Featured Events in Nagoya in January 2025 (July Updated)

Noritake was founded in 1904 (Meiji 37) with the aim of manufacturing dinner sets for export. A dinner set is a set of tableware with a set size and purpose for the number of people. Since successfully manufacturing such sets in 1914 (Taisho 3), the company has developed and sold shapes and patterns to meet market needs. At times, the company has sought added value beyond the tableware's original function and design in order to provide products that are in line with the times. This trend accelerated after the period of high economic growth. When consumers had the financial means to spend on interior design, Noritake sold ceramic reproductions of works by painters, calligraphers, and illustrators. In the mid-1960s, when the penetration rate of black-and-white televisions exceeded 90%, the company also began to produce melamine children's tableware decorated with characters from anime and puppet shows. The 1970s marked an era of fashion and diversification of everyday items. Noritake, which places emphasis on developing high-value-added products that add color to life, began manufacturing and selling tableware in 1977 in collaboration with a famous fashion designer. This was the beginning of the boom in designer and character products in the ceramics industry. This led to an increase in design collaborations and joint development with artists and other companies. In recent years, with the growth of content businesses such as manga and anime, the needs and target demographics of character products have expanded. The expansion of sales networks with the spread of online services has increased consumers' options, and products are increasingly required to have value other than functionality and a story. Against this backdrop, collaborations that utilize the mutual advantages of companies are not uncommon. During its long history, Noritake has cultivated the technology to commercialize high-quality models with rich colors and delicate patterns. Enjoy the world of co-creation created by sharing the desire to utilize this to deliver products that resonate with your heart.

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.

"The world can never understand me, for I live not only with the dead, but also with those yet to be born." These words of Paul Klee were used in the sales strategy of galleries that sold Klee's works in 1920, spreading the image of him as an artist who meditated in solitude. Klee's works may indeed be mysterious. However, like many other avant-garde artists of his time, Klee was also a human being who lived through difficult times, inspiring and sharing dreams with his peers. While confronting the fundamental tragedy of life, Klee evoked light through lines and colors, depicting the energy of life in abstraction. His works will take on a new appearance when placed in a historical context. In this exhibition, in academic cooperation with the Paul Klee Center in Switzerland, we will compare Klee's works with those of artists who had contact with him and refer to valuable materials from that time to re-examine Klee in the constellation of many people and information, and trace the trajectory of his creative career throughout his life.

This year, the LEGO NINJAGO special event will be held again. This park-wide event includes attractions in the LEGO NINJAGO World area, LEGO building experiences, and stage performances featuring popular LEGO NINJAGO characters.

Based on the theme of "Fun To Drive" and the idea that "cars are industrial products that deserve love," the exhibits will clearly show the evolution of technological development that has been undertaken by many engineers to date, as well as future prospects, focusing on actual vehicles and each of their component technologies.

New Year's Day marks the end of one calendar year and the beginning of a new one. The New Year's celebrations held by the Japanese are not just a simple celebration of the new calendar, but are also the most important annual event, incorporating prayers for a good year to come. Through the New Year's celebrations that have been passed down and preserved by people, this exhibition will use artworks and documents to reveal what kind of hopes and prayers people have had for the New Year, and why New Year's celebrations have been so important. Please enjoy Japan's traditional culture celebrating the New Year.