Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Art Topics
Openings outside Tokyo Jul 24, 2013
'Works by Soga Shoh-haku and the Flowers of Middle and Pre-Modern Age Art'
by Alisa Yamasaki
The 18th-century Japanese painter Soga Shohaku is particularly known for eerie images of demons and ghouls rendered in brushwork reminiscent of Muromachi Period (1338-1573) works. The Nara Prefectural Museum celebrates its 40th anniversary this summer by displaying its collection of middle and pre-modern Japanese ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jul 17, 2013
'Being-in-the-Wired- World'
by Natasha Vik
The Kawasaki City Museum has a tradition of creating exhibitions that explore the relationship between technology and art, and this one, coinciding with the museum’s 25th anniversary, is no exception. As society becomes progressively more wired, and the Internet a common way to connect ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jul 17, 2013
'Art Arch Hiroshima 2013'
by Alisa Yamasaki
Three museums in Hiroshima Prefecture — the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, the Hiroshima Museum of Art and the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art — are joining forces this summer to hold “Art Arch Hiroshima,” a set of exhibitions, each based on the theme ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jul 10, 2013
'Play'
by Alisa Yamasaki
This exhibition focuses on recreation in ancient Japan. More than 100 artifacts from the Kyoto National Museum’s collection are being displayed, categorized under nine types of “play,” such as festivals, indoor games, children’s toys, and song and dance. Artifacts include toys and board games ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jul 3, 2013
'Floating Design: Shiro Kuramata and His Contemporaries'
by Natashi Vik
Shiro Kuramata, recipient of France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, is highly regarded for his interior and furniture design. His most famous works, which possess a poetic, dreamlike quality — such as the “Miss Blanche” clear acrylic chair, which has roses suspended in ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jul 3, 2013
'War/Art 1940-1950: Sequences and Transformations of Modernism'
by Alisa Yamasaki
Japanese art of the 1940s is usually divided into that of pre-World War II, wartime and post-war works. Here, however, the modern art museums of Kamakura and Hayama are, for the first time, presenting their 1940s works collectively as products of the entire decade. ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jun 27, 2013
'Evangelion and Japanese Swords'
by Alisa Yamasaki
There have been many collaborations with the popular Japanese science-fiction manga and animated series “Evangelion,” which have resulted in a range of licensed products — from eye drops to pachinko machines. For this touring exhibition, the series collaborates with the traditional craft of Japanese ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jun 20, 2013
'Special exhibition on the 120th anniversary of Ryukyu Shimpo; 42 tumultuous years in Okinawa, as seen through the eyes of photojournalists'
by Marie Omata
Hiroaki Yamashiro, three-time winner of the Kyushu-Okinawa photojournalist association award, has been documenting Okinawa’s history, its vanishing culture and rare aspects of its nature for more than 40 years. To commemorate Okinawa’s Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper’s 120th anniversary, this exhibition presents 200 photographs that Yamashiro ...
Openings outside Tokyo | Dick Bruna Himeji Museum of Art Jun 20, 2013
'Let's go to the museum'
by Marie Omata
Miffy — the iconic cartoon rabbit — is Dick Bruna’s most famous character to date and is the the focus of the Himeji Museum of Art’s exhibition, which aims to introduce visitors to modern art in a fun way. Bruna, the children’s book author, ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jun 13, 2013
'Matsuda Shohei: A Centennial Retrospective'
by Alisa Yamasaki
Shohei Matsuda (1913-2004), the 2002 winner of the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, was a late bloomer when it came to critical acclaim. It was not until he was in his 50s that people truly began to appreciate his artistic skills. This exhibition not ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jun 13, 2013
'Edo's Four Seasons: Seasonal Events and Scenes of Daily Life in Ukiyo-e'
by Marie Omata
During the Edo Period (1603-1867), celebrating the characteristics of the four seasons was a popular past time, and it involved hosting traditional events that people still enjoy today. These include hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) in the spring, the Tanabata star festival in summer, tsukimi (moon ...
Openings outside Tokyo | Shoso-in Nara Prefectural Museum of Art Jun 13, 2013
'Treasures of Shosoin and Modern Crafts in Nara'
by Marie Omata
The Nara Prefectural Museum of Art is holding an exhibition showcasing replicas of treasures that are stored at the Todai-ji (Eastern Great Temple) Shoso-in treasure house in Nara. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Shoso-in houses more than 9,000 artifacts, including documents, artworks and ...