A small museum. As I understand it, there is no permanent exhibition. During our visit, there was an exhibition of products that Japan produces or produced (cameras, batteries, dishes, ...). There was also a small hall with photographs. The price for admission to the museum (35 shekels) is unreasonably high.
This is the only museum in the Middle East on such a subject.The museum was established in 1959 on the initiative of Felix Tikotin from the Netherlands with the support of the Mayor of Haifa.
F. Tikotin, an architect by profession, was an internationally renowned collector and dealer of Japanese art. For more than 40 years, he has collected his valuable and rare collections and organized exhibitions of Japanese art in many museums based on them. Tikotin was Jewish and fled the Nazis during World War II. To prevent the collection from falling into the hands of the Nazis, he hid it in Holland.After the war, he decided to place his unique collection in one of the museums of Israel, and in 1956 he came to Israel and implemented this decision.To organize support and sponsor his idea, Tikotin visited the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, France, England and Japan.He enlisted the support of some museum directors, scientists and spiritual leaders.The position of director of the museum in the period from 1966 to 1992 was filled by Eli Lankman, who in 2001 received a prize from the Japanese government.
In 1958, at a meeting of the Haifa Municipality, it was decided to purchase Kish House and the surrounding land.The house was built by Frederick Kish, who lived in the house from 1934 to 1939. He commanded the engineering brigade of the 8th British Army and in 1943 died in one of the battles of the North African campaign.
The Kish House still houses the museum's offices, a library, creative workshops and a Japanese room.The library, the largest of its kind in Israel, houses about 3,000 books and publications related to Japanese art and culture.
The project for the construction of the Japanese pavilion was approved and started in February 1959 with the construction of an exhibition hall, in accordance with the ideas and plans of F.Tikotin and under the supervision of architect M. Lev.The exhibition hall was decorated in the Japanese spirit. It is spacious, with sliding paper doors leading to the garden, harmoniously complementing the Japanese atmosphere of the hall. In 1960, an exhibition of works from the sponsors' collection marked the opening of the Japanese museum to the general public.
The museum's collection includes about 7,000 objects of art and crafts — paintings, engravings, drawings, painted screens, textiles, ancient illustrated texts, ceramics, miniature carvings (netsuke), lacquer miniatures and metalwork, antique swords and functional works of art, mainly from the XVII — XIX centuries, as well as collections of modern Japanese art.Over time, the collection has increased due to private gifts.
The exhibitions cover a range of different aspects of Japanese culture, displaying traditional and modern art and emphasizing the unique aesthetic value of Japanese art.In accordance with Japanese tradition, the room is furnished according to special events and a certain season. Following this tradition, the museum's exposition is updated approximately every three months, preserving the overall theme, style and era.
In 1982, Japanese philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa donated the sum of 1.5 million dollars for the construction of a new large wing of the museum. The project was designed by Japanese architect Junzo Yoshimura in collaboration with Al Mansfeld, an architect from Haifa.The new wing with a height of 2 floors has a parking lot and occupies more than 1800 sq. m.An acoustic auditorium "Raphael Angel" with 200 seats was built on the second floor in 2000.
The old and new buildings harmoniously form a single whole, in accordance with the Japanese atmosphere and traditions.
The museum itself amazes your imagination! To see Japan...in Israel...It's something...The combination of the incongruous, I would call it that...