The Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art became an instant landmark when it was founded in 1974 in the center of the city. With its unique appearance highlighted by two squares protruding out over the hill and an entrance with a perfectly symmetrical design, the museum building is one of the more famous early works of Isozaki Arata, a renowned post-modern architect.
Aiming at diversity in its collection, featuring modern and contemporary art from Japan and abroad, the museum has systematically collected the works of impressionists such as Renoir, Degas, and Monet; ukiyo-e artworks from the Edo to the Meiji periods, 20th century art focusing on tableaus and woodblock prints, and the works of local artists, mainly from Western Japan. It was reopened after renovation on November 3, 2017 to start a new chapter.