Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam (right) presented a certificate of merit from the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs to Japanese collector Itoh Toyokichi. (Photo: VNA) Toyokichi Itoh was born in 1941 in Tokyo. He came to Vietnam in 1986 and was impressed by paintings displayed in museums in Hanoi. Since then, Itoh began to collect paintings by Vietnamese artists.
His collection has been gradually completed after his many visits to Vietnam. He named the collection "Houei" (prosperity) with the hope of "opening up a new era of prosperous development".
Since 2005, Itoh has organised exhibitions of paintings in his collection at museums in Japan and abroad to introduce Vietnamese painters' works to people around the world.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam presented a certificate of merit from the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs to Japanese collector Itoh Toyokichi and his wife. (Photo: VNA) Speaking at the ceremony to present the certificate of merit, Ambassador Nam thanked the Japanese collector and his family for giving the valuable collection to Da Nang, saying that the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum will gradually introduce the paintings to the public.
In his speech, Itoh said he is deeply moved when the paintings return to the place where they belong to. He added that he still owns 100 another works of art by Vietnamese artists and is considering donating them to the Vietnamese side./.
VNA
