Kanazawa’s Iconic Museum Reopens after Quake

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:59 JST, July 10, 2024

KANAZAWA — The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, which had been partially closed due to damage from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, fully reopened on June 22 after a six-month hiatus.

Visitors, who had waited a long time for the reopening of the museum’s iconic artwork “The Swimming Pool,” enjoyed looking up and taking photos from the bottom of the “pool.”

A special exhibition, entitled “Lines — Aligning your consciousness with the flow,” is now underway, while a cafe restaurant and a museum shop have switched back from shortened to regular hours.

Mari Hashimoto, a 26-year-old nutritionist, said she arranged her visit around the museum’s reopening and came from Tokyo with her parents.

“I got interested in it after seeing the museum on Instagram,” she said with a smile. “It’s a beautiful and mysterious space.”

After the Jan. 1 earthquake, the museum was fully closed until Feb. 5, after which it partially reopened, though with 15 heavily damaged areas still closed.