Japan Cultural Expo - Nihonhaku -

TAKAO 599 MUSEUM

Opened on Mountain Day, August 11, 2015, this museum sits at the foot of Mount Takao. Its name, "599," represents Mount Takao’s elevation of 599 meters. Through unique exhibits, the museum showcases the mountain’s exceptionally rich ecosystem, history, and culture.

KAGAIRYOKUEN

Kaga Iryokuen is a cultural tourism site steeped in history, located in Yamanaka Onsen in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Originally constructed as the second villa of Yoshinoya, a prestigious and long-established ryokan (Japanese inn), the building underwent major renovations from 2021 and 2023. In 2024, it reopened as a modern cultural hub that honors and preserves its traditional heritage.

Hagi Uragami Museum

Hagi Uragami Museum, opened in 1996, was founded through the philanthropy of Toshiro Uragami (1926- 2020), a Hagi-born entrepreneur who generously contributed his extensive art collection, focused on ukiyo-e prints and East Asian ceramics. In 2010, an annex was added to promote the ceramic arts and crafts, specifically the 400 -year-old tradition of Hagi ware.

Himeji City Museum of Art

The Himeji City Museum of Art is housed in an historic red-brick building on a site whose many beautiful features include an impressive view of Himeji Castle. The castle, designated a World Cultural Heritage and National Treasure, is often likened to a white heron because of its elegant lines. Opened in 1983, the museum promotes art and enhances local culture, by acquiring, exhibiting, and conducting research on a broad spectrum of art works.

Kadokawa Culture Museum

The Kadokawa Culture Museum is a groundbreaking new kind of museum built on the unique concept of blending books, art, and natural history into a single, immersive experience.

HOSOMI MUSEUM

The museum was established in 1998, based on a collection amassed by three generations of the Hosomi family, starting with Hosomi Kokoan (1901–1979), a businessman and Japanese art collector. The collection spans nearly all periods and fields of Japanese art, from Shinto and Buddhist art to tea ceremony aesthetics, and Edo-period paintings such as those of the Rinpa school and Ito Jakuchu.

OKADA MUSEUM OF ART

The Okada Museum of Art opened in October 2013 at Kowakidani in Hakone. This spacious museum has on constant display approximately 450 Japanese and other East Asian works of art and archeological artifacts. The main collections are early-modern and recent Japanese paintings and ceramics from East Asia (China, Korea and Japan), in addition the Museum holds many fine and rare pieces covering an exceedingly broad range of periods and fields including such archaeological relics as Jomon pottery, clay figurines, and haniwa (clay figures), Buddhist sacred statues and paintings, and lacquerware or glass works.

Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum

Located next to the scenic Shukkeien Garden, the museum has a collection of over 5,200 pieces, including artworks related to Hiroshima Prefecture, Japanese and Asian crafts, and artworks from the 1920s and 1930s, such as Salvador Dali's Dream of Venus. The museum exhibits its collection, changing the exhibits generally four times a year.

Osaka Science Museum

Located in Osaka's Nakanoshima area, surrounded by office buildings, the Osaka Science Museum is one of Japan's leading science museums. It caters to visitors of all ages, from children to adults, and promotes a culture of enjoying science under the theme of "Space and Energy."

Osaka Museum of Natural History

The Osaka Museum of Natural History is a facility dedicated to providing a comprehensive understanding of the natural world that surrounds us, including its origins, mechanisms, changes, and history, through exhibitions, educational activities, and research.

The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka

Founded in November 1982, the Museum was established by Osaka City, commemorating the donation of the world-renowned Ataka Collection by the twenty-one companies of the Sumitomo Group. In addition to the core Ataka Collection that comprises mainly Chinese and Korean ceramics, the Museum collection also includes Japanese ceramics as well as works generously donated to the museum, such as the Korean ceramics of the Rhee Byung-chang Collection and works by Hamada Shoji, boasting one of the finest collections of East Asian ceramics in the world in terms of both quality and quantity.

Seto City Art Museum

In the Seto City Art Museum, a permanent collection in displayed as well as special planned exhibits of ceramics, paintings and other artworks created mainly by artists in the local community. The museum has become a viable space in spreading our cultural information. The museum houses more than 1,000 pieces of ceramics, paintings, sculptures and other things vreated mainly by artists connected with Seto City.

Shiga Museum of Art

We are the Shiga Museum of Art (SMoA), designed to feel like "a living room in a park." Taking advantage of our location surrounded by lush greenery, we provide a bright, open, and comfortable environment where visitors can enjoy engaging with art.

Nasunogahara Museum

The Nasunogahara Museum is a comprehensive museum covering four natural science fields (geology, botany, zoology, and mycology) and five humanities fields (history, archaeology, folklore, art, and literature). The museum hosts around four exhibitions annually and also offers hands-on classes, workshops, lectures, and talks.

Iwami Art Museum

The Iwami Art Museum is located in the Iwami region of western Shimane Prefecture. It opened in 2005 as part of a complex with a theater housed within the Shimane Arts Center. Affectionately known as "Grand Toit," which means "large roof" in French, the center serves as a hub for arts and culture in western Shimane Prefecture. The museum collects, researches, and exhibits works with a focus on artists related to Mori Ogai, fashion, and Iwami art while also hosting special exhibitions on a variety of themes. Additionally, taking advantage of its unique status as a combined facility with a theater, the museum offers a diverse range of educational and outreach programs to create a space where people of all ages can enjoy and connect through art.

AOMORI MUSEUM OF ART

The Aomori Museum of Art opened on July 13, 2006. Since that time, it has viewed Aomori Prefecture’s rich artistic culture and the power of the Jomon artefacts symbolized by the adjoining Sannai-Maruyama Ruins as wellsprings of artistic creativity, and has conveyed the beauty of Aomori’s abundant diversity of arts.

Hakushika Memorial Museum of Sake

Hakushika Memorial Museum of Sake, lovingly nicknamed “Sake Museum”, was established as Japan’s one and only museum of sake and sakura (cherry blossom trees) in 1982. The museum consists of two buildings, the Kinen-kan and the Sakagura-kan. In Nishinomiya, the unique city of sake, this museum was established with the purpose of passing down the history of traditional sake brewing to future generations as a part of our living cultural heritage.

Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History

The Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History, which opened in March 1995, was based on the humanities section of the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum, a comprehensive natural and human sciences museum established in March 1967. Since its inception, it has been the only museum dedicated to comprehensively exploring Kanagawa's culture and history, and it has various museum activities to date.

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Archaeology

The Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Archaeology opened in 2007, with the aim of carrying out a wide range of projects throughout Hyogo Prefecture, utilizing archaeological materials excavated from ruins in the prefecture, and with participatory experience, networking, and change/growth as our bywords. We represent a new style of participatory experiential museum where anyone can play an active role in museum activities anytime, anywhere.

Kyoto National Museum

The Kyoto National Museum collects, preserves, manages, and exhibits cultural properties, while also conducting research and educational activities. It focuses on artworks dating from the Heian period to the Edo period, a time when Kyoto was the capital of Japan.

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2025

The international short film festival, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), was founded in 1999 by actor Tetsuya Bessho, a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the United States. Inspired by his encounter with "short films" in the U.S., he launched the festival—originally named the American Short Short Film Festival—with the aim of introducing this emerging cinematic genre to Japan. In 2004, the festival was officially recognized by the Academy Awards® and has since been supporting young creators through its platform.

Earth Celebration 2025

Sado Island’s annual music festival Earth Celebration has been connecting and delighting people from around the globe for 38 years.

Kabukiza Gallery’s Limited Special Exhibition, “KABUKI MUSEUM 2025”

From January 17th (Fri), the special exhibition “KABUKI MUSEUM 2025 ~What is Kabuki?~” is held at the Kabukiza Gallery located on the 5th floor of the Kabukiza Tower.

special exhibition ー The dwelling of the arhats

This exhibition introduces a variety of cultural properties, showcasing the history of Rakanji Temple, the Five Hundred Arhat paintings from the Song and Yuan periods, and the spread of Five Hundred Arhat beliefs in early modern Japan.

SCOT Summer Season

The SCOT Summer Season is a theatre festival held annually from August to September at the Toga Art Park in Toyama Prefecture. It has been continuously held for nearly 50 years since world-renowned director Tadashi Suzuki relocated his base of operations to Toga Village.

Kusakabe Folk Crafts Museum Special Exhibition 2024

The works of media artist Yoichi Ochiai, the theme pavilion producer for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, will be exhibited in the form of a collaboration with the Kusakabe Mingeikan space. The exhibition aims to connect the flow of history to the future and create new attractions for local cultural assets, and is scheduled to be held annually until 2025.

Matsukata Masayoshi: His Life and Nasunogahara

Matsukata Masayoshi, a prominent politician and financier during the Meiji Era, played a significant role in the development of Nasunogahara. To mark the 100th anniversary of his death in 2024, this exhibition will explore Matsukata's life, focusing on his personal character while tracing his political achievements.

Tokyo Opera Days 2024

The Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation will hold a variety of opera events inside and outside the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan over the next three years, starting in 2023, with a focus on opera performances at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan each fall. Embracing the catchphrase "Fall in Ueno is for Opera!", we've designed an array of events not only for a Japanese audience but also for guests from overseas. We warmly invite you to visit the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan this October.

Tokyo Festival 2024／Tour to DISCOVER! Japanese contemporary performing arts in Tokyo

Now in its ninth year, Tokyo Festival is a comprehensive urban arts festival held every fall around Tokyo’s Ikebukuro area which aims to connect with the world through Tokyo’s rich and diverse arts and culture scene.

Show-RAKUZA

At tourist attractions such as Tokyo Tower and Kanda Myojin Shrine, regular performances and workshops on rakugo comic storytelling, daikagura acrobatics, wazuma performance, ongyoku songs with shamisen accompaniment, and more are held to create opportunities for people to come in contact with the traditional vaudeville entertainment that Japanese people have loved for generations.

Sanjo City Museum of Historical, Folkloric and Industrial Materials Renewal commemoration　Sanjo sites Story Exhibition『Archaeological excavation bulletin exhibition 2024＋What on Earth?! Japan Heritage in the Sanjo3』

Traversed by the Shinano River and its tributary, the Ikarashi River, Sanjo City encompasses a region rich in nature and water. The area was inhabited by the Jomon people, who lived here in harmony with nature, and features many archaeological sites from which a variety of Jomon artifacts, including the iconic flame-style pottery, have been excavated.

Yamatane Museum of Art NIHONGA AWARD: Seed 2024 ― Meet the Future of Nihonga ―

The Yamatane Museum of Art is delighted to present Yamatane Museum of Art NIHONGA AWARD: Seed 2024, a juried public-entry exhibition aimed at discovering and encouraging excellent artists working in new creative directions in nihonga.

Celebrating the New Year with Dragon-Motif; Art and Crafts Masterpieces from the Seikado Collection

From its beginnings in ancient China, the fantastical dragon has served as an auspicious symbol of power and authority, and has often featured in East Asian paintings and other arts and crafts. This exhibition marks the arrival of the Year of the Dragon with a rich array of artistic representations showing the multiple sides of this imaginary beast.

90th Anniversary Setonaikai National Park The Sea and I　ART/LIFE

In 1934, the region around the Seto Inland Sea (Setonaikai) was one of the first places in Japan to be designated as a “National Park” for its “outstanding natural landscapes that are worthy of representing the geographic features of Japan.” The 90th anniversary of that event is celebrated on March 16, 2024.

Special Exhibition Celebrating the 900th Anniversary of Its Construction The Golden Hall of Chūson-ji Temple

The "Special Exhibition Celebrating the 900th Anniversary of Its Construction: The Golden Hall of Chūson-ji Temple" is centered around the history, faith, and cultural treasures of Chūson-ji Temple. The display brings together 11 Buddhist statues enshrined in the center of the Golden Hall, all designated as National Treasures,

Henri Matisse - Forms in Freedom

This exhibition will feature a total of about 150 works and archival materials from the collection of the Musée Matisse Nice, France, including paintings, sculptures, prints, and textiles, with a particular focus on the Cut-Outs. Notably, Flowers and Fruits a large and stunning Cut-Out from the museum's collection, is a must-see, restored in France for this exhibition and on view in Japan for the first time.

Special exhibition Nakaminato Reverberatory Furnace -Making iron , opening up the future-

This special exhibition showcases materials related to the reverberatory furnace, including diagrams of the cannons, scrolls depicting scenes of iron production, and raw materials for ironmaking. Through these artifacts, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the historical role of the Mito Domain in leading the establishment of modern industries during the Meiji era.

Tamashin Art Museum / Murata Tanryo : A Yamato-e Painter Who Depicted Changing Times

This exhibition is the first full-scale exhibition to be devoted to Murata Tanryo (1872–1940). Apprenticed to Kawabe Mitate, a leading producer of musha-e (a genre depicting warriors and samurai from Japanese history and mythology), Tanryo won awards at various exhibitions from his teens onward.

Development-From the ancient to medieval times in Nakatsu-

In commemoration of the 1300th anniversary of the Three-Generations-One-Household Law related to the land system of the Nara period, this presentation introduces the activities of people who lived in ancient and medieval times based on materials related to the development of fields. Focusing on the remaining jōri paddies in the city, official government office ruins, Usa Hachiman Shrine, and development landlords, the origins of Nakatsu are unraveled from the perspective of "development." Additionally, during this period, experiential events such as walking tours utilizing the ancient zone and observing aquatic life in the Okidai jōri will be held.

Study:Osaka Kansai International Art Festival Vol.3

December 23rd to December 28th, 2023. 34°41′11″ North Latitude 135°31′12″ East Longitude ― A myriad of question marks in the form of art will appear in Osaka. It challenges all the assumptions we have taken for granted (sometimes themes we have avoided thinking or saying). "What is possible in art?" "What is impossible?" - Question. thinking. the study. investigation. discover. marvel. Outgoing. share.