The was opened in 1983 in

Sakata, Yamagata is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 96,777 in 42,600 households, and a population density of 180 people per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Sakata is located ...

(Japan), the birthplace of the photographer

Ken Domon was a celebrated Japanese photographer known for his work as a photojournalist and as a photographer of Buddhist temples and statuary. Domon, who began his career in the 1930s contributing photo reportages to magazines that supported the increas ...

. On the occasion of becoming the first honorary citizen of Sakata in 1974, Domon donated his entire collection of works to the town. This prompted the decision to build a museum in his honour, and it was the first museum dedicated to photography in Japan. The museum has about 70,000 prints of works by Domon. It also has works by winners of the

Domon Ken Award The Domon Ken Award (土門拳賞, ''Domon-Ken-shō'') is one of Japan's photographic awards. The award was started in 1981 by the Mainichi Newspapers to mark the 110th birthday of the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', its daily newspaper and main publication ...

and another prize, the ) which is presented by the city in Domon's honour. The museum building was designed by noted architect

Yoshio Taniguchi Yoshio Taniguchi (谷口吉生, ''Taniguchi Yoshio''; 17 October 1937 – 16 December 2024) was a Japanese architect best known for his redesign of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, which was reopened on 20 November 2004. Critics hav ...

, and won the 9th Isoya Yoshida Award in 1984.

References

* Matsumoto Norihiko (), ed. ''Nihon no bijutsukan to shashin korekushon'' (, Japan's art galleries and photography collections). Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2002. . Pp. 22–25.

External links

*
The Hidden Japan
Art museums and galleries in Yamagata Prefecture Photography museums and galleries in Japan Biographical museums in Japan Photography in Japan Art museums and galleries established in 1983 1983 establishments in Japan Sakata, Yamagata {{Japan-museum-stub

See also

References

External links