Featured Events in Japan in February 2025 (August Updated)

Pliny the Elder’s encyclopedicNaturalis Historia(77 CE) includes the story of the daughter of a ceramic tile maker in Corinth, a city in ancient Greece, wanting a record of the young man she loved, who was setting out on a trip. She drew an outline of his shadow on the wall. In the latter half of the eighteenth and the early nineteenth century, that story was often mentioned as the origin of painting. In fact, if we look at the history of art in Europe, “depicting a person,” figure painting, has long been a significant element in creating works. For example, self-portraits have been both opportunities to display one’s skill and experimental settings for trying new styles. Portrait painting has been a staple source of painters’ livelihoods. In addition to actual human figures, portraits also depict the characters in stories. This exhibition introduces the abundance of paintings of the human figure.

Since its opening in 2020, the Artizon Museum has been holding the annual exhibition "Jam Session," a collaboration between the Ishibashi Foundation Collection and artists. This fifth exhibition will feature Yuko Mohri, an artist garnering attention in the international art scene. Mohri primarily uses installations and sculptures to give form to the flows and changing phenomena that exist latent in a particular space, such as magnetism, electric current, air, dust, water, and temperature, in an attempt to open up new circuits of perception for those who witness her work. The word "physis" in the title of this exhibition is an ancient Greek word that is usually translated as "nature" or "nature." In early Greek philosophy, which gave rise to the question "What is the origin of all things, the principle?" that has continued to this day in philosophy, "physis" was the central subject of consideration. Although only fragments of his writings remain from that time, they were later given the title "Physis = On Nature," and convey the thoughts of philosophers who find the true nature in movements such as creation, change, and disappearance. Their approach to perceiving the world as a constantly changing, vibrant, dynamic world can be seen as overlapping with Mohri's. This exhibition, Mohri's first large-scale exhibition in Japan, will feature new and old works alongside works from the Ishibashi Foundation Collection selected from the artist's perspective, inviting visitors into a tranquil yet organic space filled with subtle sounds and movements that can only be experienced here.

The Ishibashi Foundation Collection now consists of approximately 3,000 works, including Impressionist paintings from the latter half of the nineteenth century, modern paintings from the twentieth century, modern Japanese paintings from the Meiji period on, postwar Abstract paintings, early modern art from Japan and elsewhere in East Asia, and ancient Greek and Roman art. Here we introduce, throughout the year, a variety of works selected from the collection. Special Section Matisse’s Studio Interiors were consistently important elements in paintings by Henri Matisse (1869-1954). Particularly from the 1940s on, his studio was a vitally important space, where daily life and creating came together. This exhibition, in connection with the acquisition of his Dancer and Rocaille Armchair, Black Background (1942), explores, through works in the Ishibashi Foundation Collection and from multiple viewpoints, the role of the studio in Matisse’s paintings.

This is the museum's first bird-themed special exhibition. It introduces the origins and evolution of birds, and displays many specimens based on the evolutionary lineage hypothesis revealed by the latest research using genome analysis.

Like all illuminations, this one has a theme: Exciting Moments. The illuminations are divided into three main areas, and you can head to the streets outside Hibiya Nakamura to enjoy the gradient of colors, to the Hibiya Steps Plaza to enjoy the star-studded Christmas tree (open only until December 25), and to the Park View Garden on the sixth floor to enjoy the winter white wonderland.

The Osaka Castle Illuminage, which is popular every year, will be held again this year! There are many areas that reproduce Osaka's history, areas that reproduce Osaka's famous spots, and areas for enjoying activities. You can enjoy the fantastic illuminations throughout Osaka.

The "Otemae-dori" stretching from Himeji Station to the front of Himeji Castle will be decorated with up to 250,000 LED bulbs. At night, you can overlook Himeji Castle standing at the end of the avenue. The whole street is surrounded by soft lights, which is very romantic! During the event, there are also many photo spots in the street. Visitors can take advantage of Himeji Castle at night as the background to leave a beautiful travel memory. There are also merchants, hawkers, and food stalls from all over the world, bringing a lively and warm atmosphere.

The Sapporo White Illumination is Japan's first illumination event, which began in 1981 (Showa 56), adding color to Sapporo in winter. At the Odori venue, symbolic objects of various sizes will sparkle like light art. At the Ekimaedori venue, the Minami-ichi-dori venue, and the Sapporo Kitasanjo Square (Akapla) venue, standing trees are decorated with light bulbs, lighting up the city. A sound and light show will be held at the Sapporo Station South Exit Square venue.

The first large-scale exhibition outside China since the site was designated a World Heritage Site 44 first-class cultural relics and approximately 200 other pieces from 27 museums in China will be on display The Silk Road, which connects the East and the West, is an important trade route that crosses the Eurasian continent. Since ancient times, many people and goods have traveled along it, and diverse cultures have flourished at its key points. This exhibition will introduce Silk Road treasures discovered in Luoyang, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Dunhuang, and Xinjiang regions of China. Enjoy its eternal history through approximately 200 pieces, some of which will be on display in Japan for the first time.

The first large-scale exhibition outside China since the country was designated a World Heritage Site Including 44 first-class cultural relics, approximately 200 pieces from 27 museums in China will be on display. The Silk Road, which connects the East and the West, is an important trade route that crosses the Eurasian continent. Since ancient times, many people and goods have traveled along it, and diverse cultures have flourished at its key points. This exhibition will introduce Silk Road treasures discovered in Luoyang, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Dunhuang, and Xinjiang regions of China. Enjoy its eternal history through approximately 200 pieces, some of which will be on display in Japan for the first time.

The sunlight pouring down, the sunlit spots that give a sense of gentle warmth, the moonlight shining through the darkness... we encounter various kinds of light in our lives. In this exhibition, two artists who continue to be active at the forefront of contemporary art, Aoki Noe and Mishima Ritsue, will install their works in various places in the museum and illuminate the Art Deco decorative space from a new perspective. Aoki has opened up new horizons of expression with her sculptures that draw lines in space using iron, while Mishima has scooped up the energy of the place and converted it into light through her colorless and transparent glass works. The materials "iron" and "glass" that the two artists use are blessings of nature that have been passed down to us over time, and are also used extensively in the decoration of the venue, the former Asaka Palace, for chandeliers, reliefs, tympanums on doors, etc. The two artists have visited this place many times and engaged in dialogue with the decorative space of the 1930s to create a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition plan for this exhibition. Both Aoki Noe and Mishima Ritsue use fire in their creations, breathing life into materials with hot, shining flames. Their forms, imbued with primitive power, evoke the energy and cycles of nature, bringing surprise and awareness to the viewer and enveloping the world around us in a new light.

The Okinawa Ryukyu Lantern Festival is a winter event themed on "the warmth and glow of lanterns" and is recognized as a Japanese Night View Heritage and one of Okinawa's three major night views. The park is decorated with more than 3,000 bright lanterns Lights shine on the classical wooden buildings of the Ryukyu Kingdom The ancient style creates a dreamy night scene full of atmosphere, and the traditional red-tiled building becomes a huge screen Using the fusion of light and sound, the fascinating world of the Ryukyu Lantern Festival is presented.

Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. It can be said that this is the fruit of the activities carried out by the only country in the world that has suffered from atomic bombings, which has continued to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons and has poured its heart and soul into such efforts. The recognition that peace is the common prayer of all human kind is universal, regardless of whether we live in the East or the West. In light of the recent international situation, the Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum will hold a Special Exhibition, “Koji Kinutani Peace,” a proposal for peace through the power of art and the arts. At the root of Kinutani's world, which uses rich images and colors to explore all things in nature as a motif, is the strong belief that “Art is mightier than nuclear weapons.” His ideals and strong passion are to show the power of art as “wisdom” to help people all over the world who are suffering from the ravages of war, and to celebrate the revival of dreams and hopes in the hearts of people. Please fully experience the true essence of Kinutani’s art.

Due to the diversification and personalization of contemporary society, color has come to play an increasingly important role not only in fashion and interior design but also in fields such as the environment, health, and beauty. Meanwhile, as smartphones, an ever present part of our lives, now have the ability to reproduce over one billion colors, we have become unknowingly engulfed in a vast world of color. In this exhibition, focusing on color in art from the modern to the contemporary era, we reconsider the role of color while touching on subjects such as the relationship between color theory and the materials used to express color. This reinterpretation of the history of color in modern and contemporary art is based primarily on paintings, sculptures, and installations by creators such as the Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painters of the 19thcentury who deftly manipulated tubes of oil paint to reconstruct a visual world with a wide range of colors; the Fauvists and abstract painters of the 20th century; and contemporary artists who altered the viewer’s physical sensations through the effects of color.

Kuroda Tatsuaki, who was active in Kyoto, is one of Japan's leading wood lacquer craftsmen, and in 1970 he was the first person in the field of woodworking to be designated a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure). Questioning the division of labor that was common at the time, Kuroda created his works in a consistent manner, from designing and creating the base to decorating them, and opened up a unique creative world by integrating practicality, decorativeness, and the characteristics of the materials. This exhibition is being held to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Kuroda's birth, and will introduce the life of this artist who left a clear mark on the history of Japanese crafts through his representative works from his early period to his later years.

Soo-in Okame-no-kata (1573-1642) was a heroine who built the foundations of the Owari Tokugawa clan. After losing her first husband, she lived with Tokugawa Ieyasu and gave birth to Yoshinao, who would later become the first lord of the Owari clan. Okame-no-kata cared for Yoshinao along with Ieyasu in Sunpu Castle in his later years, and when he died, she shaved her head, took the name Soo-in, and moved into Nagoya Castle to support Yoshinao. Soo-in passed away in 1642, and the following year, Houkisan Soo-ji Temple was built below Nagoya Castle as her family temple. Soo-ji Temple was moved from its original location in Higashi-ku to its current location in Chikusa-ku in 1932, but images of Soo-in Temple painted by Yoshinao have been passed down, and valuable paintings on the cedar doors dating back to the temple's founding still remain. In 2024, the paintings, Buddhist paintings, and statues owned by Souji Temple, as well as the main hall, main gate, and mountain gate, were designated as tangible cultural properties by the city of Nagoya. To commemorate this, the temple treasures of Souji Temple, centered on the sliding screen paintings, will be open to the public. Please enjoy the luxurious space that surrounded Souji Temple during his lifetime.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), a late Edo period ukiyo-e artist, is known for his unique creativity and novel designs, and is very popular both in Japan and abroad. This exhibition is the final edition of Kuniyoshi's exhibition, and will display about 300 works, including ukiyo-e prints of various themes such as warrior paintings and opera paintings, as well as precious hand-painted paintings.

The Zao Juhyo Festival is held in Zao Onsen, southeast of Yamagata City, at the southern foot of the Zao mountain range. Zao Onsen is considered one of Japan's premier ski destinations. From late December to early March, a series of events are held in conjunction with the festival. One famous event is the 1,000-person torch run, where skiers carry torches down the slopes. There are also winter fireworks festivals that light up the slopes and a show of giant snowplows, machines designed to challenge the winter snowfall.

"Golden Demon" 1932 Shochiku Kamata production (silent, black and white, 119 minutes) / Director: Nomura Yoshitei / Cast: Hayashi Chojiro, Tanaka Kinuyo, Yakumo Emiko

The 22nd collaborative project between the Tokyo National Museum and the Taito Calligraphy Museum will introduce various ways to enjoy rubbings from various perspectives. Please enjoy the charm of rubbings to the fullest, including the only copy of a lost stone monument, rubbings by famous calligraphers such as Wang Xizhi and the Four Great Masters of the Tang Dynasty, and the elegant world of Ming and Qing literati who were fascinated by rubbings.

Human beings cannot survive without music. Even the words we say every day are sounds. Throughout the long course of history, sound has become an art. And the invisible music, Expression through painting and sculpture I’m always trying to shape it. Final artwork Experience it with your eyes and ears.

The museum currently houses approximately 4,200 works of modern and contemporary Kyoto art (Japanese paintings, Western paintings, sculptures, prints, crafts, and calligraphy). In addition to the masterpieces of Japanese and Western paintings that were famous throughout the country during the Meiji to Showa periods (late 19th and early 20th centuries), there are also new collections that have recently been added to the collection, including the ZERO collection, which includes works by world-renowned printmakers, and award-winning works from the VOCA exhibition, which has witnessed the transformation of contemporary art in two-dimensional forms over the past 30 years. In the collection room, in addition to introducing works by popular Kyoto masters such as Takeuchi Seiho, Uemura Shōen, and Kijima Sakuratani, visitors can also experience the charm of modern and contemporary art based on Kyoto through special themed exhibitions.

A folk kiln (minyo) refers to a kiln in which tableware and tools used in daily life are fired, or the pottery itself. The founder of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Yanagi Muneyoshi (1889-1961), introduced tableware such as plates and bowls to concretely demonstrate the beauty of things that are considered "everyday use" and "poorly made." Furthermore, tableware made by his close friends Kawai Kanjiro and Hamada Shoji, who both led the Mingei movement, was used on the Yanagi family's dining table. This exhibition will introduce food-related pottery from the museum's collection, including pottery from folk kilns across the country, such as Seto ware from Aichi Prefecture, tableware by Kawai and Hamada, and hand-made works by contemporary artisans, including works selected for the Japan Folk Crafts Museum exhibition.

Philadelphia-born Man Ray (1890-1976) was an American visual artist who was ranked among the top 25 most influential artists of the 20th century. Having played a major, but informal, role in the Dada and Surrealist movements, he created major works in a variety of media—from film and photography to collage and objet d’art—he prided himself foremost as a painter. Man Ray the person was mirthful and likeable, claiming friendship with individuals with highly diverse and divergent views. Featuring Man Ray pieces in the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum collection along with those on loan from renowned Man Ray collector Teruo Ishihara, the exhibition explores the life and legacy of the artistic genius as well as his endearing humanity.

Osaka Museum of History will hold a special exhibition "Excavation! Daimyo's Storehouses - Rice, Goods, and People Gathered in the 'Kitchen of the Nation'" in the Special Exhibition Room on the 6th floor from Saturday, January 11, 2025 to Monday, March 3, 2025. During the Edo period, Osaka flourished as the nation's kitchen. Many feudal domains built storehouses in and around Nakanoshima to sell rice tax and local specialties. The number of storehouses reached over 120 during the Tenpo era (around 1840). This exhibition will portray the actual state of the storehouses, which supported the finances of feudal domains throughout Japan and were the driving force behind the development of Osaka, including the birth of the Dojima Rice Market, while also introducing drawings and ancient documents, focusing on the results of the latest excavation surveys. In recent years, many storehouses have been surveyed in and around Nakanoshima, revealing a variety of storehouse styles, from those equipped with a shipyard, storehouse, and palace, such as those in Saga, Hiroshima, and Takamatsu domains, to those in Akita's Yajima domain, which had no shipyard and only had a storehouse covering the entire site. Based on excavated wooden tablets, shells, ceramics, etc., it is now possible to depict the work, lifestyle, and interactions within the residences. By taking a bird's-eye view of these storehouses from their birth to their demise, we hope to provide an opportunity to widely publicize the important role and importance that Osaka played in early modern Japanese society. We will shed new light on the Osaka storehouses, a historical heritage that represents the city of Osaka, along with Naniwa Palace and Osaka Castle.

Participating artists: Jiro Yoshihara, Kazuo Shiraga, Sadamasa Motonaga, Atsuko Tanaka, Shozo Shimamoto, Tomosuke Uemae, Tsuruko Yamazaki, Yuko Nakasaka, Takehan Matsutani, Shuji Mukai To commemorate the opening of ICHION Contemporary Art Museum, ICHION CONTEMPORARY will hold the exhibition "GUTAI was live" from January 13 (Monday) to March 29 (Saturday), 2025. After the war, the pioneer art group "Gutai Art Association" was established in the Kansai region, advocating "the pursuit of pure creativity" and producing a series of innovative forms of expression. Its existence is known as "GUTAI" worldwide, and even more than 70 years later, it is still highly praised. This exhibition features new installations and collected works by Shuji Mukai (1940-), a member of Gutai Art Association. We will immerse ourselves in the memory of Gutai from Mukai's perspective, rethink its place in art history, and explore its contemporary value and future prospects. In addition, he created an installation that resonates with the exhibition space of Tadao Ando Architectural Institute, inspired by Goethe's favorite expression "Architecture is solidified music". An unknown rhythm spreads throughout the space, as if a "violin symbol party" is being staged. In addition, large-scale works by Jiro Yoshihara exhibited at the 1970 World Expo, as well as works by representative artists of the Gutai group such as Kazuo Shiraga, will be exhibited. This is a unique space where architecture and art resonate, so please treat it as a special moment for the perfect start of the new year.

Japan’s imperial family and nobility considered poetry an essential cultural pursuit. They competed in poetry contests, communicated with their lovers through poems, and spent countless hours studying and practicing this literary art. In the mid-900s, a master poet named Mibu no Tadamine wrote an influential guide titled Ten Styles of Japanese Poetry. The original version no longer exists, making the oldest surviving copy, displayed here, a priceless resource for the study of early Japanese poetry. As the guide shows, the beauty of the calligraphy and paper was as important as the poetry itself. During the papermaking process, an artisan incorporated purple and indigo fibers to create a rhythmic pattern of stylized clouds. Over this, the calligrapher transcribed the guide in elegant script using a soft-tipped brush.

Tadanori Yokoo is known as the "Andy Warhol of Japan". He started out as a graphic designer and worked as an advertising designer for the Kobe Shimbun. Later, he gradually turned to mysticism and began a 15-year exploration of the world of spirituality and surrealism. As Japanese scholars believe: "Yokoo is a pioneer of the revival of popular art in the 21st century. He changed the trend of art that was out of touch with the masses in the 20th century." The exhibition is conceived as a board game, reconstructing Yokoo's career. The scene allows viewers to interact with the works in an immersive way. The audience is regarded as a "player", and whether they can successfully pass the level depends to a certain extent on luck, which echoes the artist's concept of accepting fate.

2023 will mark 10 years since washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Washoku is gaining more and more attention around the world, and this exhibition will introduce washoku from multiple perspectives, including science and history, along with a wide variety of specimens and materials. We will explore the charms of washoku, which may seem familiar but is surprisingly unknown, from the diverse ingredients nurtured by the nature of the Japanese archipelago, to the techniques born from the wisdom and ingenuity of people, to historical changes and even the future.