“NHK Nichiyo Bijutsukan 50 Years Exhibition” at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka Until December 20; Osaka-Only Works Include Jakuchu’s Screens

The “NHK Nichiyo Bijutsukan 50 Years Exhibition,” which traces 50 years of NHK’s art program “Nichiyo Bijutsukan” (Sunday Art Museum), is on view at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka (Kita-ku, Osaka) until Sunday, December 20. Over five chapters, it presents more than 140 works by about 60 artists, from Jomon pottery to contemporary art, together with rarely seen footage from the program (about 100 minutes in total). The exhibition comes to Osaka after showings at the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts and the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, and works shown only at the Osaka venue, such as Ito Jakuchu’s “Stone Lanterns” screens, are also on display.

Tracing the program’s 50 years through works and words, recognized by Guinness World Records

“Nichiyo Bijutsukan” began broadcasting in 1976 and has aired more than 2,500 episodes. As of its broadcast on March 22, 2026, it was certified by Guinness World Records as the “longest-running weekly fine art TV program.” From 1997 to 2009 it was titled “Shin Nichiyo Bijutsukan” (New Sunday Art Museum), but the exhibition refers to both under the name “Nichiyo Bijutsukan.”

The exhibition is built around works that appeared on the program and the words spoken by the people who appeared on it. According to the commentary for Chapter 1, the program opened in April 1976 under the title “Me and ○○.” At the venue, footage from the program and the words of its guests are presented together with the works.

The Tokyo showing was held at the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts from March 28 to June 21, 2026, and the Shizuoka showing at the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art from July 18 to September 27. The program is currently presented by musician Miu Sakamoto and NHK announcer Nami Morimoto.

Highlights: works shown only in Osaka

Among the works designated as Osaka-only, Takahashi Yuichi’s “Oiran” (1872, Tokyo University of the Arts) is an Important Cultural Property. Ito Jakuchu’s “Stone Lanterns” screens (Edo period, 18th century, Kyoto National Museum) will be shown with the right screen in the first period (until November 15) and the left screen in the second period (from November 17).

Tomoko Konoike’s “Hide Stage Curtain” (2015, Ryutaro Takahashi Collection) is a large work measuring 600.0 × 2400.0 cm. Fukumi Shimura’s “Maihime” (2013, collection of the artist) is also shown only at the Osaka venue. In the second period, Edvard Munch’s “Madonna” (1895–1902, Museum of Modern Art, Gunma) will also be on display, only at the Osaka venue.

Konoike’s “Wolf Bench” has been placed in the Passage on the 2nd floor until January 5, 2027. The official website introduces it as a work that visitors can enjoy by touching it and sitting on it.

What can be seen? The five chapters and main works

Chapter 1, “Beauty Handed Down,” introduces works from all times and places together with the words of the program’s guests. At the Osaka venue, Paul Cézanne’s “Bathers” (1883–87, Ohara Museum of Art) and Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” (1880, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art) are on display. Tetsuya Ishida’s “The Man Who Could No Longer Fly” (1996, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art) is also in this chapter.

Chapter 2, “Rediscovering Japanese Beauty: From Ancient Times to Meiji,” covers everything from Jomon pottery and dogu clay figurines to Jakuchu, Soga Shohaku and Katsushika Hokusai. A “Jomon pottery deep bowl, flame-style vessel” (Kokugakuin University Museum) excavated at the Iwanohara site in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, is on display, as is Tsukioka Yoshitoshi’s “One Hundred Aspects of the Moon: The Yugao Chapter from The Tale of Genji” (1886, Yokohama Museum of Art). Soga Shohaku’s “Demon Woman Under a Willow” screen (Tokyo University of the Arts) is on view at the Osaka venue until November 8.

Chapter 3, “Crafts: Tradition and Innovation,” is devoted to crafts, which the program has reportedly featured every year without fail for 50 years. It ranges from masterpieces of the Shosoin to the skills of Living National Treasures and the ultra-fine techniques of today. Hoshun Yoshida’s “Armrest of Red Sandalwood with Wood Marquetry (Replica)” and Imaizumi Imaemon XIII’s “Bowl with Rain Lily Design in Overglaze Enamels on Usuzumi Ground” (1993) are both in the collection of Tokyo University of the Arts. Works such as Ryosuke Shiomi’s “Helmet and Shoulder Guards with Silver Horned-Owl Mask, Laced in White Silk” (2022, private collection) are also on display.

Chapter 4, “Disaster and Beauty,” considers the roles beauty has played through works by artists who confronted epidemics, natural disasters and war. Miyako Ishiuchi’s “Hiroshima #9 donor: Ogawa, R.” (2007, collection of the artist) and Yasuo Kazuki’s “Blue Sun” (1969, Yamaguchi Prefectural Art Museum) are on display. Konoike’s “Hide Stage Curtain” is also part of this chapter.

Chapter 5, “The Lives of Artists and Beauty,” shows the creative process in the studio through broadcast footage and the artists’ own words. Taro Okamoto’s “Encounter” (1981, Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki) and Samiro Yunoki’s “Tree of Life” (2018, Matsumoto City Museum of Art) are on display. Lee Ufan’s “Correspondance” (1998, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art) and Katsura Funakoshi’s “Lunar Eclipse Reflected in Water” (2003, private collection) are also exhibited.

Tickets and prices, plus a combination ticket with the British Museum exhibition

Admission (tax included) is 2,000 yen for adults, 1,200 yen for high school and university students and 500 yen for elementary and junior high school students. Advance and group (20 or more) tickets are 1,800 yen for adults, 1,000 yen for high school and university students and 300 yen for elementary and junior high school students; advance tickets are not sold at the museum. Holders of a disability certificate, together with one caregiver, are admitted at half the same-day price (purchase at the 2nd-floor ticket counter; proof required).

On the 4th floor of the museum, “The British Museum Collection of Japanese Art: Hyakka Ryoran – Edo Painting Across the Sea” opened on Saturday, October 31. A combination ticket for both exhibitions (adults only, 4,000 yen) is sold from Saturday, October 31 to Sunday, December 20 via ART PASS and at the ticket machines on the 2nd floor of the museum. It is 300 yen cheaper than buying same-day tickets for both exhibitions.

Opening hours are 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). The museum is closed on Mondays and on Tuesday, October 13 and Tuesday, November 24, but open on Monday, October 12 and Monday, November 23 (both national holidays). Some works are changed during the exhibition: the first period runs until Sunday, November 15, and the second period from Tuesday, November 17.

Audio guide, related events and access

The audio guide is narrated by Fumi Dan and Arata Iura, who have both hosted the program. It can be rented at the venue for 700 yen, and a version on the app “Kiku Bijutsu” (800 yen) is also available. The official catalogue is a modified A4 format with 312 pages and costs 3,300 yen (tax included).

On Monday, November 23 (national holiday), from 14:30 to 15:30, Miu Sakamoto and the program’s production staff will hold a commemorative talk show, “My Nichiyo Bijutsukan.” Admission is by lottery for 180 people, and applications close at 23:59 on Friday, October 23. On Saturday, December 5, the “Ryo Inoue Song & Talk Show” will be held twice, at 11:00 and 14:00 (180 people each, by lottery). Applications are accepted from 10:00 on Monday, October 26 to 23:59 on Friday, November 6.

There are also talks in which curators introduce recommended works, held on Friday, October 23, Saturday, November 14 and Tuesday, December 8, from 14:00 to 14:30, for up to 30 people each with advance registration.

The museum is located at 4-3-1 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka. It is about a 5-minute walk southwest from Watanabebashi Station (Exit 2) on the Keihan Nakanoshima Line and about a 10-minute walk west from Higobashi Station (Exit 4) on the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line. From Fukushima Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line, Shin-Fukushima Station (Exit 2) on the JR Tozai Line and Fukushima Station on the Hanshin Line, it is about a 10-minute walk south. The museum has no parking of its own; use the adjacent paid parking lot (72 cars) or other facilities.

Editor’s perspective

The exhibition is distinctive in treating the archive of a TV program as material for an exhibition. By presenting works together with program footage and the words of the people who appeared on it, it also becomes a place to look back on the very ways of seeing art that the program has conveyed over 50 years.

Chapter 3 begins with masterpieces of the Shosoin. One idea is to combine it with the 78th Annual Exhibition of Shosoin Treasures at the Nara National Museum on a tour of the Kansai region. Autumn and winter exhibitions in the Kansai region are introduced in [Autumn–Winter 2026] Recommended Exhibitions in Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Hyogo.

Overview

Name: NHK Nichiyo Bijutsukan 50 Years Exhibition
Dates: Saturday, October 10 – Sunday, December 20, 2026 (first period: until Sunday, November 15; second period: from Tuesday, November 17)
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Closed: Mondays, Tuesday, October 13 and Tuesday, November 24 (open on Monday, October 12 and Monday, November 23, both national holidays)
Venue: Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka, 5th-floor exhibition gallery
Address: 4-3-1 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka
Admission: Adults 2,000 yen, high school and university students 1,200 yen, elementary and junior high school students 500 yen (advance and group tickets: adults 1,800 yen, high school and university students 1,000 yen, elementary and junior high school students 300 yen)
Organizers: Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka; NHK Osaka Station; NHK Enterprises Kinki
Planning cooperation: NHK Educational
Sponsor: NISSHA
Official website: https://nakka-art.jp/exhibition-post/nichibiten50/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: from a press release by Kogetsu Co., Ltd.

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the websites of the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka and the exhibition (as of October 19, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team