KUBOSO YORU no SEKAI: Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi Opens at Night for the First Time from December 12

The Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi (Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture) will hold the light and video event “KUBOSO YORU no SEKAI: Masterpieces Awaken at Night” from Saturday, December 12 to Friday, December 25, 2026. Marking the 70th anniversary of Izumi City’s municipal status, it runs from 17:00 to 20:00 (last entry 19:30). Centered on projection mapping in the concert hall, light shows are staged in four areas inside and outside the museum. As the museum’s first night opening, the exhibitions can also be seen until 20:00 during the event.

What can visitors see in the four areas?

The shows are divided into four areas. The names of the video creators had not been announced as of October 20. The images in the press materials are for illustration only, and the content may change.

• AREA 01 “Projection mapping that colors the concert hall”: The concert hall, normally used for concerts, is enveloped in video.

• AREA 02 “An approach guided by lights”: Lights illuminate the path from the entrance to the concert hall and the main building.

• AREA 03 “Light-up of the garden (pond)”: The pond area of the new building’s garden is illuminated.

• AREA 04 “Small devices throughout the museum”: Small light effects are placed here and there inside the museum.

During the event, the museum will also set up an exhibition room that opens only during the night museum hours, “A Special Room That Opens Only at Night.” The museum says it will offer a special display unique to the night, but the specific content has not been disclosed.

A museum holding National Treasures opens at night

The museum opened in 1982 (Showa 57) after receiving from Kuboso Co., Ltd. and the Kubo family a donation of about 500 works of art, including two National Treasures and 29 Important Cultural Properties, along with buildings and other property. It now holds about 13,000 works, centered on East Asian antiquities and also including modern Western art. Each year it holds three or four themed exhibitions and one special exhibition of its own planning.

Running concurrently is the special exhibition “Ocean View, Yokosuka Story: Yokosuka Museum of Art Collection Exhibition,” opening October 25 (until December 25). Prompted by the fact that each has a Self-Defense Forces base nearby, the two museums concluded a disaster-prevention agreement in fiscal 2024. In Izumi City, which does not face the sea, the exhibition presents works from the collection of the Yokosuka Museum of Art, which overlooks Tokyo Bay, that evoke a longing for the sea, including works by Rokuro Taniuchi, familiar from his weekly magazine covers.

Prices and access

Viewing the projection mapping is included in museum admission, which is 1,000 yen for adults and 600 yen for high school and university students; junior high school students and younger are free. Groups of 20 or more and visitors aged 65 and over receive a 20% discount, and holders of a disability certificate or similar and one caregiver are admitted free. On Wednesdays during the event (December 16 and 23), families visiting with preschool children are admitted free. The museum is closed on Mondays, December 14 and 21. Visitors who bring the flyer and see the exhibition receive one of three limited-edition stickers (while supplies last).

By train, take a Nankai Bus bound for Bijutsukan-mae from Izumi-Chuo Station on the Nankai Semboku Line and get off at Bijutsukan-mae; the museum is right there. By car, it is about three minutes from the Kishiwada-Izumi Interchange on the Hanwa Expressway, and there is free parking. Return buses from Bijutsukan-mae to Izumi-Chuo Station depart at 17:39, 18:08, 18:35, 19:41 and 20:34 on weekdays, and at 17:08, 18:07 and 19:07 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with 19:07 being the last bus.

Winter light events in central Osaka are covered in our article on the Osaka Festival of the Lights 2026, and light events across Japan in our 2026–2027 roundup of projection mapping and light events across Japan.

Overview

Name: KUBOSO YORU no SEKAI: Masterpieces Awaken at Night
Dates: Saturday, December 12 – Friday, December 25, 2026
Hours: 17:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30)
Closed: December 14 and December 21 (Mondays)
Venue: Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi
Address: 3-6-12 Uchidacho, Izumi City, Osaka
Admission: Adults 1,000 yen, high school and university students 600 yen, junior high school students and younger free (museum admission, including viewing the projection mapping)
Organizers: Izumi City; Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi
Support: Osaka Prefecture
Official website: https://www.ikm-art.jp/information/2026/09/kuboso-yoru-no-sekai-12121225.html
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Key visual for KUBOSO YORU no SEKAI (from a press release by the KUBOSO YORU no SEKAI Secretariat)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the KUBOSO YORU no SEKAI Secretariat (September 30, 2026) and information on the official website of the Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team