Baron Sumitomo Art Collection

Just like the Mitsui family with their own museum, fellow mega-enterprise Sumitomo owns a gigantic collection of artistic masterpieces, many of which are displayed at the twin Sen-oku Hakuko museums in Kyoto and Tokyo. The majority of these treasures were assembled by Baron Tomoito (Shunsui) Sumitomo (1865-1926), the 15th head of the family and one of the key overseers of Sumitomo's Meiji-era transformation into an industrial zaibatsu conglomerate. Check out the results of his work at the first part of this twin exhibition, centred on the development of Shunsui's aesthetic preferences and passion for the arts during the Meiji era. The pieces on display range from Western-style paintings to ancient Chinese art, offering a comprehensive look into how the Sumitomo collection first took shape.