The Municipal Museum of Art opened in 1999, three years after the death of Taro Okamoto, one of Japan's leading 20th century artists. The museum houses and exhibits 1,779 pieces of art donated to Kawasaki City by Taro Okamoto. In addition to special exhibitions and permanent exhibitions, the museum also hosts a variety of events, including museum tours and workshops.
The symbolic tower of the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art is the 30m-tall "Mother's Tower." It was created to faithfully reproduce Taro Okamoto's intentions, based on a prototype created with the image of "the strength of a giant tree deeply rooted in the earth," "the rich and plump kindness of a mother," and "eternal life burning up toward the heavens."