Tokyo resident Ryutaro Takahashi started collecting in 1997. Focused almost exclusively on Japanese contemporary art, the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection has since grown to include more than 3,500 works of art.

In collaboration with Tatler China.

‘I joined the student movement in Tokyo in the 1960s and, even then, Yayoi Kusama was already regarded as a legendary artist – a goddess. However, it wasn’t until 1998, at her solo exhibition at Ota Fine Arts, that I took the plunge into art collecting with Kusama’s Infinity Nets #27 (1997). This acquisition marked the beginning of my deep-seated fascination with the world of collecting. To date, my collection counts around 60 to 70 of Kusama’s works, including the notable The Pacific Ocean (1959).

‘In 2001, at Takashi Murakami’s solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, I came across Tan Tan Bo (2001) and fell in love with it. Unfortunately, it had already been reserved by a collector from abroad. Surprisingly, even after the exhibition had opened, the artwork remained unsold. Both the gallery and I were delighted. However, after some back and forth, it eventually made its way to the collector who had reserved it. This taught me that a piece does not truly become yours until you have the artwork in hand!

‘My lifestyle revolves around art. I used to have a penchant for collecting red wine, but now my interest lies solely in art. Apart from the Taiwanese artist Charwei Tsai, almost 99% of my collection consists of works by Japanese artists. One particularly prized piece is a massive sculpture by Izumi Kato. The figures in Kato’s works bear a resemblance to ghosts, at times invoking a sense of eeriness, yet they are also strangely adorable.

‘Hiraku Suzuki expands upon the concept of drawing in his work. In 2010, Mori Art Museum showed his installation Road (2010), a mixed-media work measuring 6 meters across, in their ‘Roppongi Crossing’ exhibition. This encounter also marked the beginning of my collection of his works.

‘I have been collecting the work of Nanae Mitobe since she was featured in an industry magazine in 2016. Her oil paintings – with their meticulous, near-sculptural layering of pigments – have made a vivid and lasting impression on me. ‘I enjoy collecting works created during the early stages of an artist’s career, when they were just starting out and bursting with creative energy.

‘One evening in 2016, during a visit to Art Basel Hong Kong, I saw Tatsuo Miyajima’s light installation Time Waterfall (2016) projected across the 484-meter-high facade of the International Commerce Centre on the Kowloon harbor front. The colossal digits cascaded like a waterfall, much like the luminescence of human life.

‘Fast forwarding a few years to March 2023, I found myself entranced by Japanese calligrapher Hidai Nankoku’s Work (1964), a monumental 5-meter-tall ink painting on display as part of the ‘Individuals, Networks, Expressions’ exhibition at M+ in Hong Kong. It was truly awe-inspiring and I had never seen anything like it, not even in Japan. It became one of the most unforgettable moments of my visit to Art Basel that year.

‘The most recent work that I was mesmerized by was an imposing ‘vessel’, titled Gravity and Grace (2023), which Shinji Ohmaki unveiled at his ‘Interface of Being’ exhibition at the National Art Center, Tokyo. Intense rays of light pierced through its perforated surface, casting dynamic botanical patterns across the entire gallery space. The moment I stepped into the gallery, I found myself completely enveloped in the work’s unbounded beauty.

‘While art has introduced me to a lot of people, most of our conversations revolve solely around art and we have little else in common. One exception is my close friend and fellow collector, Takeo Obayashi. We often meet, share meals and exchange our experiences in art collecting. He is a collector whom I deeply respect.

‘In my early days of art collecting, when I had fewer than 500 pieces, I preferred to keep them to myself. But, as my collection grew, I feel compelled to share it with the world. It is almost sinful to continue keeping it private. So far, I have organized 25 exhibitions that have been seen by visitors from all over Japan and beyond. This August, I am excited to open my next collection exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, which is expected to be twice as big as any of the previous showcases.

‘These exhibitions have the remarkable ability to kindle artistic aspirations in young minds, one of whom is the artist Aki Kondo. Attending one of my collection exhibitions inspired her to channel her creative energy into making works of her own, several of which hold a significant place in my collection.

‘I have been collecting art for nearly 30 years, and its impact on my life has been profound. As my collection grows in both quantity and quality, I hope to become a better person, to be worthy of my collection, and to embody the true essence of a collector. To put it bluntly: I am a slave to my collection.’