Showa Museum of Art, Nagoya

The Showa Museum of Art, located in the Shiomi district of Shōwa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, is a private art museum founded in 1978. The museum showcases the extensive collection of Kozo Goto (1881-1977), a businessman from Gifu. It features approximately 800 items, predominantly Japanese ceramics and tea ceremony utensils, including three Important Cultural Properties and four Important Art Objects.

Housed in Goto's former residence and garden, the museum is situated in a serene neighborhood in the east of Nagoya, near Nanzan University and the Kuwayama Art Museum. The property includes the sukiyaki-style Nanzanjuso, a samurai villa from 1935 recognized as an Aichi Prefecture-designated cultural property, and a tea ceremony room called Nejikago no Seki, which opens for guided visits around ten times a year.

The museum's collection includes exquisite ceramic tea bowls and utensils, ancient calligraphy scrolls, tobacco bowls, vases, trays, and fine lacquerware. Goto's interest extended beyond Japanese items to include ceramics from China, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The garden, featuring a small pond, bamboo area, and three tea houses, one of which dates back to the Edo Period in 1832, enhances the museum's tranquil ambiance.