Ekin Museum

Fans of art or horror movies, listen up. There’s a tiny little museum on the outskirts of Kochi’s city center called the Ekin Museum that’s nestled in the heart of Akaoka, the eerily quiet old quarter. Inside is a feast of color: gruesome battle scenes and horrific demons brought to life in the dim of the museum’s interior. In a world where many visitors to Japan may only have heard of Hokusai, what else does the Japanese art world have to offer? Well, Ekin, for starters. So, who is he?

Inside the mind of Ekin

Once a privileged painter of the Tosa aristocracy, Kinzo Hirose, better known as Ekin, fell from grace after allegations of forgery. Free from the restraints of what was seen as acceptable as an artist, he went on to create sweeping masterpieces depicting scenes from Japan’s historical and fictional past. Decapitations and ritual disembowelment are a common theme.

Not for the faint of heart, Ekin’s paintings contain gruesome violence—decapitations and ritual disembowelment are common themes. Think of traditional Japanese paintings of Kabuki scenes, except covered in blood.

Twenty-three of Ekin’s paintings remain in Akaoka today, close to where he originally painted them. The museum also knows very well how to entice people inside. The lovely ladies at the front desk are all smiles and welcoming words as they hand you a lantern.

Pushing back the curtain to the first room of the museum, you are greeted by a dark room illuminated only by your lantern. Edging closer to the walls, the paintings come alive in all their gruesomely beautiful detail.

Other rooms follow that show you how Ekin’s artistic prowess evolved from the days of quaint woodblocks to the huge screens that populated his work in later life.

Ekin Festival

Photo by: WikiCommons/陳寅恪

On the third Saturday and Sunday of July, the streets of Akaoka glow underneath the soft light of the Ekin Festival. Numerous screens from him are displayed by candlelight and the neighborhood turns into a bustling beer garden with lots of food stalls. The museum is free for visitors during the festival.

While photography is typically prohibited in the museum, festival-goers can feel free to snap pics of the screens on display during this weekend. Be sure not to use flash, though, as it causes the paintings to fade quicker. Watch Ekin’s paintings come to life during live kabuki performances at the Bentenza stage in front of the museum.

A truly magical find, this tiny museum in a derelict old quarter of the city brims with personality and enthusiasm.