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Museum dedicated to woodcut artist Hokusai opens in Tokyo

TOKYO (AP) - A museum dedicated to Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago.

The Sumida Hokusai Museum , in Tokyo's Sumida ward, features Hokusai in its permanent and feature exhibitions, with works from the collections of Peter Morse, Muneshige Narasaki and Sumida ward itself. Hokusai was born in Sumida around 1760.

Hokusai's most famous work, "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" of the series "36 Views of Mount Fuji," is displayed here, along with other well-known pieces including "A Mild Breeze on a Fine Day."

There's even a life-sized model of Hokusai's studio, complete with robots depicting Hokusai and his daughter Oei at work.

Morse, an art historian and writer who died in 1993, was a prominent collector of Hokuksai's work. His son, Daniel, attended the opening ceremony and called the museum "a beautiful home for my father's collection."

"My father would be very, very happy, he would be very proud, and very honored," he said. "I think Hokusai is the greatest artist who ever lived."

Specially featured works include the 7-meter-long (23-foot-long) "Sumidagawa Ryogan Keshiki Zukan" or "Landscape Scroll of Scenery at Both Banks of the Sumida River," which was missing for 100 years after being taken abroad.

The museum's home is a modern five-floor building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima, that suggests blocks leaning against each other, with surfaces that softly reflect the surrounding neighborhood. The building also houses a library specializing in Hokusai's work, as well as a lecture room and museum shop.

The museum is located near Edo Tokyo Museum, Ryogoku National Sumo Arena and the Sumida River. The admission fee for the permanent exhibition is 400 yen for adults. It's open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.

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Online: http://hokusai-museum.jp/modules/Page/pages/view/1111

In this Nov. 18, 2016 photo, a guest looks at Katsushika Hokusai's "A Mild Breeze on a Fine Day" during a press preview of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward. The museum dedicated to Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
In this Nov. 18, 2016 photo, guests look at a seven-meter-long "Sumidagawa Ryogan Keshiki Zukan," or Landscape Scroll of Scenery at Both Banks of the Sumida River, of Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai during a press preview of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward. The museum dedicated to Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
In this Nov. 18, 2016 photo, guests look at works of Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai during a press preview of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward. The museum dedicated to Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
In this Nov. 18, 2016 photo, a visitor photographs "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," Katsushika Hokusai's most well-known work, in the series 36 Views of Mount Fuji during a press preview of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward. The museum dedicated to Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday, Nov. 22, 206 in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
In this Nov. 18, 2016 photo, guests look at works of Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai during a press preview of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward. The museum dedicated to Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
In this Nov. 18, 2016 photo, a guest walks down the stairs during a press preview of the Sumida Hokusai Museum at Tokyo's Sumida Ward. The museum dedicated to Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
In this Nov. 18, 2016 photo, guests look at works of Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai during a press preview of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward. The museum dedicated to Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
Visitors look at a seven-meter-long "Sumidagawa Ryogan Keshiki Zukan," or Landscape Scroll of Scenery at Both Banks of the Sumida River, of Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai on the opening day of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. The museum dedicated to Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
A reconstructed image of "Susano-o no Mikoto making a pact with the spirits of disease" which was lost by fire in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and is presumedly reconstructed from a remained black and white photo, on the opening day of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. The museum dedicated to Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
Visitors look at humanoid robots depicting Katsushika Hokusai, right, and his daughter Oei, left, at life sized models of Hokusai's atelier on the opening day of the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo's Sumida Ward Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. The museum dedicated to Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
A staff member removes a sign after the opening ceremony of the Sumida Hokusai Museum at Tokyo's Sumida Ward Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. The museum dedicated to Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai, creator of some of the most iconic art of the genre, opened Tuesday in the neighborhood he lived in some two centuries ago. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press
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