An Art Experience in an Elegant Mansion Woven by the Fusion of East and West

Shirokanedai, a quiet area in Tokyo. The history of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, a white and stately mansion surrounded by tall trees connecting to the Institute for Nature Study, began about 90 years ago as the residence of the Imperial Asaka family. Prince Yasuhiko Asaka and Princess Nobuko became captivated by Art Deco, a linear and rhythmic art style, while living in Paris for two and a half years in the 1920s. After returning to Japan, they commissioned renowned French designer Henri Rapin for the interior decoration of their residence. Rapin also called upon fellow designers like glass artist René Lalique, and the finished interior materials were shipped all the way to Japan. Meanwhile, in Japan, engineers from the Imperial Household Ministry's Internal Affairs Bureau handled the overall building design, and artisans demonstrated highly advanced traditional Japanese architectural techniques. The mansion completed in this way is truly an artwork of French-Japanese collaboration; while based on Art Deco, ancient Japanese patterns are also applied throughout. Inside the building, in addition to ceiling lighting, natural light faintly pouring in through pure white curtains gently envelops viewers. The vast greenery extending outside the windows consists of a lawn garden, a Western garden, and a Japanese garden, within which stands a tea room named "Koka" by Prince Yasuhiko himself. This mansion, born from the passion of the Asaka couple, is a "one-of-a-kind" museum where Japanese and Western elements gently fuse.