The Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, located next to Shukkeien Garden, is one of western Japan’s largest dedicated art museums. The museum was rebuilt in 1996 with a sleek, contemporary design in order to better harmonize with the neighboring Shukkeien. A collection of over 5,000 works, accumulated since the museum’s founding in 1968, is shown in rotation in a program of themed special exhibitions. Tackling such diverse themes as the “samurai bling” of the Asano family, which ruled Hiroshima for over 200 years, and Spanish Surrealism, the exhibitions display a collection that includes works from such twentieth-century masters as René Magritte, Max Ernst, M.C. Escher, and Giorgio de Chirico. The collection also maintains a focus on Japanese Nihonga painting, as well as traditional arts and crafts from across Asia.

The museum houses a number of works by artists with a connection to Hiroshima. Among the local artists whose pieces are housed here are Hirayama Ikuo (1930–2009), an A-bomb survivor who rendered his harrowing experience in paint, and sculptor Entsuba Katsuzo (1905–2003), who created the Memorial Tower for Mobilized Students, which stands in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The museum’s first-floor restaurant and third-floor tearoom both offer beautiful views out over Shukkeien Garden.