TAKIYA タキヤ株式会社

Founded in 1876 to commemorate the centennial of American independence, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) is one of the United States' leading art museums. Its collection comprises some 500,000 works, bringing together art and culture from across the globe--from the Americas and Europe to Egypt and Asia. Among its many holdings, the MFA's collection of Asian art, and Japanese art in particular, is renowned as one of the finest and most comprehensive outside Japan.

Katsushika Hokusai, Soga Shōhaku, Hasegawa Tōhaku, Itō Jakuchū, Ogata Kōrin, Kitagawa Utamaro--the MFA holds outstanding works by many Japanese artists who have attracted renewed attention in Japan in recent years. The development of this remarkable collection owes much to pioneers who introduced Japanese art to audiences abroad during the Meiji period.

Ernest Fenollosa came to Japan at the suggestion of Edward Sylvester Morse, best known for his discovery of the Ōmori Shell Mounds, and began collecting Japanese art. After returning to the United States, Fenollosa became the MFA's first curator of Japanese art. Okakura Kakuzō, also known as Tenshin, studied under Fenollosa and went on to help establish the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and the Japan Art Institute before later becoming curator of the MFA's Department of Chinese and Japanese Art. Through the efforts of these and other pioneers, works of Japanese art--many of which had yet to receive due recognition even within Japan--were brought together at the MFA and introduced to the wider world.

TAKIYA's relationship with this museum, with its deep ties to Japan, began in 2010 during the expansion that created the Art of the Americas Wing. Although construction of the building had already been completed, issues were discovered with the installed picture-rail hanging system, and TAKIYA was contacted about replacing it with its own system.

TAKIYA immediately dispatched a team to Boston to assess the situation and consult with the museum's curators. We developed custom display hardware specifically for the project, including hooks engineered to work with the rails that were already in place. With the opening of the new wing fast approaching, time was extremely limited, but TAKIYA succeeded in completing the work before the opening.

The relationship forged between the MFA and TAKIYA through this project continues to this day, and TAKIYA's display hardware is now used throughout the museum.

For more than a century, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has recognized the beauty of Japanese art and shared its appeal with the world. TAKIYA's display hardware, combining strength and beauty through Japanese engineering and craftsmanship, has likewise found its place in museums around the world.

"The Art of Japan" is a concept that connects the MFA and TAKIYA--and lies at the heart of the enduring relationship between them.