[February 2027] Art Event Calendar: Exhibitions Opening and Winter Light Events

February 2027 brings a run of major exhibition openings in Tokyo and the Kansai region. On the 4th, a special exhibition showing all 30 scrolls of Ito Jakuchu’s National Treasure “Colorful Realm of Living Beings” together opens at The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan. On the 6th, the Hans Haacke exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and “The Great Van Gogh Exhibition: The Langlois Bridge at Arles” at Kobe City Museum open. The Sapporo Snow Festival runs from the 4th in Sapporo, and the Nagasaki Lantern Festival from the 5th in Nagasaki. This article lists, in date order, exhibitions and light events starting in February and exhibitions ending in February.

Meanwhile, the Turner exhibition at The National Museum of Western Art and the Sapporo International Art Festival 2027 close on the 21st. January’s events are compiled in our January art event calendar, and 2027’s major exhibitions in our 2027 exhibition schedule.

Exhibitions and art festivals opening in February

Opens Thursday, February 4: Special Exhibition “National Treasure Colorful Realm of Living Beings: A World of Color” (The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan)

The second of the commemorative special exhibitions marking the museum’s full opening on November 3, it shows all 30 scrolls of Ito Jakuchu’s (1716–1800) “Colorful Realm of Living Beings” together. According to the museum, it is the first time in about 10 years they have been shown together in Japan, and the first since their designation as a National Treasure in 2021. Entry is by date and time slot, with no same-day tickets sold at the venue.

Dates: Thursday, February 4 – Sunday, March 14, 2027
Venue: The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan (East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo)

Opens Friday, February 5: KINGDOM HEARTS 25th ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION (Mori Arts Center Gallery)

A 25th-anniversary exhibition for the RPG series created by Disney and Square Enix. Photo spots recreating famous scenes, replica Keyblades, an immersive theater and more are planned. Entry is by date and time slot on all days, and advance tickets go on sale on Thursday, December 3.

Dates: Friday, February 5 – Sunday, April 4, 2027
Venue: Mori Arts Center Gallery (Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 52F)

Opens Friday, February 5: Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions 2027 (tentative) (Tokyo Photographic Art Museum)

An international festival of moving images and art held every year since 2009. The overall theme and participating artists have not been announced, but Umi Ishihara, Ai Iwane, Ryo Orikasa and Koichi Sato, of the third Commission Project, are scheduled to present new video works.

Dates: Friday, February 5 – Sunday, February 21, 2027 (3F gallery only until March 22)
Venue: Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (Ebisu, Tokyo)

Opens Friday, February 5: The “Time” Exhibition (21_21 DESIGN SIGHT)

An exhibition that considers everyday time “from a design perspective.” Directed by graphic designer Tomohiro Okazaki, it treats the building itself as “one big clock,” with time-related devices installed throughout.

Dates: Friday, February 5 – Sunday, May 23, 2027
Venue: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT (Roppongi, Tokyo)

Opens Saturday, February 6: Hans Haacke (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo)

A retrospective of the artist born in Cologne, Germany, in 1936, which the museum’s English page describes as his first major retrospective in Asia. Haacke was one of the central figures of conceptual art in 1960s New York. The exhibition features works addressing subjects from environmental issues to political and corporate power.

Dates: Saturday, February 6 – Sunday, May 16, 2027
Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Exhibition Gallery 3F (in Kiba Park, Tokyo)

Opens Saturday, February 6: The Great Van Gogh Exhibition: The Langlois Bridge at Arles (Kobe City Museum)

Drawing on the collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum (Netherlands), the exhibition focuses on Van Gogh’s later years. According to Kobe City Museum, “The Langlois Bridge at Arles” (1888) is being shown in Japan for the first time in about 70 years. Until April 28, weekends and national holidays give priority to visitors with reservations, and from April 29, entry is by reservation only.

Dates: Saturday, February 6 – Sunday, May 30, 2027
Venue: Kobe City Museum (Chuo-ku, Kobe)

Opens Saturday, February 6: Raphaël Zarka: Geometry, Time and Skateboarding (Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art)

A solo exhibition of the French artist who has explored the relationships among form, space, movement and time across geometry, mathematics, architecture and skateboarding. According to the museum, it is his first full-scale solo exhibition in Japan, and it includes new works made during a residency in Kyoto.

Dates: Saturday, February 6 – Wednesday, May 5, 2027 (national holiday)
Venue: Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, New Wing, Higashiyama Cube

Opens Saturday, February 6: Maruyama Okyo: Beyond the Real, a Spatial Revolution (Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts)

The touring version of the special exhibition held at the Edo-Tokyo Museum until January 24. The Tokyo exhibition traces his work from early megane-e (perspective pictures) to the late wall and sliding-door paintings for Daijoji Temple. The Osaka exhibition does not require reservations, and some exhibits are rotated during the run.

Dates: Saturday, February 6 – Sunday, April 4, 2027
Venue: Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts (in Tennoji Park, Osaka)

Opens Thursday, February 11 (national holiday): Godzilla 70th Anniversary: Godzilla THE ART (Tottori Prefectural Museum of Art)

An exhibition in which contemporary artists answer the question “What is Godzilla?” through painting, sculpture, photography and more. The general producer is Takeshi Yoro, and the official website lists 22 participating artists and groups, including Tadanori Yokoo, Miran Fukuda and Motohiko Odani.

Dates: Thursday, February 11 (national holiday) – Sunday, April 11, 2027
Venue: Tottori Prefectural Museum of Art (Kurayoshi, Tottori)

Opens Tuesday, February 23 (national holiday): ARTIZON NOW: An Expanding, Connecting Collection (Artizon Museum)

An exhibition presenting “the Artizon Museum now,” centered on new acquisitions. It spans modern Western art, contemporary art and classical Japanese art, including ukiyo-e and Noh costumes on public view for the first time.

Dates: Tuesday, February 23 (national holiday) – Sunday, May 30, 2027
Venue: Artizon Museum (Kyobashi, Tokyo)

Opens Friday, February 26: Hokusai Red Fuji & Blue Wave: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (MOA Museum of Art)

Bringing together all 46 prints of Katsushika Hokusai’s “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” the exhibition projects works such as “Under the Wave off Kanagawa” on a large screen using 150-megapixel high-resolution digital material. Until Wednesday, February 24, just before it opens, the museum holds the 10th Anniversary of Renewal Masterpieces Exhibition: National Treasure “Red and White Plum Blossoms”.

Dates: Friday, February 26 – Friday, April 2, 2027
Venue: MOA Museum of Art (Atami, Shizuoka)

Opens Friday, February 26: Kintsugi – KINTSUGI – (National Crafts Museum)

An exhibition on kintsugi, the technique of mending cracks and chips with lacquer and decorating them with sprinkled gold powder. The museum explains that it is rooted in a distinctly Japanese idea of “seeing beauty in imperfection,” and focuses on the aesthetics of “rebirth” that give works new beauty and value.

Dates: Friday, February 26 – Sunday, June 6, 2027
Venue: National Crafts Museum (Kanazawa)

Other openings in February

• From Saturday, February 6: Shinsuke Yoshitake Exhibition, Maybe (Oita Prefectural Art Museum, until April 4, planned) and Fullmetal Alchemist × Daemons of the Shadow Realm Exhibition (Nagoya PARCO, until February 28).

• From Tuesday, February 9: Kyushu National Museum’s special feature exhibition “Warriors and Asia’s Age of Great Trade” (until April 4). On the same day, admission to the collection exhibition at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, will be revised to ¥1,000 for general visitors.

• From Saturday, February 13: “Selections from the Setagaya Art Museum Collection: Planet of Life — Us in the Setabi Forest” (until March 31), an exhibition ahead of the museum’s closure from April.

• From Tuesday, February 16: the Tokyo showing of the special exhibition “The Tale of Genji: The Radiance of the Court” (Tokyo National Museum) enters its second half (until March 14).

• From Friday, February 19: “Montmartre: Lautrec, Suzanne Valadon and the Unknown Painters of Paris (tentative title)” at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum (until May 23).

• From Saturday, February 20: “Seika Yamaga, Textile Artist: 140th Anniversary of His Birth” at the Tokyo Station Gallery (until April 11). According to the gallery, it is the first retrospective in 40 years.

Light events in February: Sapporo Snow Festival and Nagasaki Lantern Festival

The 2027 Sapporo Snow Festival adopts a new concept, “A Thanksgiving for Snow,” based on the view that snow, often seen as a nuisance, adorns the city and draws people in.

Opens Thursday, February 4: 2027 Sapporo Snow Festival (77th) (Sapporo)

The 77th edition runs for eight days at three venues—Odori, Tsu-Dome and Susukino—with five large snow sculptures at the heart of the Odori venue. Admission is free at all venues, and the Odori venue is lit up until 22:00. Odori 2-chome is a venue for the Sapporo International Art Festival 2027, and the display in that block continues until February 21. The themes of the large snow sculptures and the light shows had not been announced as of October 20.

Dates: Thursday, February 4 – Thursday, February 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Venues: Odori, Tsu-Dome and Susukino venues (Sapporo)

Opens Friday, February 5: 2027 Nagasaki Lantern Festival (central Nagasaki)

A winter festival that originated in the Spring Festival celebrated by the people of Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown, decorating central Nagasaki with about 15,000 Chinese lanterns. The Mazu Procession takes place on Sunday, February 7 and Sunday, February 14, and the Emperor’s Parade on Saturday, February 13 and Saturday, February 20, with dragon dances every day of the festival. Lighting hours were not listed on the official tourism website as of October 21.

Dates: Friday, February 5 – Sunday, February 21, 2027
Venue: Central Nagasaki, including Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown, Hamamachi and Kanko-dori

Light events continuing in February

• Until Sunday, February 7: 32nd Kobe Luminarie (opens January 29; part of the Meriken Park venue is a paid area).

• Until Thursday, February 11 (national holiday): the Ekimae-dori venue of the Sapporo White Illumination.

• Until Sunday, February 14: Marunouchi Illumination 2026, “Garden of Flowers of Light” at Ashikaga Flower Park and “YAESU WINTER LIGHTS” at Tokyo Midtown Yaesu.

• Until Tuesday, February 23 (national holiday): “Promenade of Light” at Tokyo Midtown.

• Until Thursday, February 25: The Starlight Million (Huis Ten Bosch).

• Until Sunday, February 28: Shonan no Hoseki (Jewel of Shonan) (Enoshima) and the illumination of about 100,000 lights at Yebisu Garden Place.

• From around late February: Nabana no Sato (Kuwana, Mie) plans to light up its Kawazu cherry trees and weeping plum trees (until around late March). Events nationwide are compiled in our winter light festivals feature.

Exhibitions ending in February (by closing date)

• Sunday, February 7: The Art of the Lotus Sutra: To Make Is to Pray (Suntory Museum of Art), Naoki Funakoshi: Giving Form to the Invisible (The Shoto Museum of Art), The World of Mari Yamazaki (Setagaya Literary Museum), Through the Eyes of Collector Taro Fukutomi (Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum)

• Monday, February 8: Shojo Manga Infinity: Moto Hagio × Ryoko Yamagishi × Waki Yamato (The National Art Center, Tokyo)

• Thursday, February 11 (national holiday): Kazuo Yagi and His Family (Chiba City Museum of Art)

• Sunday, February 14: The Little Prince: A Sky Journey in Search of What Matters (Tokyo City View)

• Sunday, February 21: Turner from Tate (The National Museum of Western Art), Seiji Togo: 130th Anniversary of His Birth (SOMPO Museum of Art), Sapporo International Art Festival 2027 (some venues continue into March and beyond)

• Tuesday, February 23 (national holiday): Uoto 10th Anniversary Exhibition UO10. (YURAKUCHO MUSEUM)

• Wednesday, February 24: 10th Anniversary of Renewal Masterpieces Exhibition: National Treasure “Red and White Plum Blossoms” (MOA Museum of Art)

• Sunday, February 28: What Time Is Now?: Settai Komura and Takuro Tamayama (Shiseido Gallery, free admission), Yoko Matsumoto: The Day I Saw the Evening Star (The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama), Hokusai Crossover (The Sumida Hokusai Museum), Shuri Castle Exhibition (Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum)

Frequently asked questions

Which exhibitions require reservations or timed entry?

The “National Treasure Colorful Realm of Living Beings” exhibition uses timed entry with no same-day tickets, and with some exceptions, even those eligible for free admission must book in advance. The KINGDOM HEARTS exhibition also uses timed entry on all days. The Great Van Gogh Exhibition gives priority to visitors with reservations on weekends and national holidays until April 28, while the Osaka showing of the Maruyama Okyo exhibition does not require reservations.

Which exhibitions are free for students or children?

The “National Treasure Colorful Realm of Living Beings” exhibition is free for elementary, junior high, high school and university students and anyone under 23 (advance booking required, with some exceptions), and the Great Van Gogh Exhibition is free for high school students and younger. ARTIZON NOW is free for university, vocational school and high school students (web reservation required) and for junior high school students and younger.

Which closing days should I watch out for?

The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, is closed on Tuesday, February 23 (national holiday). The permanent collection galleries of The National Museum of Western Art remain closed until Sunday, February 21, and the Aomori Museum of Art is closed from Saturday, February 13 to Thursday, February 25.

Next month’s events are covered in our March 2027 art event calendar.

*Information as of October 21, 2026. Please check dates, admission and reservations in each article and on the official websites.

*Top image: Ito Jakuchu, “Plum Blossoms and Small Birds” (detail), from “Jakuchu: All of the National Treasure ‘Colorful Realm of Living Beings’,” pp. 46–47 (from Heibonsha Limited’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the editorial team based on TOKYO ART SPHERE’s articles and organizers’ official information.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team

A note from the publisher

*Disclosure: Among the events introduced in this article, “Gifu Light Story 2027” is an event produced by HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE (About us).

Until Sunday, February 28: Gifu Light Story 2027 (Gifu Park and Shohoji Temple; opens January 30).