Great works of art have the power to purify people's souls, comfort their minds and bring about happiness in them-this is Okada's view of art.
Soon after World War Ⅱ, when the Japanese society was in turmoil, many great art works which had been privately kept by some wealthy people were about to be sold to overseas countries. To prevent it, Okada devoted himself to collecting those art works. He then established the Hakone Museum of Art at Hakone in 1952 and opened it for the public, which later led to the establishment of the MOA Museum of Art in Atami in 1982.
The art objects owned by the MOA Museum include three Japanese national treasures, including Korin Ogata's “Red and White Plum Blossoms Screen” and 65 art objects designated as important national cultural assets, and the museum is internationally well-known. The museum has established the Mokichi Okada Award to recognize outstanding up-and-coming artists, and holds various special exhibitions, including the “Children's Picture Exhibition” with the attendance of children in the neighboring community. The museum is visited by several hundred thousand visitors a year.
Currently the Hakone Museum of Art exhibits old Japanese pottery and porcelain ranging from the Jomon period to the Edo period, with emphasis on powerful and massive ware of Japanese medieval pottery (Tokoname, Seto, Echizen, Shigaraki, Tanba and Bizen).