Paralysed in 1970 while teaching gymnastics, he painted for 52 years holding the brush in his mouth.
Hoshino Tomihiro was teaching physical education at the junior high school in Kuragano, Takasaki, when in June 1970 he fell during an artistic gymnastics demonstration and injured his spinal cord, losing the use of his arms and legs. In hospital for nine years, in 1972 he began to paint and write holding the brush between his teeth: wild flowers accompanied by short poems (詩画). The museum opened in 1991, with a new building in 2005, and remained his main exhibition venue until his death on 28 April 2024, at the age of 78.
The museum holds the work of Hoshino Tomihiro (1946–2024), who lost the use of his arms and legs in June 1970, aged just twenty-four, while demonstrating a gymnastics exercise as a physical education teacher at the junior high school in Kuragano, Takasaki. He stayed in Gunma University Hospital for nine years; in 1972, still in hospital, he began painting wild flowers and writing short poems holding the brush in his mouth. The museum that holds his works opened on 12 May 1991 in Higashi (now part of the city of Midori) and was extended in 2005. Hoshino died on 28 April 2024, aged 78: the museum, now run by the city of Midori, preserves his work and continues to organise themed exhibitions, including the one for the thirty-fifth anniversary in 2026.
ℹ️ Hours 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30. Tickets: adults 600 yen, elementary and junior high school pupils 300 yen, free for children under school age; discounts for groups of 20 people and for holders of a disability handbook. Closed on Mondays from December to March (the following day if it is a public holiday) and over the year-end/New Year period; from April to November it stays open except during exhibition changes. ⚠️ The museum was closed for renovation from 1 December 2025 to 12 August 2026, with the works temporarily on show at the Dōyō Furusato-kan: it reopened on 13 August 2026 with the exhibition for the 35th anniversary.
🚉 Tomihiro Bijutsukan (富弘美術館) · in front of the station
Holidays in Japan? Plan them with us.Over 2,000 real places, a day-by-day itinerary.FreeOpen the map →Sources: city.midori.gunma.jp · ja.wikipedia.org
Nearby
Akagi Shrine — Lake Ōnuma16.9 kmphoto by Koichi Shibata · CC BY-SA 3.0