Okayama Castle was built by Hideie Ukita during the Sengoku period (1467 - 1600), from which the foundation of the modern castle remains. Later, the Hayakawa and Ikeda clans further expanded the castle.
The castle's totally black exterior is very unique and gives the castle its nickname, Ujo (Crow Castle). Okayama castle is often compared with Himeji Castle in neighboring Himeji Prefecture, which has a totally white exterior and is nicknamed shirasagi (heron).

Korakuen Garden is one of the Three Most Beautiful Gardens in Japan (the other two are Kenrokuen in Kanazawa and Kairakuen in Mito) and has been designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty.

Hayashibara Museum of Art has paintings, arts and crafts from Eastern Asia, not only from Japan, and has a valuable collection from the Ikeda clan (the former feudal lords of Okayama).

This museum opened in 1979, when 1,947 pieces of ancient Oriental art were donated. Currently, the museum houses more than 5,000 pieces of art and it is the only domestic public museum that specializes in and functions as a research base on the ancient Orient.

The museum houses artists who have connections with Okayama prefecture, such as Sesshu, Musashi Miyamoto, Gyokudo Uragami, Toyohiko Okamoto and Yasuo Kuniyoshi. The genres vary widely among ancient black ink paintings, Japanese-style paintings, Western-style paintings, sculptures and crafts.

The museum houses numerous pieces of cultural heritage from the ancient times of Japan, such as when the Kibi province flourished in this area.
The museum opened as a part of Okayama Prefecture's 100th anniversary celebrations in August, 1971.
Among the collection is a warrior's armor that is a designated National Treasure, paintings, swords and other archeological artifacts that are designated as Important Cultural Properties.

Yumeji Takehisa was born in Okayama and later became a leading painter in Japan. He was also a poet and a designer.
Most people in Japan have heard of him.
How about stepping into Yumeji Art Museum to find out what kind of art he created and what he was like?

Yumeji Takehisa (September 16, 1884 - September 1, 1934.)

Yumeji's original given name was Mojiro Takehisa. He was born the second son at a family-run Japanese sake brewery that had been in business for generations in Okayama.
He left Okayama at the age of 16 and lived in Hyogo Prefecture and later in Fukuoka Prefecture. He moved to Tokyo at the age of 18.
He studied at Waseda University, and he made his professional debut with some illustrations while he was still a student.
He started using a name "Yumeji" as an artist, then expanded his field of work to poetry and design.