Miho Museum

One of the tenets of the ‘new religion’ Church of World Messianity is that art and beauty can elevate humanity. Con-sequently, the church and its offshoots have amassed treasuries of art, including the Shumei collection. The collection’s home is a 1997 geometric creation by Pritzker Prize-winner IM Pei. The museum occupies a 100ha area of mountainside an hour south of Kyoto. Its works come from all areas and eras, with the emphasis on beauty rather than curatorial coherence.