The Meiji Jingu Museum is a hidden masterpiece by master architect Kengo Kuma. Located on the approach to the main shrine of Meiji Jingu in Tokyo (one of the most famous shrines in Japan), the museum not only displays art and treasures preserved in the shrine but also explains the history of the shrine buildings and the surrounding forest.

Yes – a forest and a very large one at that. To ensure the museum exists harmoniously with nature, Kengo chose low horizontal and fragmented roofs so that the forest remains the true protagonist. Instead of cold exposed concrete, the structure beautifully blends H-beam steel with Japanese cypress, reinterpreting traditional shrine simplicity into modern sleekness and warmth.

In the words of Kengo Kuma & Associates:

“We considered that the forest grounds of the shrine should play a main role, with the architecture blending into the trees … We aimed to dissolve the architecture into the greenery by limiting the height of the eaves, dividing the roof into smaller forms with tapered edges. H-section steel was used for the structure in order to give greater transparency to the space. The gap between the flanges of the H was filled with a cypress plank to balance the sharpness of the structure and the warm and gentle atmosphere in the space. Trees that were cut down during the construction of the museum, including zelkova and camphor, have been mostly reused for the furniture and the interior in order to emphasize the importance of recycling the valuable resources of the forest.”

The Meiji Jingu Museum is not just a museum. It is a sanctuary for the senses, and the very embodiment of sustainability and Shinto Buddhist spirituality. If you plan to visit, the address of the Meiji Jingu Museum is 1-1 Yoyogi Kamizonocho, Shibuya City, Tokyo 151-8557, Japan. It is located inside the grounds of the Meiji Jingu Shrine.