TOKUNAGA ART MUSEUM
A Japanese painter who returned to La Mancha's town of windmills for half a century
STORY
Some 200 works my father, Takuma, has painted over nearly 70 years.
His path in oil painting began in the port city of Kobe, where he grew up painting the Western-style mansions and the shipyard docks. In 1973 he was captivated by the white windmills of La Mancha seen from a train window, and the small Spanish town of Campo de Criptana became his second home.
This online museum records, one by one, the works painted in his two homelands, so that anyone can see them anytime, from anywhere.
Yoshio Tokunaga, the artist's son
LAUNCH EXHIBITION
To celebrate the opening of the online museum, we are holding an exhibition in Kobe. Come and see the texture of the oil paint in the originals, something a screen cannot fully convey.
This exhibition has ended. Thank you to everyone who came.
TWO PILLARS OF A PAINTER
More than half a century of oil painting, from 1960 to the present. The work is rooted in two places: Kobe, the port city where he grew up, and Campo de Criptana, a small town in La Mancha.
IKOBE
1960 —
The Western-style mansions on the slopes of Kitano, and the vast hulls lying in the Kawasaki shipyard docks. For Takuma Tokunaga, who grew up in Kobe, the port city was his first subject and a lifelong one.
His 1975 painting of the Hassam House preserves the memory of a building that no longer stands there. Sealing the fading face of a city into layers of oil paint became an approach he would carry into his work in Spain.
IICAMPO DE CRIPTANA
1973 —
In 1973 he saw white windmills from a train window. For half a century since, he returned to the town almost every summer, painting its windmills, whitewashed streets, and doors and windows each with a face of their own, always on site.
"If you can sense even 1% of another colour, it is no longer pure white." His technique of laying pure white over painted shadow embodies a lifelong reflection on how East and West perceive white.
JOURNEY 2027
In early summer 2027, we are planning a journey to Campo de Criptana, the Spanish town the painter has returned to for half a century.
From Madrid into La Mancha: stand where my father painted, on the windmill hill and in the whitewashed lanes, and meet the people of the town. The plan is about nine days, including the Alhambra in Granada.
Dates and costs are not fixed yet. If you are interested, please register below and we will contact you first once the details are set.
This page introduces a planned journey and collects expressions of interest. It is not a booking. The official tour will be offered through a travel agency.
JAPAN — SPAIN CULTURAL LEGACY PROJECT
"I want my paintings to return to the place where they were painted." From the artist's own wish, a plan to donate some 200 oil paintings to Campo de Criptana is now taking shape.
The artist's son, Yoshio Tokunaga, visited the town and met the councillor for culture, who expressed support for this Japan–Spain cultural exchange.
TODAY'S PAINTING
Each visit shows a different work from the collection.
EXHIBITION ROOMS
Browse every work in the collection, including those not on display in the rooms.
LIMITED EDITION
Carrying half a century of work to the next generation. A special invitation for those who wish to support that journey.
20EDITIONS
Only 20 works, selected from the collection, will be produced as numbered, high-quality reproductions in limited quantities. Patrons will be notified before general release.
Works, prices and specifications will be announced once confirmed.PatronsADVISORY BOARD
A circle of supporters who exchange views on the future care, exhibition and promotion of the works. Members receive early updates on the donation plan and unpublished records.
No membership fee. Activities are mainly online.FEEDBACK
We welcome your impressions of the online museum, and your ideas on its future, such as caring for the collection and using AI. Your voice will help shape the museum.
FIELD REPORT 2026
From September to November 2026 we are researching on site in Campo de Criptana. Photos of the places in the paintings and accounts from local people will be added to the exhibition as they are ready.
THE PAINTER
Raised in Kobe, he studied oil painting at Kanazawa College of Art. His first journey to Spain in 1969, standing before the masterpieces of the Prado, set him on the path of a painter who works on location.
