The museum was established to house the art collection of
Sazō Idemitsu, founder of the oil company , over a period of 70 years. The museum was founded in 1966 and is administered as an incorporated foundation of . In 2000, , a branch of the museum, opened in , in . In 2019, the museum purchased 190 works, mostly paintings from the
Edo period, from Americans Joe and Etsuko Price. They include
Itō Jakuchū's ,
Maruyama Okyo's , and
Sakai Hōitsu's , among others. The Price's are world-class collectors of
Edo period paintings, and part of their collection has been deposited at the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The Teigeki Building, which houses the museum, is aging and will be rebuilt. The museum is scheduled to close once in 2025 and reopen after the construction is completed. == Collection ==