Featured Events in Japan in June, 2025 (June Updated)

The November Uprising in Warsaw in 1830 and its failure the following year were the indirect reasons why Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin ended up spending the rest of his life in Paris after leaving his homeland. In 1795, Poland was divided and occupied by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and disappeared from the world map. After this, there were repeated uprisings and rebellions calling for the independence of the homeland, but they had to wait until the end of World War I in 1918 for this to be realized. For these 123 years, the people who had lost their country based their identity on the arts, including literature, music, and painting, as well as culture in a broad sense, including language and religion. And the ancient city of Krakow played an important role as the center of all this.

Shimose Art Museum will hold the exhibition "Surroundings, Development, Circumstances - Circumstances and Geography of Contemporary Art" from Saturday, April 26, 2025 to Monday, July 21, 2025 (National Holiday). This special exhibition is held to commemorate the museum's receiving the Versailles Prize (an architecture award established by UNESCO Headquarters) in 2024, and will be the museum's first contemporary art exhibition. Artist Saito Keita will serve as chief curator, with Matsuyama Takanori, Li Jingwen, and Negami Yoko participating as co-curators. This international exhibition will also feature artists with roots in East Asia, including China, Indonesia, South Korea, Myanmar and Singapore, including Endo Kaoru, Kin Riyu, Kugita Daichi, Suzuki Misao and MADARA MANJI from Japan, Omyo Cho from South Korea, Zheng Tianyi from China, Muhamad Gerly from Indonesia and Soe Yu Nwe from Myanmar.

From the late Heian period to the Azuchi-Momoyama period (approximately 12th to 16th century), the Iwami region in the western part of today's Shimane Prefecture also gave birth to a unique medieval cultural landscape. Buddhism and Shinto beliefs intertwined, and the samurai class and local nobles rose, leaving behind a rich and colorful art and craft works on this land. This exhibition, titled "Prayer and Beauty", brings together about 60 medieval art and craft works related to the Iwami region, including 16 important cultural properties. The exhibition is divided into four chapters, narrating why these works were created, what social and religious significance they carry, and how they have been protected from generation to generation. The exhibits include Buddhist paintings, shrine treasures, crafts, and documentary materials, which not only show the artistic level of the medieval Iwami region, but also reflect the way people at that time understood "beauty" and "faith".

A large-scale exhibition of Anpanman's creator, Yanase Takashi (1919-2013). Yanase, who was a manga artist, poet, picture book author, illustrator, designer, editor, and other diverse artists, was also an entertainer of the highest order. His greatest joy in life was "making people happy." Yanase, who endured harsh wartime experiences, parting ways with his family, and meeting various people, continued to ask himself "Why was I born and what do I live for?" He arrived at the image of a hero who, even if it was uncool, could give a piece of bread, or "anpan," to someone who was truly in need. This exhibition commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Yanase Takashi Memorial Museum Anpanman Museum in 2026, and will unravel his works on the themes of "Takashi Yanase Anatomy," "Manga," "Poetry," "Picture Books/Yanase Fairy Tales," and "Anpanman," focusing on approximately 200 original drawings.

The tale of how the Heian-period warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu quelled the demon Shutendōji took shape before the fourteenth century. It then spread widely through paintings, Noh performances, and other genres. The Muromachi period Shutendōji picture scrolls by Kanō Motonobu (the “Suntory Scrolls”) are a famous ancient example copied hundreds of times during the Edo period. This exhibition will display all three of the recently restored Suntory Scrolls and will also introduce the richly varied Shutendōji picture scrolls that developed broadly from them.

Yumeshima, the site of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, is a place that gives a sense of Osaka's unique character, which developed towards the sea. The numerous documents stored in the Osaka Castle Tower retain the image of the "water city" of the past, which can no longer be seen today. Please take the time to reflect on the history of Osaka, which was nurtured by its abundant waters.

During the Sengoku period, various cultural artifacts from Europe and Asia were brought to Japan through trade with the Western countries. This exhibition will focus on the various aspects of exchange with the world that had a major impact on Japanese society, such as the introduction of Christianity and firearms.

The Nankinmachi Dragon Boat Festival Zongzi Exhibition is an annual event held in Nankinmachi, Kobe, Japan, to celebrate the traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Festival. During the event, Nankinmachi will hold various Dragon Boat Festival-related celebrations, including Zongzi tasting and display. Visitors can experience the rich and colorful Chinese culture here, especially tasting Zongzi of various flavors.

Kuroda Jutaro, a prominent figure in the Kyoto Western-style painting scene, was not only a painter but also a prolific writer. His literary works conveyed the trends of European art, particularly those in France, and played a significant role in the acceptance of Western art in Japan. His 1947 publicationKyoto Yoga no Reimeiki(“The Dawn of Kyoto Western-style Painting”) provides a systematic account of the development of Western-style painting in Japan, focusing on Kyoto. With the publication of a revised and expanded edition in 2006, the book remains an essential work for understanding the Kyoto Western-style painting scene today. This Special Display traces the formation of Kyoto’s Western-style painting scene as told by Kuroda, introduced through the Museum Collection. From pioneers such as Tamura Soryu, the establishment of the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting, the formation of the Kansai Bijutsukai, and the arrival of Asai Chu in Kyoto, please enjoy exploring the foundations that shaped the development of Western-style painting in Kyoto.

This original art exhibition will introduce works with "science" and "magic" motifs, and will explore Fujiko F. Fujio's unique way of making dreams come true. The secret gadgets of the future in "Doraemon," the science laws of Planet Marl that appear in "Chimpui," the magic used in "Jungle Kurobee," and more... Through the original drawings, you can enjoy the world of "science" and "magic" that only Fujiko F. Fujio could depict.

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.

In Iwin, where Okakura Tenshin, a modern Japanese scholar and art critic, lived in his later years, there is an inaccessible mountain along the shore. Coming out of the deep mountain forest, there is a valley. There are the remains of rain-fed rice terraces, now a swamp covered with reeds. They look like secret rice terraces. Considering the long existence of nature and the continued presence of human activities, we decided to create art works with the remains of rice terraces hidden in the forest. Then, walking through the forest covering the ruins of rice terraces and investigating the vegetation, we wanted to turn the entire forest covering the ruins of rice terraces into an art space that blends in with the surrounding plants. teamLab's project Digitized Nature explores how nature can become art. The idea of ​​the project is that immaterial digital technology can turn nature into art without harming it. The works explore how the existence of these forms can be used to create a place where we can transcend the boundaries of our understanding of the continuity of time and feel the long continuity of life. Using these manifestations of long-term presence, we can try to transcend boundaries and understand the long continuities of time, and how we can continue to accumulate meaning in this place even today.

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.

"MAM Collection 019: Perspective" focuses on the photographic expressions of three female artists from the Mori Art Museum Collection: Maiko Haruki, Mari Katayama, and Tomoko Yoneda. This exhibition introduces photographic works in which the image is completed through the viewer's involvement, rather than as a so-called recording medium. Maiko Haruki's series "either portrait or landscape" attempts to destabilize and liberate the viewer's perspective from the perspective of form, and also by incorporating the relationship between photography and abstract expression as a theme. Mari Katayama reverses the power relationship between image and viewer, challenging conventional traditional notions of diversity, normative values, and agency. Tomoko Yoneda's series "Between the Visible and the Invisible" expresses the interrelationship between the image on the surface and the narrative behind it.

This exhibition will feature 54 works by 18 ukiyo-e artists carefully selected from the museum's collection of masterpieces, including Kitagawa Utamaro, a leading figure in painting beautiful women who established the style of "large neck painting" that focuses on the face rather than the whole body, and Katsushika Hokusai, a genius artist who influenced not only Japan but the world. Please also take a look at 12 works being shown at the museum for the first time, including Kitagawa Utamaro's "Blue Chamber of Victory - Tamayauchi Komurasaki and Hanamurasaki" and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's "One Hundred Views of the Moon - Nankaitsuki," known as the last ukiyo-e artist and active from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era.

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.

At the beginning of the 20th century, many artists from all over the world gathered in Paris, the city of art. Young artists lived in studio complexes such as the Bateau Lavoir (laundry boat) in Montmartre and La Ruche (the beehive) in Montparnasse, where they deepened their connections and worked hard on their creations. This group of artists was later called the Ecole de Paris. Many of them were painters and sculptors who came to Paris from outside France and gathered mainly around Montparnasse. Representative painters include Chagall and Soutine from Russia, Modigliani from Italy, Pascin from Bulgaria, Kisling from Poland, Tsuguharu Foujita from Japan, and French painters Utrillo and Laurencin. They did not create their works based on a clear artistic theory or doctrine, like a specific school or art movement. However, inspired by new artistic styles and theories such as Fauvism and Cubism, and sometimes drawing inspiration from primitive art in Africa and elsewhere, each artist sought his own unique expression rooted in the traditions and ethnicity of his home country. Although it reached its peak in the 1920s and came to an effective end with the Second World War, the painters of the École de Paris allowed diverse and rich art to flourish in Paris. This exhibition will feature works by Laurencin, Utrillo, Modigliani, Pascin, Foujita Tsuguharu, Kisling, and others from the Sanno Museum of Art's collection.

When Charlie Brown and his sister Sally get on the school bus with their friends and head off to school, various events await them. They meet unique friends and teachers. Classes are conducted day by day, and sometimes there are tense presentations, and as a reward, there are dance events. When they get home, they do their homework, and during summer vacation, they meet new people at summer camp. The school life of the Peanuts gang is a familiar, bittersweet experience. Enjoy school life with the Peanuts gang through about 45 carefully selected comics.

In December 2024, a new craft collection was donated to our museum. It consists of approximately 150 pieces. Almost all of them are enamel pieces. "Emayu" may be an unfamiliar word. It is the French katakana spelling, and in English it is called enamel, and in Japan it is usually called Shippo. In other words, enamel refers to a craft in which a glassy glaze is baked onto a metal base. The donor is jewelry artist Mitsuo Kaji. This new "Kaji Collection," consisting of carefully selected enamel gems, will make its debut at this exhibition.

This exhibition combines 88 pieces from the collections of the San Diego Museum of Art and the National Museum of Western Art, and offers tips on how to enjoy the artworks. The 49 pieces on display from the San Diego Museum of Art, including world-renowned masterpieces by Giorgione and Sánchez Cotán, will all be shown in Japan for the first time. Come and discover your own "where to look" as you trace the history of Western art spanning 600 years from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century.

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.

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.

From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, René Lalique (1860-1945) was known outside of France as an original jewelry maker. However, his work was extremely broad, leaving behind a large variety of "clothing accessories" such as decorative collars and handbags. At the 1900 Paris World's Fair, held ahead of the new century, Lalique served as general manager of the jewelry department. Later in life, he had an unexpected connection with Jeanne Paquin (1869-1936), a top designer who held that position in the fashion department. The women's fashion led by Paquin and others at the time was dresses with curved lines that harmonized with the popular decorative style "Art Nouveau." Many women worked hard to create a slim waist that was suitable for the flowing silhouette. It was in the 1920s, after World War I (1914-1918), that women were liberated from corsets that were so tight that they were damaging their health. At the same time, when the trend for decoration shifted to the linear "Art Deco" style, Lalique had already made a major shift to mass production of glass products, mainly for interior design. The custom-made clothing that he concentrated on in the early days of his debut is a perfect match for the Art Nouveau style of dress, which sought elegance with a slim waist. The Lalique Museum Hakone, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is holding a special exhibition that will highlight Lalique's works from its collection from a fashion perspective and introduce the items in the form of an illustrated book. In addition, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Rene Lalique's death, a dress with a silhouette from the early 20th century, when he was active, has been recreated (photo right). As a highlight of the exhibition, we will be trying to wear Lalique's works for the first time, approaching the reality of Lalique in fashion. Please take a look at 18 carefully selected items from the museum that will help you understand Art Nouveau clothing, including anecdotes about the history of clothing, as if you were flipping through an illustrated book.

This exhibition will introduce the methods and history of observing various natural phenomena, and how the observational data accumulated to date has shed light on the state and changes of the global environment, while also introducing how it has contributed greatly to disaster prevention and mitigation.

Yohen Tenmoku is a treasure of Oriental ceramics. It was made in China during the Southern Song Dynasty in the 12th to 13th centuries, and only three pieces remain in the world, all of which have been passed down to Japan. What continues to fascinate many people is the enigmatic beauty of the iridescent glow that floats on the jet-black glaze. In addition to this mysterious glow, Yohen Tenmoku also hides many mysteries, such as its manufacturing method and transmission. This exhibition focuses on the theme of black colors in crafts, and introduces iron crafts called "kurogane" (black iron), such as swords and iron tsuba, as well as "jet-black" lacquerware. We will also trace the history of black pottery in China and Japan, and approach the various mysteries and secrets that Yohen Tenmoku hides based on the latest research findings.

Jean-Michel Folon (1934-2005) is a unique artist born in Belgium. Poetic and humorous, his works are expressed with soft colors and a light touch, and they take the viewer on a journey of the imagination while also containing rich messages that bring awareness to the various things happening in the world. This exhibition commemorates the 20th anniversary of Folon's death and the 25th anniversary of the Folon Foundation, which he founded during his lifetime, and introduces the warm and profound appeal of his work through approximately 230 diverse works, including paintings, sculptures, and posters.

The exhibition is an expansion of the exhibition "Ikimono: Edo-Tokyo Life with Animals," which was jointly organized in Paris in 2022 by the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo and the Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris.

Mitsuaki Iwago’s World “Cats” Travelogue is a long-running NHK BS Premium program relished by cat lovers all over Japan. This exhibition shows photographs taken in fifteen locations in Japan carefully selected from that program.With the natural climate of each location in the background, the lifestyle of cats and people living in various parts of Japan are introduced. The exhibits are all new works taken in recent years. Come and find your favorite shot.