Sakima Art Museum

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

The staircase on the roof has 6 steps, then 23: on 23 June the sun sets in line with it.

The museum stands on land returned from the Futenma air base, which still surrounds it almost entirely. Inside, on permanent display, the 14-panel mural ‘Okinawa Sen no Zu’ by Maruki Iri and Maruki Toshi tells the story of the Battle of Okinawa. Anyone who climbs onto the exposed-concrete roof sees the base beyond the fence, and counts the steps of the staircase: 6, then 23.

The museum opened on 23 November 1994, the project of the collector Sakima Michio, on a plot returned by the American military. It is a private museum, dedicated to the memory of the war and to peace: besides the Maruki couple's mural, it holds works by Käthe Kollwitz and Kusama Yayoi. In 1995 it was included in the United Nations volume on the world's peace museums.

ℹ️ Open 9:30–17:00, closed on Tuesdays, during Obon and at New Year. Adult ticket 900 yen (university students and over-70s: 800; junior high/high school: 700; children: 300).

🚉 上原 · 4 min walk

Sources: sakima.jp · ja.wikipedia.org

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