Mogi Shichizaemon (1907-2012), the 12th head of the Mogi Honke (main ancestral household line), was interested in art from his youth and collected many works of art over a long period of time. The Mogi-Honke Museum of Art was founded in 2006 to share his art collection with the public so that many people can enjoy these works.
The collection includes approximately 2900 ukiyo-e prints featuring the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai, The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road by Utagawa Hiroshige, as well as ukiyo-e by Kitagawa Utamaro, Toshusai Sharaku, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and others. The collection also covers Japanese paintings by artists such as Yokoyama Taikan, Ogura Yuki and Nakajima Chinami, Western-style paintings by artists including Umehara Ryuzaburo, Wada Eisaku and Kinutani Koji, sculptures by Takamura Koun, Hirakushi Denchu and Yabuuchi Satoshi, and ceramic art by Itaya Hazan. The total number of works of art owned by the Museum is approximately 4300.
In addition to holding several special exhibitions each year, the museum displays around 60 to 70 items as a permanent exhibition. The museum’s architectural design is the work of Hikosaka Yutaka, and the landscape was designed by Ueyama Ryoko, who received the Good Design Award (Architecture and Environment Design Category) in 2002. The Inari shrine of the Mogi Honke is located at the end of the garden.