Totally 5 stars. Architecturally arresting from the arrival, this quiet and thoughtful, reasonably small museum packs a punch. Over 3 floors, we were fortunate to see a special exhibit honouring the samurai. Beautifully curated with lots of excellent background information, the permanent exhibit had wonderful interactive elements and stages of artistic creation beautifully demonstrated and explained.. Just fascinating. Enough interest for the youngest (we saw 5 years olds interacting with the tech, as I was, it was that good), to the oldest. A must see. An enjoyable few hours. I will be returning.

Small, but nevertheless one of the best museums I've ever been to. Please ignore the reviews that the museum is full of "photocopies" and that the person went to see The Great Wave and it wasn't there. Hokusai was a commercial artist, an illustrator, an educator, a chronicler of life in Edo and especially in Sumida. The Great Wave was a PRINT. It was meant to be a reproduction. There is no single Great Wave, there is just an original print run of like 1,000 copies. This people would have known if they educated themselves before rolling up. This museum is about Hokusai's personal journey from apprentice to master artist, about his artistic engagement with the floating world and the theater and the neighborhood in which he lived. It is about his artistic evolution and how he transformed his technique over time, and the intersection of this with the history of the late-Edo period. It is about Japan's engagement with the west and not only Hokusai's embrace of Western techniques but also his subsequent contribution to the transformation of Western illustration. Its about the role he played in teaching people around the world how to draw (perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the museum). To successfully appreciate this museum, you have to come prepared to spend time and to read, listen and learn. If you come ready to do this, you will leave so very enriched. If you are just coming to eyeball a "famous painting," this "famous painting" does not exist, so its probably best you just stay home and order The Great Wave on Amazon. If you love art, however, this is the museum for you.

#Sumida Hokusai Museum The permanent exhibition is almost replica 45 Too bad I'd like to see a few originals out by swapping I asked him and he said he had put it all away for preservation... And the description is so small, it's hard to see.　 And at the same time, I felt like I should do Guided tours in my time. Even though there are no steps in the building, it is almost impossible to read from a wheelchair perspective unless you are a person with quite a high seat height, judging from the exhibition position and the board height of the explanation… There's a lot of stuff in the collection that's just amazing, but I can't deny it's a bit of a treasure trove. The highlight is Hokusai's hand-drawn scroll, which is one of them! If it wasn't for this, I might have gotten angry. lol For your reference

If you have about two hours of free time in Tokyo, I highly recommend visiting The Sumida Hokusai Museum. Here, you can learn about Katsushika Hokusai, one of the most celebrated artists of the Edo period. In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum hosts fascinating special exhibitions. You’ll be amazed by the sophistication of Edo-period culture and art. Although it’s a bit of a walk from Ryogoku Station, the route is flat and easy to navigate. The neighborhood retains the charm of old Tokyo, making it an enjoyable area to explore on foot.

Great little museum! There were three exhibition rooms open when we got there all excellent for different reasons. The displays are well curated and we felt like we learnt a lot during our visit. It seems that they rotate the original works on display so no guarantee which originals you will see…. However, we were delighted with the selection we were able to enjoy😊