The Adachi Museum and its Japanese garden in Shimane Prefecture, part of the beautiful San'in district in western Honshu, is near historic Matsue with its castle and the home of writer Lafcadio Hearn.
The museum houses the personal collection of entrepreneur Zenko Adachi (1899-1990), a connoisseur of nihonga (modern Japanese-style painting). Taikan Yokoyama, Seiho Takeuchi, Shoen Uemura and Shinsui Ito are among the major artists whose paintings are on display in the museum's galleries. A ceramics hall opened in 1988 to display works from two of the most influential 20th-century potters, Shimane native Kanjiro Kawai, whose work is displayed on the first floor, and Kyoto-born Rosanjin Kitaoji, who has the second floor. Rosanjin was an epicure who taught that cuisine must be matched with its table service, while Kawai was one of the founders of the Mingei (folk craft) movement.
The sole purpose of my visit to Adachi Museum, however, was to view the garden, which is itself a work of art. I would go one step further to say the gardens are a masterpiece -- a living picture -- and such, in fact, was the intention.