowners active in the Edo period

The Homma Art Museum was once the villa of the powerful Homma family—wealthy landowners who rose to prominence as merchants during the Edo period—and is a testament to their contributions to the local community where the museum is located. The villa itself was commissioned to provide employment for dock workers in the port city of Sakata during the winter, and to serve as a rest house for the local clan lords on domain tours. Later, it served as Sakata City’s official guesthouse, hosting dignitaries including the Crown Prince (later Emperor Showa) in 1925.
Today, the museum is worth a visit for its collections as much as its architecture and 1813 strolling garden, Kakubu-en, a Nationally Designated Place of Scenic Beauty. Inside the museum, visitors can find Edo period ceramics, lacquerware, and paintings once presented by powerful daimyo, such as the Sakai clan, in addition to works from other historical periods.

Information

Spot information including address, access, and website
Address	7-7 Onari-cho, Sakata City, Yamagata
Access from Tokyo	(1) From Tokyo Station, take the Yamagata Shinkansen to Shinjo Station (approx. 3 hours 32 minutes). (2) At Shinjo Station, transfer to the JR Rikuusai Line and take the train to Sakata Station (approx. 1 hour 24 minutes). (3) From Sakata Station, the Homma Museum of Art is an approximately 6-minute walk. Show route from Tokyo Station
Website	https://www.homma-museum.or.jp
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