masukata invested his significant personal fortune in the acquisition of several thousand examples of western painting, sculpture and decorative arts. he collected these art works throughout europe, but primarily in paris. mutsukata bought the rodin masterpiece, "gates of hell", which is currently to be seen at the rodin museum in paris; and the sculptures on display in the nmwa entrance plaza were made from the same original molds. in the end, he hoped to see his collections in an art museum in tokyo where visitors could come into direct contact with western art; and he wanted the people of tokyo to enjoy the same degree of easy access to great art which was available to parisians.