Kasamatsu Hirotomo Memorial Hall, Goto-City

About

Kasamatsu Hirotomo Memorial Hall was opened in 2008, in his native island, Naru-shima, Goto-city, Nagasaki Japan.

Naru-shima is a small fishing island, famous for an old beautiful wooden-made Christian cathedral, "Egami-Tensu-dou" (Egami church, a candidate for Unesco World Cultural Heritage).

Kasamatsu Hirotomo (1938-2005) grew up on the island, surrounded by the blue sea. He went to high school in Nagasaki, where he was baptized as a Protestant.
Kasamatsu went to Tokyo to study painting at the age of 19 and won a prize in the "Dokuritsu Exhibition". Finally, he won first prize in the "Dokuritsu Exhibition" in 1983. He was recommended as a member to "Dokuritsu" in 1984 and joined the jury panel.

From 2000, Kasamatsu started a new series of works, "The Angel Series". The works are inspired by European townscapes such as Florence and Paris as seen from a bird's-eye view, which becomes an angel's perspective floating in the sky.

In 2003, he was in and out of hospital due to a failing heart. He completed his final large-scale work of The Angel Series, "Angelus", declaring his Chiristianity.
He passed away in his sleep in 2005. Another large-scale work of the series "Spring" was nearly completed.

All through his life, Kasamatsu had two main themes：

Chiristian religion and prayer

Love and peace for family, Nagasaki, and Goto

In Naru-shima, Funa-mawari elementary school closed in 2007 after 132 years history. The school building was converted into the Memorial Hall for the artist who loved his native island.

The Memorial Hall, which retains the elementary school, houses 82 large-scale works and small paintings, exhibits them in rotation.

Location

• 937-1 Funa-mawari Naru-chou, Goto-city, Nagasaki, 853-2204, Japan
• Phone．+81-959-64-2209

Access

to Goto-city on Fukue island

By air

From Nagasaki to Fukue airport	30 min.
From Fukuoka to Fukue airport	40 min.

By sea

From Nagasaki to Fukue island	1 hour 25 min.(express, all reserved seats)
	3 hours 25 min.
From Hakata to Fukue island	8 hours 30 min.

to Naru island

By sea

From Fukue to Naru	30～45 min.
From Nagasaki to Naru	4 hours 40 min.
From Hakata to Naru	7 hours 40 min.

From Naru port to Kasamatsu Hirotomo Memorial Hall

Bus, taxi, rent-a-car

10～15 min.