English page 1

Mithila Museum is proud to have the world best collection of Mithila

Painting and Worli painting which are Indian Folk Art.

Thank you for looking into the page. I am Tokio Hasegawa, the curator of

Mithila Museum of Tookamachi shi, Niigata ken.

Mithila Museum is located in the mid mountain area which is 8km away from

central area of Tookamachi City. There is a pond called Oike nearby and is

situated in tranquil beautiful natural surroundings.

But there is harsh environment at the same time as heavy snowfall is in winter and 3 to 4mts. snow gets piled.

The museum was opened in the abandoned wooden primary school.

Folk art of India such as  Mithila Painting and Worli paintings are main

collection which is exhibited in permanent base.

Due to many severe snowfalls and major earthquake of Niigata Chuuetsu area of October, 2004 forced us to close the museum. But with warm help andcooperation of volunteers and supporters, the museum reopened and now 37 years passed.

Our collection is considered to be the world best.

In Bihar state of India having a population of 120,000,000 Mithila painting

is a representative folk art of the state.

 

 

 

What is Mithila Painting?
 

Mithila Painting is a miraculous incident happened in India.

Art Movement started as a relief work from calamity of drought in 1966 to 67.

Paper and cloth were given to troubled ladies in Bihar. The knowledge of wall

and floor paintings which has been taught from mother to daughters survived more than 3000years.

 

 

As daily living affair Mother taught daughter and the art survived. Sun is the strongest God in the region.

With an important occasion such as child birth painter dip in the cold pond

and pray to rising sun.  In the full moon day, they read sacred book of

Ramayana and they pray to Moon.
The God and Goddess they draw on wall are to keep and protect family members which is like Onigawara, big tile kept on the roof top as a protector of welfare of family in Japan.

The floor painting called Arpana attracts and invites God and Goddess

to come in. The same one is called. Of Jichin Sai,( Festival to make the earth

Peaceful.  The painting which is deeply connected Nature makes you feel

the cosmology and is attractive for contemporary world.

 

The road to opening of Mithila Museum.

In 1969 I founded Taj Mahal Traveler with six other members with an intention to create a new music which could surpass New Jazz, New Rock, and Contemporary Music and was engaged in Musical activity. One year’s performance in Europe was obtained ultimately.
 

When I returned from Europe, I decided not to live in Tokyo which was the

most polluted in the world due to photo chemical smog. Thereafter I moved

into the forest area of Oike, Tookamachi city Niigata prefecture which has the heaviest snowfall.

Eight years later, Oike primary school which was the center of the community of the least populated area faced demolision.

I offered an alternative idea not to destroy Nature and so the developing

Project was cancelled. With a courageous decision of the administrative,

they decided to let me use the abandoned primary school as a place to

give a social education based on Cosmology.

 

A youth came over with Mithila Painting from India, I went to Bihar to

research and met Ganga Devi who was a famous artist of Mithila Painting,

She asked me to support poor painters and finally I opened Mithila Museum

in 1982.

 

After opening

 

Even though a small museum I thought one day the proper collection may

help the Society, I continued to do collection, survey, and exhibition.

After 1988, I started inviting the painters from India, and kept on

organizing the exhibition in various places in Japan and the painter

stayed in the museum as Artist in Residence and many masterpieces were

created.

 

Villages of India had many problems such as poverty, calamity and old

prejudice.  For all the painters, Mithila Museum was like an oasis, my family

Members, staff, and the inviters and volunteers collected for the exhibition

from all over Japan welcomed them with a warm feeling.  The invited painters had an opportunity to see the paintings done by their famous seniors which is quite impossible to do in India.

 

I invited approx two Mithila artists a year.

They stayed in the museum nearly six months avoiding the winter season.

They painted on the special board which we prepared for the purpose of

permanent preservation while they participate in the exhibition halls.

Some advice was offered by Cultural Intellect and New masterpieces were

created and impressed the viewers.

 

 

Go to next page