Murou Art Forest is an open-air museum in Muroo, Uda City, Nara Prefecture, where contemporary art blends harmoniously with the natural landscape. Located high in the mountains of Muroo, on elevated ground overlooking Muroo-ji Temple from afar, the park covers approximately 7.8 hectares of forested valleys. The entire site has been designed as a unified work of art rather than simply a park containing individual sculptures.
The project draws inspiration from Muroo’s long-standing relationship between nature and religious belief. Guided by the concept of “using nature to create a second nature,” the park invites visitors to experience art through movement and direct engagement with the landscape. Rather than simply looking at sculptures, visitors walk through the grounds, explore the installations, and experience the interaction of water, forests, light, and open sky with their whole bodies.
The park was designed and supervised by Dani Karavan, an internationally acclaimed sculptor from Israel. Known for his large-scale outdoor works, Karavan incorporated the history and topography of each location, along with natural elements such as sunlight, wind, and flowing water. His approach transforms the surrounding environment itself into a sculptural work.
Across a north–south stretch of approximately 700 meters, Murou Art Forest features 12 artistic installations. Rather than standing as isolated sculptures, they interact with the forest, valleys, water, and sky to form a single landscape sculpture. The appearance of the park changes with the seasons, time of day, and weather, giving each visit a different character.
The park grew out of the “Monument on the Mountain” concept developed by sculptor Takeyoshi Inoue, who was born in the former village of Muroo. Inoue dreamed of revitalizing his hometown, which was facing population decline, by transforming the entire village into a place where people and nature could coexist through art. He proposed the ambitious “Forest Corridor Project,” envisioning the landscape itself as a vast, integrated museum.
Inoue died in 1997 before he could see the project completed. His vision was carried forward by Dani Karavan, who helped bring the concept to life. Murou Art Forest became a signature undertaking of the Muroo Art Arcadia Project and continues to be carefully maintained with the aim of preserving it as a cultural legacy for future generations.
At the heart of the park is a bridge gate crossing the Second Lake, with an Astronomical Tower standing at its center. These installations express the idea of the “Path of the Sun,” an alignment associated with sacred sites extending from Nara toward Ise along approximately 34 degrees 32 minutes north latitude.
The Astronomical Tower stands about eight meters tall and is made of weathering steel, also known as Corten steel. A narrow slit on its southern side allows sunlight to create a line of light inside the structure as the sun moves across the sky. In this way, the tower functions as a sundial. Its changing patterns of light and shadow draw attention to the rhythms of nature, the passage of time, and the wider cosmos.
The Spiral Bamboo Grove measures approximately 17 meters in diameter and four meters in depth. A winding path follows the surrounding wall, descending underground before leading visitors back to the surface. As the space changes from open to enclosed and from light to darkness, visitors experience the environment through their own physical movement and senses.
Extending from the First Lake, the Spiral Waterway is a shallow channel through which water flows in a spiral. It provides a place where children can enjoy being close to the water. A steel rod that functions as a sundial stands along the channel, subtly introducing the concept of time into this playful environment.
The First Lake contains a Bird-Watching Island designed for observing wild birds, and the surrounding environment supports a variety of wildlife. The Second Lake features Pyramid Island, a quiet, enclosed space suited to meditation and rest. From within this sheltered setting, visitors can contemplate the sky and surrounding scenery through carefully framed views.
Terraced rice fields also remain within the park, and some continue to be cultivated. Following the natural contours of the land, these fields preserve a traditional rural landscape and its accumulated history. The park’s distinctive character lies not only in its contemporary art, but also in its respect for the traces of everyday life that have shaped the area over generations.
Murou Art Forest differs from an ordinary public park: the landscape and its installations together form the artwork itself. The walking paths incorporate wood chips made from thinned timber, helping the routes blend into the natural surroundings. As visitors walk through the grounds, they can experience the landscape not only visually but also through the textures and sensations beneath their feet.
Michi-no-Eki Udaji Muroo, a roadside station at the foot of the mountain, and Murou Art Forest are separate facilities, yet they were conceived as complementary expressions of the same philosophy. Both form central elements of the former village’s Muroo Art Arcadia Project, which explores the relationship between nature, art, and human life.
Michi-no-Eki Udaji Muroo stands near the entrance to Muroo-ji Temple and serves as a welcoming gateway for people visiting the region. The building was designed by Takeyoshi Inoue, the sculptor who came from Muroo.
Its glass-walled atrium and rows of columns evoke sunlight filtering through the forest. The architecture functions as a sculptural work in its own right. With its broad, horizontal form grounded firmly in the earth, the building represents everyday human life, community interaction, and the culture of the region. It symbolizes the “earth,” the realm of daily living and human activity.
In contrast, Murou Art Forest was conceived as a space representing “heaven.” Located at a special point associated with the Path of the Sun at 34 degrees 32 minutes north latitude, it uses spatial design to express ideas that cannot be seen directly, including sunlight, light and shadow, time, and the cosmos.
While the roadside station represents the “earth” through its connection to everyday life, the art park represents “heaven” as a place for reflection, contemplation of nature, and dialogue with oneself. Experiencing both places as part of the same journey offers a deeper understanding of the cultural and philosophical story of Muroo.
Takeyoshi Inoue (1930–1997) was a sculptor born in the former village of Muroo in Uda District, Nara Prefecture, now part of Uda City. He created numerous environmental and spatial artworks in Japan and abroad. The landscapes of his childhood—including Muroo’s valleys, deep forests, and the feeling of looking up toward the open sky—remained a lasting influence on his artistic vision.
As his hometown faced depopulation, Inoue wondered whether art could help restore vitality to the village. His answer was the Forest Corridor Project, an ambitious plan to transform the entire area into an integrated museum where sculpture and nature could coexist. At the time, this was a remarkably forward-looking approach to regional revitalization through art.
Inoue died suddenly in 1997 before Murou Art Forest was completed. However, his sketches and ideas survived, and Dani Karavan later developed them into the park visitors see today.
Michi-no-Eki Udaji Muroo was Inoue’s first and final major spatial work. It represents both the starting point of his artistic philosophy and a symbolic entrance to the ideas that continue into the mountain art park.
Dani Karavan (1930–2021) was an internationally renowned Israeli sculptor and a leading figure in environmental art. His work incorporates cities and natural landscapes into the artwork itself. Rather than being experienced solely through visual observation, his installations invite people to walk through them, sense their surroundings, and engage with the environment directly.
At Murou Art Forest, Karavan did not impose a dominant artistic form on the site. Instead, he responded to Muroo’s terrain, forests, water, and the movement of the sun, shaping the entire landscape into a unified sculptural experience.
Karavan regarded the project as an homage to Takeyoshi Inoue and developed it with deep respect for Inoue’s ideas. The perspective created by tree-lined paths and the arrangement of spaces that engage the body and senses reflect his understanding of Inoue’s artistic philosophy.
The result is more than an open-air museum. It is a place where the ideas of two sculptors meet across time, creating an artistic environment with a distinctive identity rooted in Muroo’s landscape.
Murou Art Forest is not a project whose meaning ends when construction is complete. It is a living cultural legacy that continues to change with nature and to grow through the memories of those who visit. Away from the bustle of the city, visitors can immerse themselves in a landscape shaped by light and shadow, water and forest, art and nature, and enjoy a quiet moment of reflection.
Walking through the park means becoming part of a story that connects nature and art, past and future, and people and place. This is an experience unique to Muroo, best appreciated by taking the time to explore the park with all five senses.