On the Japanese cultural calendar, visual-art events tend to take place in the more pleasant seasons of spring and autumn. Classical music and ballet have winter sewn up, with dozens of performances of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 or "The Nutcracker" being held over the Christmas-New Year period, and, of course, the only cultural events mad enough to dive headfirst into the heat of summer are outdoor music bashes such as the Fuji Rock Festival, where one of the key objectives — that of letting it all hang out — is obviously encouraged by the weather.
The nation's largest commercial art fair, Art Fair Tokyo, has always made a point of its spring timing. "Art Fair Tokyo is committed to establishing a firm presence in the international art-fair calendar so that art collectors will make their visit to Japan at cherry-blossom time a regular fixture," said then-director, Misa Shin, back in 2008.
Unfortunately, however, not even cherry blossoms were enough to make the spring of 2011 viable. The Great East Japan Earthquake hit on March 11 at the peak of preparations for the fair, which was initially planned for April 1-4.