The true value of a museum: Escapism, not authenticity
What if a single museum could display every masterpiece you can name? Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Picasso’s Guernica—all in one place. Logically, this is impossible; they are scattered across Paris, Tokyo, and Madrid. Yet, in Japan, such a “what-if” place exists: the Otsuka Museum of Art in Tokushima Prefecture. It exhibits virtually every masterpiece you can think of.
As you correctly guessed, they are all replicas.
But here is the uniquely Japanese approach: these aren’t cheap copies; they are high-quality, official ceramic reproductions. The location is fitting, as Tokushima has a 200-year history in ceramics. Experts meticulously measure and record every single brush stroke on the originals to ensure faithful reproduction.
The advantage of ceramic over oil on canvas is durability. There is no worry about aging, and, crucially, you can get a much closer look, calmly, without being swept along by the mob. This is completely antithetical to the everyday chaos of the Louvre.
To me, the true value of visiting a museum is not the authenticity of the artifact, but the experience of the extraordinary. Think about it rationally: it’s utterly surreal to be in a quiet space, staring silently at a wall, surrounded by strangers doing the exact same thing in a place exclusively designed for that purpose. It seems surreal enough that people gather to look at a stationary painting when countless entertaining videos are available for free. If the atmosphere is spoiled by a suffocating crowd—as I hear happens constantly around the Mona Lisa—then the whole point is lost.
The bliss of not understanding art
I must confess, I don’t understand art at all. My enjoyment comes from the non-ordinary, surreal experience itself. I genuinely like myself when I stand in front of a painting with a “knowing nod,” pretending to grasp its profundity. To enjoy this level of blissful self-deception, a perfect, quiet atmosphere is essential.
This is why the Otsuka Museum of Art is arguably the best option in the world for my type of visitor. You can leisurely examine every detail of the “Mona Lisa” replica without a tourist mob pressing you forward.
The only drawback? Tokushima is far from the metropolitan hubs of Tokyo and Osaka.
The Tokyo alternative: Artizon Museum and the perfect lunch
If Tokushima is too far for this surreal pilgrimage, let me offer an excellent metropolitan alternative: the Artizon Museum in Tokyo. It holds fewer major masterpieces (though it does have beautiful works like Berthe Morisot’s Woman and Child on the Balcony), but it excels in what matters most to the conscious museum-goer: atmosphere and design.
The interior and exterior are beautifully designed, creating the necessary sense of quiet removal from everyday life. And, crucially, the museum café serves a high-quality lunch. You can enjoy your meal there, sitting on one of our good chairs, perfectly composed after your non-ordinary artistic experience.
This is the true, subtle luxury: the ability to process the surreal world of art in quiet, deliberate comfort, whether the masterpiece is real or a highly durable ceramic simulation.
Photo credit: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7853.html
Shungo Ijima
He is travelling around the world. His passion is to explain Japan to the world, from the unique viewpoint accumulated through his career: overseas posting, MBA holder, former official of the Ministry of Finance.