Though he worked during a time when a pilgrimage to Paris was considered an essential part of an artist’s education, Japanese sculptor Asakura Fumio (1883–1964) never studied abroad. Despite that seeming disadvantage, the artist’s realist works inspired some to call him the Eastern Rodin. Asakura’s self-designed home, tucked away in Tokyo’s Low City, stands as an experiment in contrasting styles and is now a museum housing many of the artist’s works.

A testament to Asakura’s belief in dialogue between cultures, the museum is a 1930s modernist concrete studio fused to a traditional Japanese house of wood and bamboo. Most of the large pieces on permanent exhibition are human figures. Nudes affect a variety of natural poses, while a likeness of Okuma Shigenobu (founder of Waseda University) looks on in seeming disapproval. In an adjacent alcove, Hakamori (“The Grave Keeper”) exudes a quiet dignity.

The human form wasn’t the only vehicle for Asakura’s talents. Overlooking the studio is the glazed Orchid Room, home to 10 bronze cats, each caught in a familiar pose — crouching, stalking, or preening. But as unique as the sculptures are, it is the museum that visitors ultimately remember. Its focal point — the water garden and the traditional sukiya-style residence that surrounds it — is the perfect foil for the austerity of the concrete atelier, and enduring proof of Asakura’s creativity.

The Asakura Choso Museum is located at 7-8-10 Yanaka, Taito-ku, Tokyo, a three-minute walk from the west exit of Nippori Station on the JR Yamanote Line. Hours are 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. every day except Monday and Friday, when the museum is closed.