Featured Events in Tokyo in January 2025 (March Updated)

Tokyo Metropolitan Government has created a new tourist resource for nighttime viewing by using the exterior wall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1 as a screen to express a variety of art with light and sound, and to perform projection mapping all year round in order to activate and revitalize nighttime tourism. This time, as the 45th anniversary is approaching next year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will begin showing works using the world-famous "Pac-Man". The game board appears on the outer wall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, and Pac-Man, who is making a futuristic scene, eats up everything vividly. The music of the game of Pac-Man, which has a futuristic feel, and the music of the highly friendly soundtrack maker Mr. Haraguchi Sasuke have produced. Please enjoy the collaborative work of Pac-Man and Tokyo that can only be seen in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Yayoi Kusama has constantly faced the critical realities of life and death as pressing issues. Her experience of the Pacific War in a complex family environment, along with her overcoming of suicidal impulses triggered by trauma and neurosis through her creative practices, has influenced her perception of these issues. This exhibition unveils Kusama’s evolving outlook on life and death, alongside the corresponding shifts in her artistic presentation, through a series of diverse works—from her 1940s and 1950s paintings, which bear the imprint of war, to her very latest pieces. After relocating to the United States in 1957, Kusama gained a reputation for her net paintings and sculptures that embody ‘self-obliteration’: the feeling of losing the boundary between the self and the other through the obsessive repetition of motifs originating from her hallucinations. In her anti-war happenings in the late 1960s, she painted dots onto the human body using the same concept of ‘self-obliteration’ while also highlighting the beauty of life and the human body. During the 1970s and 80s, following the loss of her father and her lover, as well as her return to Japan due to health issues, Kusama produced numerous dark-toned collages and three-dimensional works centered on the theme of death, as well as poetry and novels imbued with a sense of mortality. As she continued creating fantastical works exploring death and the afterlife, her works from the late 1980s began to explore themes of transmigration and cyclical returns to eternity through ‘self-obliteration’. Kusama’s works, which increasingly incorporated more colors, reveal how her creative process evolved from a means of coping with death to becoming synonymous with her very existence. In her painting series from 2000 onwards, Kusama has been relentlessly depicting the beauty of life and the joy of living on canvases overflowing with vibrant colors, driven by the ever-looming presence of her own death.

This spectacular light show is the brainchild of renowned Japanese lighting designer Motoko Ishii. The term Jewellumination stands for jewels and lights, and it is brought to life by seven jewel colors: diamond, ruby, amber, topaz, emerald, sapphire and amethyst. The park is lit up by four million LED lights and divided into five colorful and themed areas: "Amusement Park", "Water Park", "Beautiful Stream", "Kawaii Park" and "Forest", with dance performances synchronized with lights and music. If you purchase an unlimited ride pass, you can also see these lights and the amazing night view of Tokyo from the top of the roller coaster or Ferris wheel.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo will hold "Sakamoto Ryuichi: Seeing Sound, Listening to Time," the musician and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto's (1952-2023) largest-scale solo exhibition in Japan, which will comprehensively introduce his large-scale installation works. For over 50 years, Sakamoto has always been at the forefront of his time through his diverse artistic endeavors. Since the 1990s, he has been performing live performances using multimedia, and since the 2000s, through collaborations with various artists, he has actively considered and put into practice the attempt to install sound in a three-dimensional manner in exhibition spaces. Based on the exhibition concept that Sakamoto left for the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo during his lifetime, this exhibition will dynamically compose and deploy over ten immersive, experiential sound installations, including new unreleased works and his representative works, in the spaces inside and outside the museum, on the theme of sound and time, which have long been a preoccupation in Sakamoto's creative activities. Through these works, we will trace the trajectory of Sakamoto's pioneering and experimental creative activities, and widely introduce a new side of this extraordinary artist. Ryuichi Sakamoto's "seeing sound, listening to time" opens the viewer's eyes and ears, stirs the heart, and creates an experience different from conventional music appreciation or art appreciation. Sakamoto's artistic challenge of "installing sound in space" and his profound question of "what is time" transcend time and space, bringing us new perspectives and continuing to open new horizons for creativity and experience. Collaborating Artists: Shiro Takatani, Daito Manabe, Carsten Nicolai, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Zakkubalan, Toshio Iwai Special Collaboration | Fujiko Nakaya Ryuichi Sakamoto portrait Photo by Neo Sora ©2020 Kab Inc. "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Seeing Sound, Listening to Time" Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024  "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Seeing Sound, Listening to Time" Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024 Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani LIFE – fluid, invisible, inaudible... 2007 ©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Go Asano "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Seeing Sound, Listening to Time" Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024 Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani "async-immersion tokyo" 2024 ©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Go Asano "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Seeing Sound, Listening to Time" Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024 Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani "TIME TIME" 2024 ©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Kazuo Fukunaga "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Seeing Sound, Listening to Time" Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024 Ryuichi Sakamoto with Shiro Takatani "IS YOUR TIME" 2017/2024 ©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Kazuo Fukunaga "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Seeing Sound, Listening to Time" Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024 Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani LIFE – fluid, invisible, inaudible... 2007 ©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Ryuichi Maruo "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Seeing Sound, Listening to Time" Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024 Ryuichi Sakamoto×Toshio Iwai《Music Plays Images X Images Play Music》1996–1997/2024　©2024 KAB Inc. Photo by Ryuichi Maruo

Are you ready for a great party? Join Kuromi, My Melody and Hapidanbui for an exciting exhibition! Dive into interactive displays, dance to hit music, and enjoy hands-on fun.

The newly launched "Ginza Sony Park" has officially opened on January 26, 2025 (Sunday), and the first wave of planning activities "Sony Park Exhibition 2025" will be held simultaneously. With the theme of Sony's six major fields of music, semiconductors, finance, games, entertainment technology and movies, six groups of artists including YOASOBI, Sheep Literature, Vaundy, BABYMONSTER, Creepy Nuts, and Kensuke Ushio will be invited to participate in the creation, using art and high technology to create amazing experiences. Exhibiting works, the event will be divided into two stages, with three groups of works on display in each stage.

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.

Painted in the sky above the city is a free world where a variety of life shines in all its diversity. This exhibition, "PARADISECAPE," will feature works divided into three themes. By walking along the indoor observation corridor, you can enjoy the changing views and the three themes as a series of experiences.

Sagano, located in the northwest of Kyoto, is a beautiful place that has been a favorite place for entertainment for the royal family since ancient times. In the early Heian period, Emperor Saga (786-842) built a detached palace, Saga-in, here. Later, he followed the advice of the monk Kukai (774-835) and placed the Five Great Myogo statues in the Jibutsu-do. In 876, Princess Masako, the daughter of Emperor Saga, transformed this place into a temple, and the history of Daikaku-ji Temple began. 2026 marks the 1,150th anniversary of the founding of Daikaku-ji Temple. In celebration of this important historical moment, this special exhibition brings together many treasures from Daikaku-ji Temple for display. The Shinden, located in the center of the temple, is said to have been given to Emperor Go-Mizunoo in 1620 when Tofukumon In Kazuko married him as a concubine. The shoji paintings and other screen paintings inside the Shinden are masterpieces of Kano Sanraku (1559-1635), a representative painter from the Azuchi-Momoyama to the Edo period, and are designated as important cultural properties. This special exhibition not only displays more than 100 screen paintings, but also calligraphy works by successive emperors that reflect the history of faith, and famous works of esoteric Buddhist art such as the "Godai Myogo-sama" (Myouen-sculpture), which is regarded as the best Buddhist statue in the late Heian period. Please enjoy.

As a young leading director of the "Polish School," Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016) blew a breath of fresh air into the world of film with "Kanal" (1957) and "Ashes and Diamonds" (1958), and later produced "Man of Marble" (1977) and "Man of Steel" (1981) in opposition to the socialist regime of the time. He also became an eloquent narrator of Poland's harsh history and built a magnificent world of stories by frequently adapting masterpieces of Polish literature. This exhibition was compiled by Polish experts from a valuable collection of materials, mainly from the collection of the Japanese Museum of Art and Technology Manggha, which were born from Wajda's more than 60-year career of work. This is the first overseas tour of a project that was held at the National Museum in Krakow in 2019. This Tokyo exhibition will introduce Wajda as an artist and the world of his work, with an original chapter showing the deep ties he built with Japan.

As a young leading director of the "Polish School," Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016) blew a breath of fresh air into the world of film with "Kanal" (1957) and "Ashes and Diamonds" (1958), and later produced "Man of Marble" (1977) and "Man of Steel" (1981) in opposition to the socialist regime of the time. He also became an eloquent narrator of Poland's harsh history and built a magnificent world of stories by frequently adapting masterpieces of Polish literature. This exhibition was compiled by Polish experts from a valuable collection of materials, mainly from the collection of the Japanese Museum of Art and Technology Manggha, which were born from Wajda's more than 60-year career of work. This is the first overseas tour of a project that was held at the National Museum in Krakow in 2019. This Tokyo exhibition will introduce Wajda as an artist and the world of his work, with an original chapter showing the deep ties he built with Japan.

As a young leading director of the "Polish School," Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016) blew a breath of fresh air into the world of film with "Kanal" (1957) and "Ashes and Diamonds" (1958), and later produced "Man of Marble" (1977) and "Man of Steel" (1981) in opposition to the socialist regime of the time. He also became an eloquent narrator of Poland's harsh history and built a magnificent world of stories by frequently adapting masterpieces of Polish literature. This exhibition was compiled by Polish experts from a valuable collection of materials, mainly from the collection of the Japanese Museum of Art and Technology Manggha, which were born from Wajda's more than 60-year career of work. This is the first overseas tour of a project that was held at the National Museum in Krakow in 2019. This Tokyo exhibition will introduce Wajda as an artist and the world of his work, with an original chapter showing the deep ties he built with Japan.

This exhibition features about 150 outstanding books that won the Best Book Design from all over the World competition in March 2024, the Japan Book Design Awards, and national competitions held in Germany, Switzerland, Canada, China, Finland and Denmark. Visitors are offered the opportunity to appreciate the current trend of the world’s book designs and the art of bookmaking.

Archaeology of Excavation and Discovery: 75 Years of Meiji University Archaeology In 1950, Meiji University established the first archaeology major at a private university in Japan. We look back on the history of the university's investigations and research, which led the way in postwar Japanese archaeology, through a variety of archaeological materials, including those from five nationally designated Important Cultural Properties, such as the Iwajuku Site in Gunma Prefecture and the Natsushima Shell Mound in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Archaeology of Excavation and Discovery: 75 Years of Meiji University Archaeology In 1950, Meiji University established the first archaeology major at a private university in Japan. We look back on the history of the university's investigations and research, which led the way in postwar Japanese archaeology, through a variety of archaeological materials, including those from five nationally designated Important Cultural Properties, such as the Iwajuku Site in Gunma Prefecture and the Natsushima Shell Mound in Kanagawa Prefecture.

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.

Archaeology of Excavation and Discovery: 75 Years of Meiji University Archaeology In 1950, Meiji University established the first archaeology major at a private university in Japan. We look back on the history of the university's investigations and research, which led the way in postwar Japanese archaeology, through a variety of archaeological materials, including those from five nationally designated Important Cultural Properties, such as the Iwajuku Site in Gunma Prefecture and the Natsushima Shell Mound in Kanagawa Prefecture.

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.

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.

Yanagi Muneyoshi published his main work, "The Dharma Gate of Beauty," in 1949. Aiming to further explore and firmly establish Buddhist aesthetics, Yanagi never ceased to aspire to establish it until his death in May 1961. This exhibition will display materials related to Buddhist aesthetics, as well as screen for the first time a video (created from the audio) of the "5th Lecture on Eastern Thought" that Yanagi held in October 1955, and will celebrate his long-cherished wish to establish "Buddhist aesthetics" while presenting concrete results that Yanagi witnessed through his intuition.

Colorful overglaze painting, delicate line drawings and dense underglaze painting, neat shapes made with intricate patterns, and a variety of colorful glazes. The 1640s to 1660s was a period of technical innovation for Imari ware, and the techniques that would become the foundation of porcelain production were established. A style rich in skill and creativity emerged, led by the early overglaze painting style known as the "Kokutani style" that appeared around this time. This exhibition will unravel the diversity of this innovative period, focusing on decorative techniques such as painting and molding of Imari ware from the mid-17th century. Please enjoy the many masterpieces that have run through eras that have changed one after another.

Colorful overglaze painting, delicate line drawings and dense underglaze painting, neat shapes made with intricate patterns, and a variety of colorful glazes. The 1640s to 1660s was a period of technical innovation for Imari ware, and the techniques that would become the foundation of porcelain production were established. A style rich in skill and creativity emerged, led by the early overglaze painting style known as the "Kokutani style" that appeared around this time. This exhibition will unravel the diversity of this innovative period, focusing on decorative techniques such as painting and molding of Imari ware from the mid-17th century. Please enjoy the many masterpieces that have run through eras that have changed one after another.

Colorful overglaze painting, delicate line drawings and dense underglaze painting, neat shapes made with intricate patterns, and a variety of colorful glazes. The 1640s to 1660s was a period of technical innovation for Imari ware, and the techniques that would become the foundation of porcelain production were established. A style rich in skill and creativity emerged, led by the early overglaze painting style known as the "Kokutani style" that appeared around this time. This exhibition will unravel the diversity of this innovative period, focusing on decorative techniques such as painting and molding of Imari ware from the mid-17th century. Please enjoy the many masterpieces that have run through eras that have changed one after another.

When you think of pottery, you may imagine vessels used as tools, such as everyday pottery and tea ware. However, in contemporary pottery, there is a perspective that sees the form of the vessel as a three-dimensional form rather than a purpose or function, and there are also objets d'art works that capture elements related to pottery, such as materials, techniques, and traditions, from a unique perspective. The founder of this museum, Kikuchi Satoshi (1923-2016), was fascinated by the diverse productions of individual artists, their unknown thoughts, and aesthetic sense, and he actively collected Japanese ceramic works from the late 20th century onwards. In 1983, he held an exhibition of his own collection, "Japanese Ceramics Today," at the Thomas M. Evans Gallery of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Washington, USA). The exhibition, which mainly featured works by artists in their 40s and 50s at the time and introduced contemporary Japanese culture amid trade friction between Japan and the United States, was well received, and this experience became an opportunity for Kikuchi to focus on cultural projects.

We will hold an exhibition of works by Minami Keiko (1911-2004), a copperplate engraving artist whose popularity has quietly risen in recent years. In Nan's works, clouds, boats, and birds stand quietly before our eyes. No two paintings are alike, and every shape is an important element in the world of the work. Each little subject always exists in a fulfilling space. A lone floating cloud looks as if it is moving briskly across an unknown land, or as if it is just sitting there waiting patiently for something. Freedom or loneliness - the clouds are different in everyone's eyes. Let your imagination run wild as you admire the clear, endless skies.

The exhibition will feature works by designer Kazunari Kitagawa, calligraphers Hisashi Yamamoto and Kimihiko Hino, exploring the relationship between letters, text and margins. The exhibited works include Kazunari Kitagawa's graphic design works, which explore the possibilities of printed materials, and calligraphers Hisashi Yamamoto and Kimihiko Hino, who typeset letters with related symbols, numbers and text pictures, creating a new world of calligraphy and exploring new possibilities between calligraphy and art.

"Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba", which has been loved by generations, is a manga created by Koyoharu Gotouge and animated by ufotable. It has been 5 years since the first episode was aired, and after the final episode of "Hiraru Training Arc" aired in May this year, the "Theatrical Version of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" Infinite Castle Arc" was announced, which has set off a new wave of topics. The focus of this exhibition is on the "Hiraru" swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps, who have inherited the love-hate relationship with Muzan Kibutsuji for thousands of years. The exhibition will allow the audience to have a deeper understanding of the personality and background of the nine pillars through exquisite displays and interactive experiences.

"Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba", which has been loved by generations, is a manga created by Koyoharu Gotouge and animated by ufotable. It has been 5 years since the first episode was aired, and after the final episode of "Hiraru Training Arc" aired in May this year, the "Theatrical Version of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" Infinite Castle Arc" was announced, which has set off a new wave of topics. The focus of this exhibition is on the "Hiraru" swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps, who have inherited the love-hate relationship with Muzan Kibutsuji for thousands of years. The exhibition will allow the audience to have a deeper understanding of the personality and background of the nine pillars through exquisite displays and interactive experiences.

British art from the turn of the century is often introduced in terms of its lineage with the Pre-Raphaelites or its relationship with Aestheticism and Symbolism, but inspired by the development of modern French painting, various movements arose in which young artists sought to create new environments for their work. The New English Art Club was founded in 1886 in opposition to the Royal Academy of Arts, which dominated the art world, the Camden Town Group was formed in 1911 in response to the Academy's conservatism, and the Newlyn School, which formed an artists' colony in a fishing village in Cornwall. In these movements, we can see responses to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as well as a backlash against London's rapid urbanization and industrialization.