In late April this year, two Tokyo galleries set up shop in Beijing just in time for the Olympic fervor, believing that Beijing, rather than Tokyo, was the place to bring contemporary Japanese art to an international audience. Sueo Mitsuma of Mizuma Gallery in Nakameguro opened Mizuma & One and Yumie Wada of Tsukiji's Wada Fine Arts, Y++.
No doubt they nodded, knowingly, when International Olympics Committee president Jacques Rogge rounded off his speech at the games opening by asserting, "Beijing — you are the host of the present and the gateway to the future." With all eyes fixed on what may be China's greatest PR spectacle, it seems likely that more Japanese, among others, will step into the near future with at least one foot in this "gateway."
For some the question may be, why not Tokyo?