Matsukata Kojiro
| Kōjirō Matsukata | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 17, 1865 Japan |
| Died | June 24, 1950 (aged 85) Japan |
| Occupation | Businessman, art collector |
Matsukata Kōjirō (松方 幸次郎?, January 17, 1865 – June 24, 1950) was a Japanese businessman who devoted his life and fortune to amassing a collection of Western art which, he hoped, would become the nucleus of a Japanese national museum focused particularly on masterworks of the Western art tradition. Although his plans were not realized in his lifetime, his vision is commemorated in Japan's National Museum of Western Art (NMWA) in Ueno, central Tokyo.
Matsukata was the third son of the early Meiji period Finance Minister and genrō, Matsukata Masayoshi. While at Rutgers College, he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and a member of the freshman football team. After being educated in the United States at Rutgers Preparatory School and Rutgers University, he became president of Kawasaki Shipbuilding Company (Kawasaki Shōzō) in 1896 and then went on to become head of Kawasaki Dockyards from 1916 through 1923.
The financial success he enjoyed in the early part of the century was affected adversely by economic downturns in the 1920s and 1930s; but much of his art collection remained intact despite the collapse of his business interests.
Masukata invested his significant personal fortune in the acquisition of several thousand examples of Western painting, sculpture and decorative arts. He collected these art works throughout Europe, but primarily in Paris. Mutsukata bought the Rodin masterpiece, "Gates of Hell", which is currently to be seen at the Rodin Museum in Paris; and the sculptures on display in the NMWA entrance plaza were made from the same original molds. In the end, he hoped to see his collections in an art museum in Tokyo where visitors could come into direct contact with Western art; and he wanted the people of Tokyo to enjoy the same degree of easy access to great art which was available to Parisians.
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