Tanaka Isson Memorial Art Museum

Tanaka Isson Memorial Museum of Art (“c’†ˆê‘º‹L”O”ü�pŠÙ, Tanaka Isson Kinen Bijutsukan) is the main attraction at Amami Park (‰‚”üƒp�[ƒN) in the northeast corner of Amami Oshima, not far from the airport. Dedicated to the popular late artist who lived on Amami Oshima towards the end of his life, the museum showcases art over five rooms with a mixture of permanent and temporary exhibitions from Isson himself and other artists associated with the island.

Tanaka was born in Tochigi Prefecture and worked as a painter there and then in Chiba Prefecture for most of his life, but struggled to find success in the Tokyo area art world. At age 50, he decided to relocate to Amami Oshima where he lived an impoverished lifestyle creating paintings of the local flora and birds, only achieving notoriety after his death.

The museum dedicates one hall to each period of the painter's life, showcasing art he produced when living in that particular region. There is an additional hall containing a "Special Exhibition" of selected pieces of the artist's work and yet another hall dedicated to other artists linked to Amami Oshima.

Amami Park itself is located on the grounds of Amami's former airport. Opened in 2001, the park offers a few other attractions on its expansive grounds, including the Amami no Sato folk museum, which showcases local history and culture, and a free observation deck with views of the surrounding area.