“Who Does Jewelry Dream Of?” Opens October 24 at the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; About 350 Works Centered on Postwar Japan

“Who Does Jewelry Dream Of?” will be held at the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (Sakyo Ward, Kyoto) from Saturday, October 24, 2026 to Sunday, January 17, 2027. The exhibition reexamines, from the viewpoint of postwar Japan, the possibilities of jewelry as something worn on the body into which expression enters. In addition to a large-scale presentation of works from the collection of the vocational school Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry, it comprises about 350 items, including works coming from Germany to Japan for the first time in about 50 years and works by contemporary artists. More than 70 artists are scheduled to take part.

Why see it now? Retracing the history of jewelry in postwar Japan

According to the museum, the Japan Jewellery Designers Association (JJDA) was founded in 1964, at a time when jewelry was not yet common in Japan, with Yasuki Hiramatsu (1926–2012) and Yasuhiko Hishida (1927–1981) at its core. The “International Jewelry Art Exhibition” (1970–1986), held mainly by the JJDA at the Seibu Department Store in Shibuya, introduced trends in Europe and the United States to Japan. It spread the concept of design, beyond the value of materials alone.

From the late 1970s, works that took the characteristics of jewelry as their concept and resonated with contemporary art were also introduced to Japan. Known as contemporary jewelry, they turned jewelry’s role as wealth or symbol, and the relationship between wearer and viewer, on their head. In 1993, a joint exhibition of three schools in Tokyo, Munich and Amsterdam began, centered on Kazuhiro Ito (1948–1997) and Otto Künzli (born 1948).

The museum explains that Japanese artists have a major presence in the field of jewelry as artistic expression, and that they have also used conceptual jewelry as a method for questioning their own identities. The exhibition statement asks, “What jewelry truly suits you?” Jewelry that expresses how you feel now, unswayed by others’ eyes or age, and not an expensive brand: the exhibition introduces the attempts of artists exploring that wish, according to the museum.

Highlights: what can visitors see?

Otto Künzli’s brooch “Swiss Gold” (1983), in the museum’s collection, is a brooch shaped like a gold bar made from a “genuine” Swiss chocolate paper box. The museum explains that it ironically symbolizes the desire for gold jewelry as a sign of cultural refinement or as an asset.

A pendant Künzli made on his first visit to Japan in 1993 was presented in the “Three Professors Exhibition / We 3 Jewelry Triangle” with Kazuhiro Ito and Joke Brakman. While it calls to mind a character emblematic of the United States, it also overlays the image of the Hinomaru, the Japanese flag.

Ted Noten’s “Chisaka’s Bag” (2006, Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry) was made after the owner’s wife died, sealing a ring she loved in acrylic resin. Reflecting its role as jewelry held in the hand, it takes the form of a bag, and its handle was taken from a bag the deceased loved.

Mari Ishikawa’s ring “Love makes blind” (1999) looks like a heart or an eternity symbol (∞) depending on the angle. “I Love You” is written on its surface in Braille in five languages. It dates from the period when the artist was studying under Künzli at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich.

Among contemporary artists, Fumiki Taguchi shows his “White Expression” series (2019). Using a technique that develops traditional Japanese engraving in his own way, he makes silver look as if it were studded with diamonds; the series made him a finalist for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize in 2025. Akiko Shinzato began making face-altering jewelry while a student at Central Saint Martins in London, based on research into the correlation between appearance and confidence. Works on display include her head/nose piece “Another Skin” (2015).

Etsuko Sonobe’s bracelet “The Shape of Time” (2007) is also on display, along with the picture book “Journey,” a collaboration among Sonobe, Hiroshi Osada (poems) and Yoshie Watanabe (illustrations) prompted by Sonobe’s winning of the Marzee Prize. Other exhibiting artists include Sigurd Persson, Hermann Jünger, Yasuki Hiramatsu and Reiko Yamada.

Tickets, prices and reservations

Admission is 2,000 yen for adults, 1,300 yen for university students and 600 yen for high school students. Advance tickets and the night discount after 18:00 on Fridays are 1,800 yen for adults, 1,100 yen for university students and 400 yen for high school students. Advance tickets are on sale only until Friday, October 23. Junior high school students and younger, holders of a disability certificate and one companion, and members of single-parent households are free (proof required at entry). The ticket also covers the collection exhibition. No timed reservations are required.

With the “Jewelry Discount,” visitors who come wearing their own jewelry get 100 yen off a same-day ticket. Mention it when buying at the same-day ticket window; it is valid only for the wearer and cannot be combined with other discounts. There is also the “M4 reciprocal discount”: showing a ticket for an eligible exhibition at the Kyoto National Museum, The Museum of Kyoto or the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art gets 100 yen off a same-day ticket.

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00, and until 20:00 on Fridays (last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is closed on Mondays (open on November 23 and January 11), Tuesday, November 24, Tuesday, December 29 – Sunday, January 3, and Tuesday, January 12. It is about a 10-minute walk from Exit 1 of Higashiyama Station on the Tozai subway line. From JR Kyoto Station, take city bus route 5 and get off at “Okazaki Koen Bijutsukan / Heian Jingu-mae.” There is no parking for general visitors.

Related events

On the opening day, Saturday, October 24, from 14:00, exhibiting artist Yuka Oyama (professor, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle) gives a lecture, “Jewelry as Social Practice,” in the 1st-floor auditorium. It is limited to the first 80 people and free (a ticket stub is required), with applications accepted until 17:00 on October 23. On Saturday, November 7, there is a lecture by Tomomi Miyakawa, the researcher in charge of the exhibition, and on Sunday, November 1, “Looking for Jewelry in the Town” with exhibiting artist Takayoshi Terashima (for high school students and older, by lottery).

On Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22, the film screening program “Stories That Begin with Accessories” is held in co-organization with the National Film Archive of Japan. Saturday, December 19 is “MoMAK Family Day,” with no reservations required.

Editor’s perspective

What the exhibition title asks about is the relationship between jewelry, the people who wear it and those who see it. The “Jewelry Discount,” which gives a discount to visitors who come wearing their own jewelry, can also be read as a device that turns that question back on viewers themselves.

Another distinctive feature is that the core of the exhibits is a group of works held by a jewelry vocational school. It is structured to trace, through the works, how a designers’ association, international exhibitions at a department store and joint exhibitions between schools shaped jewelry in postwar Japan. The National Crafts Museum in Ishikawa is also among the special cooperators, and it is currently holding the “Design Chronicle” exhibition (our article on the Design Chronicle exhibition). Design and craft exhibitions this autumn and winter are gathered in [Autumn/Winter 2026] Design, Craft and Architecture Exhibitions.

After Kyoto, the exhibition travels to the Iwami Art Museum in Shimane (March 20 – June 14, 2027) and the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art (July 3 – August 29, 2027).

Overview

Name: Who Does Jewelry Dream Of?
Dates: Saturday, October 24, 2026 – Sunday, January 17, 2027
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23 and January 11), Tuesday, November 24, Tuesday, December 29 – Sunday, January 3, Tuesday, January 12
Venue: 3F Special Exhibition Gallery, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
Address: 26-1 Okazaki Enshoji-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
Admission: Adults 2,000 yen, university students 1,300 yen, high school students 600 yen, junior high school students and younger free (advance and night discount: adults 1,800 yen, university students 1,100 yen, high school students 400 yen)
Organizer: The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
Special cooperation: Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry, Japan Jewellery Designers Association, National Crafts Museum
Sponsor: niwaka
Cooperation: JEWELRY JOURNAL
Exhibition design: Ryuji Nakamura (Ryuji Nakamura & Associates)
Graphic design: Atsuki Kikuchi
Tour: Iwami Art Museum, Shimane (March 20 – June 14, 2027), Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art (July 3 – August 29, 2027)
Official website: https://www.momak.go.jp/Japanese/?p=130297
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Design: Atsuki Kikuchi. From left: Akiko Shinzato, head/nose piece “Another Skin,” 2015, gold-plated brass, Swarovski crystals, collection of the artist; Otto Künzli, brooch “Swiss Gold,” 1983, cardboard, acrylic, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto ©Otto Künzli, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025 (from a press release by the Agency for Cultural Affairs)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (June 18, 2026, and others) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team