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.
Openings in Tokyo Sep 25, 2013
'Tokyo Art Meeting: Bunny Smash — Design to Touch the World'
by Jordan Sievers
As part of the Tokyo Culture Creation Project, this exhibition focuses on how expressions in contemporary art and design can inspire each other and society. It spotlights 21 groups of artists, designers and architects from around the globe, all of whom create works inspired ...
Openings outside Tokyo Sep 25, 2013
'Art Brut Japonais'
by Jordan Sievers
This exhibition already won high praise at its initial 2010-11 showing in Paris. Art brut, like outsider art, refers to creations by those who typically lack any traditional or extensive artistic training, though it more specifically refers to those using art as some form ...
Openings in Tokyo Sep 18, 2013
'Roppongi Crossing 2013: Out of Doubt'
by Jordan Sievers and Jordan C. Sievers
Returning for a fourth time since its first installment in 2004, the “Roppongi Crossing” series of exhibitions aim to provide an extensive overview of the current contemporary Japanese art scene. For 2013, the state of modern Japanese art is explored through works influenced by ...
Openings in Tokyo Sep 18, 2013
'Arakawa Africa 4'
by Jordan Sievers and Jordan C. Sievers
Although the Arakawa district of Tokyo and Africa are thousands of kilometers apart, the two locations do, perhaps surprisingly, share some commonalities in their culture and landscape. As part of the Asahi Art Festival, “Arakawa Africa” bridges the gap between the two peoples by ...
Openings in Tokyo Sep 18, 2013
'Light and Illumination'
by Jordan Sievers and Jordan C. Sievers
Light is an integral aspect of all forms of artistic expression, whether it’s portrayed in paintings, captured in ceramic glazes or created as man-made illuminations. This exhibition displays some of the most famous artistic expressions of light by many of the world’s most-respected artists. ...
Art Sep 11, 2013
Real-world validations of our digital realm
by Cameron Allan Mckean
“We are now living in a super, hyper-extended information society,” says curator Masafumi Fukugawa, “and that idea was the starting point for our new exhibition.” Fukagawa is one of five curators of “Being-in-the-Wired-World,” a group exhibition at Kawasaki City Museum that features eight emerging ...
Art Sep 4, 2013
Japanese collectors take a conceptual turn
by Cameron Allan Mckean
Echoing the choice of Koki Tanaka — a conceptual artist — for the Japanese pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale this year, “Why Not Live For Art? II: 9 collectors reveal their treasures” at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery suggests that art collecting in ...
Openings in Tokyo Sep 4, 2013
'Illusion of light: Museum of the Magic, Art in Wonderland'
by Marie Omata
“Museum of the Magic, Art in Wonderland” has already visited 18 locations across Japan, drawing in a total of more than 500,000 visitors. Due to popular demand, it was even repeated at some of its venues. This is the 23rd showing of the exhibition ...
Art Aug 28, 2013
Art fiction that keeps our thinking adept
by James Jack
What is the connection between Kampala in Uganda, Fukushima in Japan and New Orleans in America? Tsuyoshi Ozawa links these seemingly disparate places in his ongoing series “Vegetable Weapons”. The shape of a gun is formed out of local vegetables and photographed, before it’s ...
Openings in Tokyo Aug 21, 2013
'Shinjuku Creators Festa 2013'
by Alisa Yamasaki
Tokyo celebrates all things creative at the “Shinjuku Creators Festa,” a 17-day art event being held around the city’s Shinjuku Station. World-famous names, such as Yayoi Kusama and CG-artist Yoichiro Kawaguchi will be displaying works, while student submissions, including film projects and installations, are ...
Openings outside Tokyo Aug 14, 2013
'Aichi Triennale 2013'
by Alisa Yamasaki
The theme of this second Aichi Triennale is “Awakening — Where Are We Standing?” and it aims to make us rethink the role of art as Japan continues to recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake and following disasters. Works by various artists from ...
Openings in Tokyo Aug 7, 2013
'The 15th Entertainment Art Exhibition'
by Alisa Yamasaki
The first “Entertainment Art Exhibition” began as a charity project in 1999, and it has held exhibitions in museums and cultural centers around Japan ever since. For its 15th year, the exhibition aims to help support areas recovering from the Great East Japan Earthquake ...