To make public the Western art he collected with his best friend
Ohara Museum of Art (Okayama/Kurashiki City)
Founded in 1930 by Kurashiki businessman and Japanese art collector Magosaburo Ohara, it is Japan's first private art museum focusing on Western art. Many visitors to Kurashiki list the main building, which displays world-famous paintings, and the Crafts and Oriental Gallery, which displays folk art ceramics and prints, as their go-to spots.
The inspiration for the museum was Okayama-born painter Torajiro Kojima (1881-1929). Kojima traveled to Europe on Ohara's recommendation, and while he devoted himself to his work there, he also decided to collect artworks "for the benefit of the Japanese art world." With Ohara's help, Kojima traveled to Europe several times and collected works by Monet, Matisse, El Greco, and others, before passing away at the age of 47.
Mourning his untimely death, Ohara opened the museum the following year to display the works Kojima had collected, as well as Kojima's own work. The couple's wish to "create something meaningful for people living today" still lives on in the museum.
One of only two El Greco works in Japan is on display in the main building. Standing over one meter tall, this dynamic masterpiece is a breathtaking departure from traditional religious paintings. The Annunciation, c. 1590-1603, oil on canvas. Ohara Museum of Art collection. 
This work was created by Torajiro Kojima while he was studying in Belgium. The advice he received from local artist Emile Claus, who saw the painting, became the foundation of his subsequent work. Belgian Girl in Kimono, 1911, oil on canvas. Ohara Museum of Art. 
There are several versions of Edvard Munch's Madonna, both oil paintings and prints. The Ohara Museum of Art owns the print version. 1895-1902, lithograph on paper. 
Kanjiro Kawai, Three-Colored Glazed Flat Vase, 1963. Exhibited in the Crafts and Oriental Gallery, a renovated Edo-period rice storehouse. Both works are in the collection of the Ohara Museum of Art.
