Takehisa Yumeji Exhibition Opens October 23 at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Showing “Kurofuneya” in Tokyo for the First Time in About 40 Years

“Takehisa Yumeji—An Artist Who Defined His Era” will be held at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo from Friday, October 23, 2026 to Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday). Organized by the museum and The Mainichi Newspapers, it gathers about 500 works and materials from Yumeji collections across Japan. The exhibition traces the breadth of Yumeji’s work, from paintings to design and scrapbooks. According to the museum, it marks the first showing in Tokyo of his masterpiece “Kurofuneya” in about 40 years.

Highlights of the Takehisa Yumeji exhibition

“Kurofuneya” (1919) depicts a woman in a kimono of Kihachijo silk, holding a black cat and sitting on a wooden box. The exhibition’s official website explains it as a work fusing elements of ukiyo-e and modern Western painting. It is thought to have been painted with his lover Hikono, who was suffering from tuberculosis, in mind. This is its first loan to an exhibition since it entered the collection of the Takehisa Yumeji Ikaho Memorial Museum.

Another feature is the gathering of Yumeji collections from across Japan. Works are lent by the Takehisa Yumeji Ikaho Memorial Museum, the Yumeji Art Museum, the Kanazawa Yuwaku Yumeji-kan Museum, the Takehisa Yumeji Museum and others, as well as the Ryuseikaku Takehisa Yumeji Collection of Chiyoda City and the Fukuda Art Museum. At the Yumeji Art Museum in Okayama, the beauty painting “Nanshi Soshun,” painted while Yumeji was in Berlin, is on view for the first time until December 6.

His design work also receives significant attention. The exhibition introduces book designs, covers for magazines and sheet music, posters, chiyogami paper, illustrated envelopes, tenugui hand towels, yukata, han’eri collars and even fashion design. It is organized in five chapters, from “The Beginnings of the Yumeji Style” to “Modern Girls in Kimono and Western Dress.”

Main works and changes between the first and second periods

The main works are as follows (titles and collections as given on the official website). Works without a first- or second-period designation are shown throughout.

• “Kurofuneya,” 1919 (Taisho 8), Takehisa Yumeji Ikaho Memorial Museum

• “Autumn Repose,” 1920 (Taisho 9), Yumeji Art Museum

• “Nine Linked Rings,” 1918 (Taisho 7), private collection (Tokyo and Osaka venues only)

• “Ode to Mount Haruna,” 1931 (Showa 6), Takehisa Yumeji Ikaho Memorial Museum

• “Princess Tatsuta,” 1931 (Showa 6), Yumeji Art Museum

• “Earthquake Sketch: Tsukiji Trinity Church,” 1923 (Taisho 12), Takehisa Yumeji Ikaho Memorial Museum

• “Minatoya Ezoshi Shop” (Minatoya edition), 1914 (Taisho 3), Kanazawa Yuwaku Yumeji-kan Museum

• Chiyogami paper “Primroses” (Minatoya edition), 1914–1916 (Taisho 3–5), Takehisa Yumeji Ikaho Memorial Museum

• “Woman Resting on the Grass,” early Taisho era, Shizuoka City Museum of Art (first period)

The first period runs from Friday, October 23 to Monday, November 23 (national holiday), and the second from Wednesday, November 25 to Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday). To see works shown only in the first period, such as “Woman Resting on the Grass” and the Takehisa Yumeji Museum’s “Autumn at Inawashiro,” visit by November 23.

What kind of creator was Yumeji?

According to the official website, Takehisa Yumeji (1884–1934) was active from the late Meiji to the early Showa era. He had many faces: painter, poet, journalist, designer and illustrator. He also designed everyday goods, produced books and magazines for children, wrote the lyrics of the popular song “Yoimachigusa” and documented the Great Kanto Earthquake.

After Tokyo, the exhibition tours to the Shizuoka City Museum of Art (January 23 – March 28, 2027) and the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design (April 24 – June 13, 2027, planned). From January 29 to April 9, 2028, it will be held at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka. Some works, like “Nine Linked Rings,” are shown only at certain venues.

Tickets, and how to avoid crowds

Admission is 2,100 yen for adults, 1,200 yen for university students and 700 yen for high school students. Advance tickets (adults 1,900 yen, university students 1,000 yen, high school students 500 yen) are on sale until 23:59 on Thursday, October 22, through the official online ticket service (e-tix) and ticket outlets; the museum’s ticket counter handles same-day tickets only. Junior high school students and younger, and holders of a disability certificate plus one companion, are admitted free.

The exhibition does not use timed entry, and no reservation is required. The official website expects crowds on weekends, national holidays and toward the end of the run and recommends visiting on weekdays or in the first half of the exhibition. The museum is open until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays (last admission 30 minutes before closing), and the exhibition ticket also gives same-day access to the collection exhibition “MOMAT Collection.”

A set ticket with “Shojo Manga Infinity: Moto Hagio × Ryoko Yamagishi × Waki Yamato” at The National Art Center, Tokyo is also available. It costs 4,100 yen for adults and is scheduled to go on sale on the official online ticket service from October 28.

The audio guide navigator is voice actor Kaito Ishikawa; rental at the venue costs 700 yen and the app version 800 yen. On “Kimono Day,” Sunday, November 15, stickers are given to visitors who come in kimono, while supplies last. Stickers are also given to visitors, while supplies last, on “Black Cat Day,” Sunday, November 22 and Tuesday, December 22 (limited quantities in both cases).

Overview

Name: Takehisa Yumeji—An Artist Who Defined His Era
Dates: Friday, October 23, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday) (first period: Friday, October 23 – Monday, November 23 (national holiday); second period: Wednesday, November 25 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday))
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; last admission 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23 and January 11), November 24, year-end and New Year holidays (December 28 – January 1)
Venue: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1F Special Exhibition Gallery
Address: 3-1 Kitanomaru Koen, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Admission: Adults 2,100 yen, university students 1,200 yen, high school students 700 yen (advance and group: adults 1,900 yen, university students 1,000 yen, high school students 500 yen). Free for junior high school students and younger, and holders of a disability certificate plus one companion
Organizers: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; The Mainichi Newspapers
Official website: https://yumeji2026-28.jp/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Takehisa Yumeji, “Kihachijo,” 1931 (public domain, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the official website of The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and the exhibition’s official website (as of October 19, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team