Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography Nara City

The Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography opened in Nara in 1992, housed in a building designed by Metabolist architect Kishō Kurokawa near the Shin-Yakushi-ji temple. Its core collection is the complete oeuvre of Irie Taikichi (1905–1992), who spent his career photographing Nara's ancient temples, Buddhist statuary, and seasonal landscapes in black and white — some 80,000 images in total. A highlight is a set of 1,025 Meiji- and Taishō-era glass-plate negatives by Kudō Risaburō, designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. Rotating exhibitions complement the permanent holdings with works by other Japanese photographers, making this a focused destination for anyone interested in the history of Japanese photography.