Tokyo Art ± Culture Meetup

Venue
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
(https://www.tobikan.jp/en/guide/index.html)

Admission Fee
¥2,300

Information about the Exhibition
"Founded in London, England in 1753, the British Museum is one of the world's great museums. Its collection of Japanese art is said to be one of the most comprehensive outside of Japan in quality as well as quantity. People’s enduring fascination with the culture of Japan, a foreign land far beyond the seas, has been the force driving the collection’s expansion since the late 19th century, when Japonisme became a craze. Connections built by collectors and curators that reached across borders and decades have been passed down to this day.
This exhibition will showcase selected masterpieces from the British Museum’s some 40,000-piece Japanese collection with a focus on Edo-period paintings on folding screens (byobu), hanging scrolls (kakejiku), and handscrolls (emaki), as well as prints by eight renowned ukiyo-e artists including Utamaro, Sharaku, Hokusai, and Hiroshige. By also shedding light on recent research findings and the collection’s history, the exhibition will trace the British Museum’s role at the forefront of the collection, research, and conservation of Japanese art. It will, in this way, present opportunities to look back on the history of international cultural exchange and, at the same time, open a new dialogue between we who live today and Japanese art masterpieces in the care of the British Museum. " [from the Museum Website]

Official Website
https://daiei-ten2026.exhibit.jp/english.html

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Second Exhibition
Kukai and the Treasures of Shingon Buddhism

Venue
Tokyo National Museum
(https://www.tnm.jp/modules/r_free_page/index.php?id=113)

Admission Fee
¥2,300

Information about the exhibition
"Kūkai (774–835) founded the Shingon school in Japan after studying a systematized form of esoteric Buddhist teachings in China under the monk Huiguo (746–805). The Shingon school has since grown to comprise over fifty sects and branches, which have continuously preserved Kūkai’s teachings for over 1,200 years.
The special exhibition Kūkai and the Treasures of Shingon Buddhism is a belated celebration of the 1,250th anniversary of Kūkai’s birth—an event officially marked in 2023.
Throughout the exhibition, visitors will trace the journey of Kūkai’s faith as it spread across a broad geographic region. They will further discover how his teachings and the many sacred treasures associated with him have survived to present day." [from The museum website]

Official Website
https://tsumugu.yomiuri.co.jp/kukai2026/

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Chat Session
We will take a coffee break between the first and second show to have a chat session.

"This exhibition brings together many of the works regarded as Settai Komura’s signature achievements. Highlights include Nihonbashi, written by Kyoka Izumi, Komura’s debut work as a book designer, as well as preparatory drawings and original illustrations for Kanji Kunieda’s novels Osen and Oden Jigoku, which established his reputation as an illustrator. The exhibition also features original illustrations for the serialized newspaper novels Sankai Hyobanki and Edo Yakusha. The whereabouts of these works were only identified in recent years, and this exhibition marks the first time they have been shown outside their respective home institutions—the Izumi Kyoka Kinenkan Museum and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo" [from The exhibition Website]

Location
The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama
(https://pref.spec.ed.jp/momas/English)

Exhibition to see
Komura Settai in Perspective: A Secret Sense of Beauty

Meeting Time
03:00 PM (15:00)

Meeting Spot
Around the ticket gate of JR Kita-Urawa Station.

Admission Fee
¥1,400

Description of the exhibition
https://pref.spec.ed.jp/momas/en/2026settai

Chat session after the show
As usual, let's have a chat session at the end of the event. When we meet up before the exhibition, let's decide where we go after the show.

Venue
Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art
(https://www.chiba-muse.or.jp/ART/language/page-1520270199902/)

Admission Fee
¥1,000

Information about the Exhibition
"This exhibition explores the history of printing from a variety of perspectives, with a particular focus on its aesthetic qualities. Drawing from the Printing Museum's collection, it presents a carefully curated selection of rare printed works created across different periods and regions by leading thinkers, writers, designers, and artisans, all of whom harnessed the most advanced printing technologies of their time. By examining the cultural contexts and technical innovations embodied in these works, the exhibition reveals how printing has reflected the spirit of each age and played a vital role in shaping human culture. (ChatGPT Translation)" [from the Museum Website]

Official Website (Japanese)
https://www.chiba-muse.or.jp/ART/exhibition/events/event-11033/

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Second Exhibition
Fairy Tale MODE

Venue
Chiba City Museum of Art
(https://www.ccma-net.jp/)

Admission Fee
¥1,500

Information about the exhibition
"This exhibition explores the concept of mode—fashion, style, and aesthetic sensibility—as it lives within the imagery of fairy tales, with a particular focus on the richly illustrated books that flourished in Europe from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Tracing the evolution of the rich visual traditions of fairy tales, especially in Europe, the exhibition examines how these narratives have continually assumed new forms in dialogue with the changing sensibilities of their times. Through the lenses of art, design, and fashion, it offers a multifaceted perspective on the enduring appeal and transformation of fairy-tale imagery. (ChatGPT Translation)" [from The museum website]

Official Website (Japanese)
https://www.ccma-net.jp/exhibitions/special/26-6-27-8-30/

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Chat Session
We will take a coffee break between the first and second show to have a chat session.