The Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum used to be the residence of Prince Asaka, the eighth son of Prince Kuni, who lived here with his princess Nobuko, the eighth daughter of Emperor Meiji. The house was completed in 1933, and today it is largely as it was then. After the war it was put to various temporary uses, serving at one time as the official residence of the foreign minister and at another time as a state guest house.
Then, half a century after it was built, the Prince Asaka Residence was given a new lease of life as a museum run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture (Tokyo-to Rekishi Bunka Zaidan), established by the metropolitan government. The Prince Asaka Residence opened its gates as the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum on October 1, 1983.
This building preserves for the modern viewer the Art Deco style which took the European art world by storm in the 1920's and 30's. The principal parts were designed by French designer Henri Rapin (1873-1939), and many of the decorative features to be found inside were imported from France and other foreign countries. However, the basic plan of the building and some parts of interior decoration were undertaken by architects of the Imperial Household Department, adding an authentically Japanese feel to the Art Deco style.
Unlike most museums, this one is itself an art treasure. It calls for a critical apreciation which recognizes the spiritual relationship between exhibit and venue. Surrounded by a green and spacious park, the museum is bleesed with an environment that allows one to enjoy the meeting of nature, architecture and art. It is this meeting which gives the museum its name --- for"teien"means"park"or"garden"in Japanese. We sincerely hope that in this Art Deco house with its varying collection of artworks you will find a point of contact with beauty --- a place of relief and tranquility.