Down a typical shitamachi street on the east side of Tokyo, an odd-angled metallic structure rises above the office buildings, neat houses and small shops of the neighborhood. The shiny silver panels are the outer face of the impressive -- and greatly needed -- new Sumida Hokusai Museum, dedicated to the life and work of painter and ukiyo-e woodblock print master Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Perhaps the most recognized of Japanese art images, Hokusai's "blue wave" and "red Fuji" are iconic works that influenced such artists as Vincent van Gogh and Edgar Degas.

The permanent exhibit at the museum showcases the finest examples of Hokusai's work and includes national treasures and culturally important pieces. On exhibit is a solid selection of comical themes, famous scenic spots, and ghosts and monsters, as well as several erotic works, though not his most graphic. The ukiyo-e prints are particularly outstanding for the preservation of color and the sharpness of printing. Hokusai was always pressing to find ways to make a waterfall flow, birds fly, and people pause in the middle of their lives, and these prints clearly attest to his achievements.

The exhibits go into both his work and his life, but without overwhelming visitors with too much or too arcane detail. Those who already know of Hokusai, but want to know more, can focus on his notebooks about techniques or his journeys. They can also view examples of his novels, since Hokusai penned several satires. Younger visitors, as well as older ones, can learn more through the engaging interactive displays that explain printmaking or reveal the hidden meanings in the works. Others will enjoy following Hokusai's evolving technique, as his woodblock prints became increasingly expressive and complex over time.

The museum is effectively divided into different sections. The first area on the recommended route through the facility's several floors introduces his apprentice years, the next his hand-painted works, followed by several sections that focus on his printmaking. Videos in the open areas outside the display rooms are instructive about Hokusai's life in Edo, and about how nishiki-e multicolored prints were made and for whom and what purposes. These videos are set up perfectly in spaces where visitors can wait for others in their group, or just sit down for a few minutes to relax and contemplate it all.

A diorama of Hokusai with his daughter attending nearby may surprise serious artgoers, but it helps us envision the humble room where he ended up at the age of 90, working to the very end. As with everything at the museum, the presentation is done with taste, balance, and a nod to expanding the idea of how a museum can engage all types of people, from touring groups of high school students to ukiyo-e aficionados. The Sumida Hokusai displays its subject's artistic accomplishments with impressive completeness and justifiable pride.

The building's postmodern design is stunning in its own right. It is well worth standing in the small surrounding park to view the multiple-V-shaped structure from different angles and distances, and take in how the bright aluminum panels reflect their environs. The museum is a welcome addition to a neighborhood that already boasts the Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo arena and the Edo-Tokyo Museum, as well as several temples, traditional shops, and a dock for the Sumida River boat line.

The Sumida Hokusai's upcoming exhibitions will continue to draw on its permanent collection, built around the collection of Peter Morse (1935-93), an American whose family wanted to keep his superb assemblage of Hokusai work together in one place, and will also include masterpieces borrowed from other ukiyo-e collections around the world. Those future shows will offer further reasons to keep returning to this gem of a museum for a broader sense of the art, life and milieu of one of Japan's most important artists.