“Teppei Kaneuji: Smoke and Fog – Kashiwabara-juku on the Nakasendo” Until December 13; Shiga Museum of Art Exhibits Outside Its Walls in a Maibara Post Town

“Teppei Kaneuji: Smoke and Fog – Kashiwabara-juku on the Nakasendo,” by artist and sculptor Teppei Kaneuji, is on view in Kashiwabara-juku, Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, until Sunday, December 13, 2026. It is the second edition of “ASK,” a contemporary art exhibition the Shiga Museum of Art holds in the Kohoku area, with works placed at four venues in the post town, including a former sake brewery, and outdoors. It is open only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays during the run, and viewing is free (admission is charged only at the Kashiwabara-juku History Museum).

Who is Teppei Kaneuji? A sculptor who joins together everyday things

Kaneuji, born in 1978, is an artist and sculptor and an associate professor in the Department of Sculpture of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Kyoto City University of Arts. He creates works with a collage-like method of cutting out and joining together things from his surroundings. His work spans sculpture, installation, video and performance.

He has held solo exhibitions at the Yokohama Museum of Art (2009), the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing, 2013) and the Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (2016), among others. Since 2011 he has also designed many stage sets, and in recent years he has been creating stage works as well. In 2025, he exhibited a public artwork at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai site as part of “Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival 2025.” His honors include the FY2025 Kyoto Prefecture Culture Award for Meritorious Service.

Why Kashiwabara-juku? “ASK,” held outside the museum

ASK stands for “Art Spot in Kohoku,” a name that also plays on the English word “ask,” meaning to pose a question. For three years from fiscal 2025, the Shiga Museum of Art is holding contemporary art exhibitions in the Kohoku cities of Takashima, Maibara and Nagahama, inviting a different artist each year. The aim is to look at the history, culture and daily life of each place from a new perspective, outside the museum.

The first edition was “Kyun-Chome: A Lullaby of a Million Years” in Takashima (February 21 – April 19, 2026). The third is scheduled to be held in Nagahama in fiscal 2027.

Kashiwabara-juku, the setting for the second edition, flourished in the Edo period as the 60th post town on the Nakasendo and still retains traces of that era. According to the museum, it was one of the larger post towns on the Mino and Omi roads, and buildings such as national Registered Tangible Cultural Properties remain. At the foot of Mount Ibuki, it has long been known for “Ibuki mogusa,” moxa for moxibustion made from medicinal herbs.

In his artist’s statement, Kaneuji says Kashiwabara has an atmosphere peculiar to former post towns that evokes faraway places and times. He is also interested in exhibiting far from museums and the context of contemporary art, using buildings where travelers presumably once stayed. Noting that the town also borders Sekigahara, where East and West clashed, and that smoke signals may well have risen there, he connects it to the motif of “smoke” he has often explored.

What can visitors see? “Smoke and Fog” and new works at four venues

Of the title, Kaneuji explains that he had in mind phenomena that look alike but have different origins mixing together. “One could say that smoke is man-made and fog comes from nature,” he says, hoping that thoughts and viewpoints will travel back and forth between smoke rising from below and fog descending from above.

The exhibition rearranges existing works to fit each venue’s space and adds new installations drawing on Kashiwabara’s history, climate and the lives of its people. The list of works includes 27 entries. The four venues are each given a title: “The Unfamiliar Present” (former sake brewery / Yaito Juku), “Encounter with the Past” (Kashiwabara-juku History Museum), “The Distant Present” (Nishimachi Kaido Cultural Exchange Hall “Rokuju”) and “The Fluid Future” (former Nakamura residence). Works are also placed outdoors, including at JR Kashiwabara Station.

Based on the artist’s statement and the list of works, the main new works are as follows.

• “Smoke and Smoke” (2026, video, 4 minutes): Superimposes various kinds of smoke, from cigarettes, incense, mosquito coils and fireworks to eruptions and geysers, onto footage of a volcano. Using special-effects techniques, it shows smoke mixing and not mixing

• “Multiple Ropes” (2026): Inspired by the tug-of-war at the Yaito Festival, it joins diverse ropes to imagine a new tug-of-war that requires a balance among multiple forces. It was remade with participants at a workshop on October 18

• “Endless Introduction to ‘Fight’ as Background Music” (2026, sound installation): Layers the sound of the conch shell blown before the Yaito Festival tug-of-war over the repeated rhythm section of a song. It forms a pair with “Multiple Ropes”

• “Splash and Flake (Pipeline / Kashiwabara)” (2026): An abstract sculpture joining tree branches gathered by Kashiwabara residents with pipes and joints Kaneuji has collected around the world. It was made together with participants at a workshop on October 4

• “Blank Map (Mount Ibuki)” (2026): A sculpture in which ready-made objects are laid out and white plaster powder is sprinkled over them from above. Part of a series he has continued since his student days, it is inspired by snowy landscapes

• “tower (KASHIWABARA)” (2024–2026): From a series of large outdoor billboards with holes cut into landscapes. Installed on a vacant lot used for fireworks viewing, it also serves as a photo spot

In the “Fukusuke Room” on the 2nd floor of the Kashiwabara-juku History Museum, “Triple Collections” (2012–2026) adds striped and furry figures to a collection of Fukusuke dolls. Existing works include “White Discharge (11 Sports Figures)” (2007–2025), in which white resin is poured over sports figures and left to harden. There is also “Group (Murano)” (2015–2022), made with Venetian glassmakers. The “Summer Fiction (River Stone)” series (2021), in which casts of stones from rapids are replicated and stacked like snowmen, is also on display.

Open days, access and related events

The exhibition is open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays during the run, for 25 days in total. The remaining public holidays are Tuesday, November 3 and Monday, November 23. Hours are 10:00–16:00, except at the Kashiwabara-juku History Museum, which is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). Viewing is free, but the Kashiwabara-juku History Museum charges admission (300 yen for adults, 150 yen for elementary and junior high school students). The Shiga Museum of Art recommends visiting Venue 1, the former sake brewery (Yaito Juku), first.

By train, JR Kashiwabara Station is about 15 minutes from Maibara Station and about 20 minutes from Ogaki Station, and the venues are about a 10-minute walk from Kashiwabara Station. If you are coming from the JR West area with a transport IC card such as ICOCA, you need to exit the gates once at Maibara Station and tap in again before heading to Kashiwabara Station in the JR Central area. The museum recommends buying paper tickets.

By car, it is about 15 minutes west of Sekigahara IC on the Meishin Expressway or about 15 minutes east of Maibara IC on the Hokuriku Expressway. Free parking is available at the Kashiwabara Clinic parking lot and the Maibara City Santo B&G Marine Center parking lot.

On Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, November 22, curators will give exhibition tours and town walks. The 10:30–12:00 session is for children and the 13:00–14:30 session is open to all; both meet at Venue 1, the former sake brewery (Yaito Juku). Each is limited to about 10 people, first come, first served on the day, and free. On Sunday, November 29, from 14:00 to 15:30, Kaneuji will give an artist talk at the Kashiwabara Lifelong Learning Center (2221 Kashiwabara, Maibara). Capacity is about 50; no advance registration is needed, and it is free.

Kaneuji’s works can also be seen at other venues during the same period. At BONDED GALLERY in Shinagawa, Tokyo, “After Light,” a three-person exhibition with Shinya Imanishi and Yuka Shimura, runs until Saturday, October 24 (free admission). At the exhibition space on the 5th floor of Kyoto Tsutaya Books (Kyoto Takashimaya S.C.), the group exhibition “Resonance” runs from Saturday, October 24 to Tuesday, November 17. It is a six-artist exhibition including Yasuko Iba and Takahiro Iwasaki, with free admission. Autumn and winter exhibitions in Kansai are introduced in [Autumn/Winter 2026] Recommended Exhibitions in Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Hyogo, and contemporary art exhibitions around Japan in our guide to contemporary art exhibitions.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see it inside the Shiga Museum of Art?

No. The venues are four locations and outdoor sites in Kashiwabara, Maibara, and the museum notes that the Shiga Museum of Art and its surroundings are not venues.

Can I see it if I go on a weekday?

No. It is open only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays during the run, for 25 days in total.

Is there a charge?

Viewing is free. Of the four venues, only the Kashiwabara-juku History Museum charges admission (300 yen for adults, 150 yen for elementary and junior high school students).

Overview

Name: Teppei Kaneuji: Smoke and Fog – Kashiwabara-juku on the Nakasendo (ASK02, a Shiga Museum of Art contemporary art exhibition in Kohoku)
Dates: Saturday, October 3 – Sunday, December 13, 2026
Open days: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays during the run (25 days in total)
Hours: 10:00–16:00 (Kashiwabara-juku History Museum 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30)
Venues: (1) Former sake brewery (Yaito Juku) (2098 Kashiwabara, Maibara), (2) Kashiwabara-juku History Museum (2101 Kashiwabara, Maibara), (3) Nishimachi Kaido Cultural Exchange Hall “Rokuju” (2204 Kashiwabara, Maibara), (4) Former Nakamura residence (2188 Kashiwabara, Maibara), and outdoor sites
Admission: Free (admission required only at the Kashiwabara-juku History Museum: adults 300 yen, elementary and junior high school students 150 yen)
Organizer: Shiga Museum of Art
Support: Maibara City, Maibara City Board of Education
Access: About a 10-minute walk from JR Kashiwabara Station. Free parking available
Official website: https://www.shigamuseum.jp/exhibitions/14001/
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: The townscape of Kashiwabara-juku on the Nakasendo (photo: Senjukaishi, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Shiga Museum of Art (August 6, 2026), information on its official website, and announcements by Terrada Warehouse (August 26, 2026) and Kyoto Tsutaya Books (October 16, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team