Yayoi Kusama, the polka-dot pumpkin artist with international gallery fame, was born in Matsumoto in 1929. The Matsumoto City Museum of Art (Matsumoto-shi Bijutsukan) holds the largest public collection of her work, including the giant red-and-white spotted installations that fill the entrance hall and the courtyard. Other galleries cover Shinano artists more broadly, with an emphasis on calligrapher Kamijo Shinzan.
A short walk east of the castle and a logical pairing with the Nakamachi merchant district on the way back.