Idemitsu Museum
of Art 1

Text Yoko Yamamoto

Art focused business giant

The Idemitsu Museum of Art is perfectly located on the 9th floor of the Imperial Theater Building near the Imperial Palace in Marunouchi Tokyo. Their collection of 15,000 artworks including national treasures and important cultural assets, is based on the exquisite taste of the founder of the company Idemitsu Kosan and top businessman of the Showa era, Sazo Idemitsu. Though Idemitsu was prominent for his unparalleled business approach, he also had an exclusive eye for beauty. He says, "My life was always led by beauty". He selected his collection based on his feeling of love for the art and intuition. At business, he kept the "big family principle" and succeeded in spite of the odds. For Idemitsu, art collecting and managing business positively influenced with each other.