Featured Events in Japan in April, 2025 (May Updated)

In the spring of 2025, 65 years after its opening in Shishigatani, Higashiyama, Kyoto, the museum will reopen with a new look after a year of renovation work. The first commemorative event will feature a carefully selected collection of masterpieces of art and crafts from Japan, China, and Korea from ancient times to the early modern period, focusing on the art pieces handed down by the Sumitomo family, which have always been the core of the museum's activities. These include masterpieces that have been famous since ancient times, excellent pieces that have been discovered to have new value over time, and rare pieces that have the potential to attract attention in the future. Each piece shows a different expression each time you encounter them, sometimes noble, sometimes gentle. This is a rare opportunity to rediscover the depth of the timeless Sumitomo Collection, which touches the hearts of all who see it.

Tsurumai Park is the first park established in Nagoya in 1909. Cherry blossoms, roses, irises and other flowers are planted in the park, making it a famous flower viewing spot. The iris pond, where you can see the iris, the district flower of Showa Ward, will be lit up at night. Please enjoy the dreamy view of the iris pond at night.

The Sannomaru Shozokan Museum of the Imperial Palace preserves, researches, and exhibits paintings, calligraphy, crafts, and other artworks that have been passed down through the Imperial family for generations. This exhibition will introduce masterpieces from the Imperial family with various themes related to Yamanashi, including paintings and crafts created for the Imperial family's auspicious occasions, paintings by artists with ties to Yamanashi such as Noguchi Shopin and Tomioka Tessai, crafts made in the prefecture such as crystal and precious stone work and inkstones, and artworks with the theme of Mt. Fuji and places associated with Yamanashi. Furthermore, related items from the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art will also be on display, providing a rare opportunity to appreciate the art associated with the Imperial family and Yamanashi.

Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) was an artist active from the Edo period to the first half of the Meiji period. With solid painting skills and classical studies, he painted a variety of subjects such as gods, Buddhas, beautiful women, customs, birds and animals in a style that was humorous, satirical and seductive, regardless of the format, such as hand-painted paintings, woodblock prints and printed books, and his versatility earned him praise for being able to "paint anything." In recent years, it has been reaffirmed that at the root of such artistic achievement lies the training and pride of the Kano school. Kyosai learned painting from ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) at the age of seven, entered the Kano school at the age of ten, and completed his training at the early age of 19. His involvement in both ukiyo-e and the Kano school makes his artistic career even more colorful. This exhibition, the first Kawanabe Kyosai exhibition in Osaka, will focus on works from the collection of the Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum of Art, a public interest incorporated foundation founded and directed by Kyosai's great-grandson Kawanabe Kusumi, and will also touch upon the "Caricature Scroll" formerly owned by Kyosai, as well as Kano school and Chinese paintings from the Kosetsu Museum of Art's collection, creating an opportunity to celebrate him as a traditional painter. The more thoroughly one attempts to view his artistic career in a mainstream manner, the more things will slip through the cracks. It may be that this is where the essence of Kyosai's paintings can be found.

In 2013, "washoku" (traditional Japanese cuisine) was registered as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. Ten years have passed since then. The special exhibition "Washoku - Japanese Nature, People's Wisdom" has been touring the country since its debut at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, and is now coming to Kyoto, the home of washoku. Washoku, which is gaining more and more attention around the world, will be introduced from multiple perspectives, including science and history, along with a wide variety of specimens and materials. The exhibition will explore the diverse ingredients nurtured by the diverse nature of the Japanese archipelago, the technologies born from people's wisdom and ingenuity, historical changes, and even the future. We will explore the charms of washoku, which may seem familiar but is surprisingly unknown.

The Izumi Museum has a collection of more than 3,500 pieces, with a core collection of about 500 Chinese bronzes and bronze mirrors. Both in terms of quantity and quality, it is the leader in overseas bronze collections. Therefore, the "Age of Chinese Bronze" held at the Izumi Museum this spring is also worth paying attention to. If you go to visit the Izumi Museum's reopening exhibition, we also recommend that you pay special attention to this bronze exhibition, including the museum's treasure Tiger You, the early Warring States period chime bells, the Qiang bell, the Kui God drum, the owl zun, the taotie pattern square lei, the taotie pattern square yi, the ge you and other important bronze objects in the collection are all on display.

This exhibition will be held to coincide with the Osaka-Kansai Expo, as the first of the Expo commemorative exhibitions, with the theme of "Getting to Know Osaka." The aim is to widely disseminate Osaka's urban residential culture, and it will be held to coincide with the Osaka-Kansai Expo, as the first of the Expo commemorative exhibitions, with the theme of "Getting to Know Osaka." Osaka has a long history as a major city, spanning approximately 400 years from the Edo period to the present. During the Edo period, Osaka flourished as a commercial city of water transport and the "Kitchen of the Nation." During the Meiji period, the city was modernized and industrialized as it entered the modern era, earning it the nickname "Manchester of the East." During the "Great Osaka" period, Osaka became the largest city in Japan in terms of both population and area, and during the prewar Showa period, suburban residential areas and villa areas were developed, establishing a new form of urban residence. Over its long history, Osaka has developed its own unique urban residential culture, which is the foundation of Osaka today. The theme of the Osaka-Kansai Expo is "Bringing together efforts for a future society where life shines and showing hope for the future to the world," and the city's gaze is directed toward the future. This exhibition looks back on the 400-year evolution of the urban residential culture that is the foundation of Osaka's current prosperity. We hope that this will provide an opportunity for you to experience the charms of urban living and lifestyle culture in Osaka, while also thinking about urban living from the present to the future.

Walk through this Western-style Japanese garden and enjoy the blooming roses. It is famous for its fusion of Eastern and Western aesthetics; the Western architecture recreates the British style of the 20th century, while the Japanese garden embodies the authentic Japanese spirit. All of this is presented in the gorgeous scent of roses!

The exhibition will feature 11 three-dimensional works and 18 two-dimensional works, including new acquisitions, centered around Inoue Bukichi's "My Sky Hole 94-6 Forest Labyrinth," which can be said to be the signature piece of the museum, in the main gallery, which has remained in the same condition since the museum first opened.

Hayami Gyoshu (1894-1935) was active in Tokyo from the end of the Meiji period to the beginning of the Showa period, and left a major mark on modern Japanese painting. His excellent works and his pure, spiritually-minded approach to painting earned him the respect of other artists of the time, and Tanaka Isson (1908-1977), who was 14 years his junior, was also one of those who respected Gyoshu. Gyoshu's "Magnolia (Spring Garden Beauty)" and Isson's "White Flowers and Red Jade," both of which are housed in our museum, are considered representative works of their respective artists. They depict the natural world with a dignified style, and convey that they both aimed to reach a higher level of artistic expression, transcending differences in era, environment, materials and techniques. To commemorate the 90th anniversary of Gyoshu's death in 2025, four of Gyoshu's works and seven of Isson's works will be exhibited together, centered around their respective masterpieces, Gyoshu's "Magnolia (Spring Garden Beauty)" and Isson's "White Flowers and Red Jade," both of which are housed in the museum (two of Isson's works are in private collections, the others in the museum's collection). In addition, works by Kano Hogai, Hashimoto Gaho, Tomioka Tessai, Ohashi Suiseki, Yokoyama Taikan, Shimomura Kanzan, Hishida Shunso, Kawai Gyokudō, Uemura Shōen, Kaburagi Kiyokata, Kobayashi Kokei, Maeda Seison, Okumura Togyu, Tsuchida Bakusen, Murakami Kagaku, Higashiyama Kaii, Kayama Matazo and others will be on display, allowing visitors to enjoy a total of 50 exquisite Japanese paintings spanning the early Meiji, Taisho, and late Showa periods.

In the spring of 2025, Huis Ten Bosch will host a new event with the theme of "Spring-like Grand Entertainment". This includes the wonderful new night show "Light Show". The wonderful combination of music, fountains and searchlights is fascinating. With the "Aurora Garden", the world's top light show destination, as the background, the finale of the fireworks show is impressive, and the gorgeous fireworks will light up the night sky. Fireworks are set off only on weekends, holidays and long weekends. Fireworks are set off only on weekends and holidays. You can experience the spring night with fireworks and lights in harmony against the backdrop of the European cityscape.

A breathtakingly beautiful landscape A place that has been sung in waka and poetry It eventually became a famous place and a utamakura. It has become a mirror that reflects the heart. The various thoughts that were put into Let's go on a trip around the area. Beautiful scenery that will move your heart. A place that has been sung in waka and poetry It eventually became a famous place and a utamakura. It has become a mirror that reflects the heart. The various thoughts that were put into Let's go on a trip around.

The Mingei movement in Osaka was first started by the founding of the Japan Crafts Museum by Miyake Chuichi (1900-1980), a member of the Mingei movement. Having read Yanagi Muneyoshi's The Way of Crafts, Miyake joined the Mingei movement and in 1950 established the Japan Crafts Museum in Osaka (now closed) to widely introduce the beauty of excellent crafts from all over Japan to the Kansai region. At the same time, he also turned his attention to the situation of various production areas, mainly in Kyushu, and made an effort to produce and support crafts. However, Miyake had doubts about the way the movement was conducted at the time, so in 1959 he left the Japan Folk Crafts Association, where Yanagi was the chairman, and founded the Japan Folk Crafts Association. From then on, he developed his own Mingei movement based on the Japan Crafts Museum and the Japan Folk Crafts Association.

This exhibition was initiated by the Mino Ramen Bowl Exhibition, one of the Mino ware projects Sato and Hashimoto have been working on since 2012. Mino ware is a general term for ceramics made in the western Tono region of Gifu Prefecture (Tajimi City, Toki City, Mizunami City), among other areas. In fact, 90% of ramen bowls in Japan are Mino ware. By looking at ramen bowls from various perspectives, Sato and Hashimoto have conveyed the history and background of Mino ware, which has a history of more than 1,300 years, the activities of its makers, and the richness that everyday tableware brings to our lives.

Nijigen no Mori's hugely popular attraction, Godzilla Intercept Operation, will hold a "Destroyah Special Exhibition" for a limited time from Thursday, March 13th to Sunday, December 14th, 2025, as part of the "30th Anniversary of Destroyah's Birth Project". This special exhibition will allow you to enjoy the world of "Godzilla vs. Destroyah", the final installment of the Heisei vs. Godzilla series, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary since its release, through various exhibits. This is the first time that a special exhibition dedicated to "Destroyah" has been planned, and in particular, the exhibition of "Destroyah's flying objects and aggregates", which have rarely been shown in the past, and the comment panel exhibition from Hideo Okamoto, who designed Destroyah, and Shinichi Wakasa, who sculpted it, are must-see projects for fans. The "Destroyah Special Exhibition", surrounded by numerous battle scenes with Destroyah in which Godzilla used all his strength, is a special project only available at Nijigen no Mori! Godzilla fans around the world, come witness everything about Godzilla's greatest enemy, Destroyah, here!

Oka Nobutaka and Maki Susumu, who both became apprentices of Kawabata Ryushi in their teens and trained at Seiryusha, were bound by a deep bond of affection, but each went their own way after becoming independent. This exhibition will feature a selection of works from the museum's collection by these two artists who are key players in contemporary Japanese painting. The exhibition will focus on Oka's elegant flower and bird paintings, which make use of the stylized beauty of Japanese painting, and Maki's masterpieces, which depict the beauty of impermanence using the four seasons of Japan as their subject. This is a special exhibition unique to our museum, which houses a comprehensive collection of works by both artists.

Arabic calligraphy is an art that pursues beautiful writing of Arabic characters. It was systematized in Baghdad in the 10th century and has been used mainly for the decoration of Islamic architecture and manuscripts of the Quran. People who are fascinated by Arabic calligraphy are seriously working on creating works that confront this millennium of tradition, not only in the Middle East and Islamic world but also in Europe, the United States and Japan. This program explores the social role of handwriting in today's world where communication is increasingly digitalized, and traces the transformation and revival of Arabic calligraphy in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The ancient Chinese people worshipped mountains and rivers, which were believed to be the home of immortals. People began to paint landscapes in the hope of getting closer to them. Eventually, this mixed with the ink painting technique established during the Tang Dynasty, and ink-wash landscape painting was born. Ink painting was introduced to Japan during the Kamakura period by Zen monks who traveled to China. In the Muromachi period, ink-wash landscape painting was produced, and it developed in its own way, becoming a style of painting that was loved by secluded people, becoming independent from poetry, taking landscape painting into a Japanese style, and introducing movement. This exhibition will focus on landscape paintings from the museum's Muromachi ink painting collection. The exhibition will look at various landscape paintings from five perspectives: "season," "technique," "scenic beauty," "poetry," and "region." We hope you will enjoy the Muromachi ink paintings that are the essence of the Masaki Museum of Art. This year also marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of our museum founder, Masaki Takayuki (1895-1985). To commemorate this, we will be holding an event entitled "Takayuki's Aesthetic Sense," where visitors can look back on the exhibitions that Takayuki organized while viewing his works.

Since ancient times, Japan has developed by imitating continental culture and adopting Buddhism and legal laws. Even after the end of the missions to China, Japan continued to exchange with the continent while embarking on the path of Japanese style, giving birth to hiragana, which expresses a uniquely Japanese sentiment, and the imperial culture that can be said to be synonymous with Japanese aesthetics. This culture was overshadowed by the rise of the samurai class, but it was passed down without interruption, and was transformed into something to be admired again with the arrival of a time of peace. This exhibition will be the first time that the MIHO MUSEUM's collection of "Higurashi-cho" is on display at the museum. "Higurashi-cho" was originally created as a notebook by the modern connoisseur Yoshida Tanzaemon. The book was later treasured by Yasuda Zenjiro and passed to Sugawara Michitsugu (1894-1981), who served as president of Railway Industries Co., Ltd., who reorganized it along with his own utakiri scrolls and mounted them on scrolls to create "Higurashi-cho" on the thirteenth anniversary of his wife's death. Thirty-one scrolls of famous calligraphy, such as "Koyagiri," said to be the pinnacle of ancient calligraphy, "Toganokiri," which features floral and bird designs and flower motifs painted in gold and silver on paper, and "Ishiyamakiri," which seems to embody the elegance of the Heian period, are included in the collection, which is based on the miso hitomoji style of 5-7-5-7-7. This exhibition will interweave "Higurashicho" with works from the MIHO MUSEUM's collection, including crafts, Buddhist art, the Rinpa Tale of Genji folding screen, and paintings of immortal poets, all of which express the desire for imperial culture that arose from the birth of aristocratic culture in the Heian period to the early Momoyama period. We hope that visitors will be able to reflect on the refined beauty and "elegance" of the people of the capital that still remains in the present day.

Higashiyama ware began operations in 1822 at the eastern foot of Mount Kozenji in Higashiyama Village, Shikahigashi County, Harima Province (now Higashiyama, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture), located southeast of Himeji Castle. At the time, Kawai Michiomi (1767-1841), a senior retainer of the Himeji Domain, sold specialty products such as Himeji cotton and leather products nationwide in order to restore the domain's finances, which were suffering from deficits. He also focused on Higashiyama ware, placing it under the domain's control from the beginning and taking care to prevent specie money from flowing out of the domain. Incorporating the latest designs of Kyo ware, which was a luxury brand at the time, and ceramic technology from Arita, Hizen, a major production area, they fired a wide range of wares, from porcelain to pottery, with a focus on celadon and blue-and-white porcelain. The Kozenjiyama kiln mainly fired celadon and blue-and-white porcelain, while the Otokoyama kiln mainly fired blue-and-white porcelain, with many excellent blue-and-white porcelain items, particularly old blue-and-white porcelain copies and auspicious copies. At the end of the Edo period, the business was taken over by six wealthy merchants from the castle town of Himeji, and although the scale of production was reduced after the abolition of the feudal domains and establishment of prefectures in 1871, production continued into the Meiji period. Eiseisha was established in 1877 in Okuramae-cho (present-day Shio-cho and Jusansho-mae-cho) for the purpose of providing employment to samurai. Under the guidance of Shibata Zenpei (year of birth unknown-1902), a potter from Hizen Okawachi, potters and artists from Higashiyama ware, as well as former Himeji samurai, were involved in the production of pottery. They mainly produced colored ware for export, and continued to operate until around 1888. In 1881, Eiseisha potter Nakagawa Yujiro (1849-1922) began producing Sagiashi ware, mainly pottery characterized by intricate bamboo spatula work, at his home in Page-cho. This exhibition will introduce Himeji pottery such as Higashiyama ware, Eiseisha, and Sagiashi ware, which flourished from the late early modern period to the modern era.

The exhibition brings together about 240 selected works, introducing the origin of Japanese prints, the changes of Ukiyo-e, the influence of Western art on prints, and the internationalization process of Japanese prints after the war. Exhibits include the "Immaculate Pure Light Great Dharani Sutra" from the Nara period, Utagawa Hiroshige's "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido: Lake Hakone", Kawase Hasui's "Morning in the Mist (Yotsuya Mitsuko)", and Tokata Shiko's "Two Bodhisattvas and the Ten Great Disciples of Sakyamuni: The Fence of Purna", etc., leading the audience to explore the artistic charm of Japanese prints for thousands of years.

The Kurayoshi Spring Festival will be held in various places in Kurayoshi City from March 21 to June 30, and various large-scale events will be held centered on Utsubuki Park, a famous cherry blossom viewing spot in the San'in region. Enjoy the spring in Kurayoshi by admiring the cherry blossoms. Kurayoshi City is a white-walled warehouse town located in the central part of Tottori Prefecture. As spring returns to the earth and flowers bloom, a tourism cooperation event kicks off. Utsubuki Park, the best place to view San'in cherry blossoms and azaleas, the white-walled warehouses, and the Kurayoshi Museum will host exhibitions and events of various sizes to add color to the spring in Kurayoshi.

Ying Ying takes as her subject matters events and systems in society that are invisible or ungraspable, such as slaughterhouses, oil extraction, the steam cycle, and the wool industry, and attempts to "approach" them through performances using life-size installations. The performances consist of installations made of everyday objects such as wood, cloth, and plastic, and the inadvertent actions of moving these installations, which are interpreted and reconstructed by the artist and presented in the form of a series of abstract mechanisms. The "Approach" series can be said to be a practice in which the artist herself turns her gaze and approaches the "unknowable". This is not only a repetitive act for understanding, but also a reflection of the way we look at the work. The exhibition will show works presented in various ways, including immediate or conceptual understanding, misreading, and misunderstanding.

Shokoku-ji is an ancient Zen temple founded in 1382 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), the third Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, and invited Muso Soseki (1275-1351), the founder of the Muso school, the largest school of the Five Mountains of Kyoto, as its founder, and his disciple Shun'ya Myoha (1311-1388) as its actual founder. It is still proud of its large appearance to the north of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, and is the head temple of the Rinzai Shokoku-ji school, which includes Rokuon-ji, commonly known as Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji, and Jisho-ji. With a history of over 640 years since its founding, Shokoku-ji has nurtured many artists throughout the ages and led to the creation of masterpieces. Josetsu and Shubun, the painter-monks of Shokoku-ji, were considered to be the official painters of the Muromachi Shogunate. Sesshu, known as a master of Muromachi ink painting. Kano Tan'yu, who was deeply involved in Shokokuji culture in the Edo period. And then there are the fantastical painters Ito Jakuchu, Hara Zaichu, Maruyama Okyo... The pursuit of beauty in the Shokokuji cultural sphere, which gained its model in the Middle Ages, has continued through the early modern, modern and contemporary periods, and artworks owned by Shokokuji, Rokuonji and Jishoji have been exhibited at the Jotenkaku Museum located within the Shokokuji temple grounds. This exhibition is being held to mark the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Shokokuji Jotenkaku Museum. The exhibition will focus on masterpieces from the Shokokuji school, including over 40 national treasures and important cultural properties, and will offer a glimpse into the world of beauty at Shokokuji and entrust it to the future.

Why are people so touched by the natural beauty of Mingei, born from nature? Naoto Fukasawa, product designer and museum director, will select everyday items from the museum's collection that have touched and inspired him, shedding light on the appeal of Mingei beauty, such as its "warmth," "intimacy," and "loveliness." The existence of Mingei, the crystallization of the beauty of everyday life, will serve as an important touchstone for ascertaining our "manufacturing" and "direction of life" for the future.

The word 'niru' (similar) can be read as either 'niru' or 'katadoru' (shape). In other words, creating a shape is synonymous with making something look like something else. Creating something by resemblance represents the essence of art. People recognize things and interpret their shapes based on their resemblance to something else. And the fewer there are, the more rare they become and the more valuable and precious they become. We would like you to listen to the secret conversations between similar things that have come together here by chance, things that are usually kept secret and never meet.

Perrotin Tokyo presents Cherries Bloom in April — the first solo exhibition in Japan by German artist Gregor Hildebrandt. The following is an essay authored by artist and curator Andreas Schlaegel on the occasion of this exhibition.

Perrotin Tokyo is pleased to announce Cherries Bloom in April — the first solo exhibition in Japan by German artist Gregor Hildebrandt. The following is an essay authored by artist and curator Andreas Schlaegel on the occasion of this exhibition. Hildebrandt’s passion for art, poetry, and music is as extensive as it is infectious. His ability to internalize and contextualize what he sees, reads, and hears informs the connections he draws in precise and distinct material form – poetic and open-ended, inviting viewers’ reflections.

Set during the French Revolution, the exhibition and sale will include the timeless masterpiece "The Rose of Versailles," which depicts the lives of the cross-dressing beauty Oscar and the Queen of France Marie Antoinette, as well as 30 prints of "The Window of Orpheus" (88 graphs). In addition, miscellaneous goods such as art tiles, mirrors, and glasses cleaning products will be on sale. Please enjoy the beautiful and splendid world depicted by Riyoko Ikeda.

SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR YOUNG CHINESE ARTISTS IN JAPAN