Fumio Asakura Museum of Sculpture

This lovely, cosy museum in park setting is dedicated to local son Fumio Asakura, who is regarded as Japan’s leading exponent of natural-realism western-style sculpture, so much so he is sometimes likened to Rodin. Born in 1883, Asakura created a prolific body of work focused on the human and feline forms over his lifetime until his death in Tokyo in 1964.

On display within the museum’s galleries are over 50 of Asakura’s works of art including some of his most famous sculptures. Outside, in the carefully tended grounds, are work by leading contemporary Asian sculptors, including winners of the Biennial Oita Asian Sculpture Exhibition.

Asakaura lived his adult life in Tokyo’s Yanaka district. Here, he established a studio and home, which after his death became the well-known and popular Asakura Museum of Sculpture. Oita’s memorial to the great artist is lesser known but no less worth a visit.