Kamakura Museum of Modern Art at risk of demolition

The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama is facing possible demolition as the prefecture has decided not to renew the land lease with the landowner (the nearby Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu shrine). The prefecture’s difficult financial situation has meant that they cannot continue to operate the museum and it is scheduled to close at the end of March 2016.
The Japan Institute of Architects have submitted a request to the prefecture to urge them to protect the historic building. Under the terms of the land lease, the prefecture agreed that any structures would be demolished before the land was returned. There are hopes that the prefecture and shrine can come to an agreement on conserving the modern building.
The main building of the museum is Kamakura Hall. It was designed by Junzo Sakakura and completed in 1951. Sakakura studied under the world renowned modern architect Le Corbusier and went on to design numerous buildings across Japan.
The hall is oldest public modern art museum in Japan, and is a highly valuable example of modern architecture. In 1999, it was selected as one of the DOCOMOMO Japan 100.