“THE MASKS: People Captivated by Masks” Opens November 21 at Seikado@Marunouchi; Replica Gigaku Masks and a Group of Noh Masks

The exhibition “THE MASKS: People Captivated by Masks” opens on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at Seikado@Marunouchi (Seikado Bunko Art Museum) in Marunouchi, Tokyo. Why are people drawn to masks that take the shape of the many expressions of human faces and the faces of demons and gods? Using as clues Tetsuya Kano’s replica Gigaku masks, a wooden demon mask formerly owned by Takeshiro Matsuura and a group of Noh masks formerly owned by the Mizoguchi family, lords of the Shibata domain, it traces the gaze of people who collected and copied old masks from the early modern to the modern period. It runs until Sunday, January 17, 2027.

Why now? A focus on the people who “collected and copied” masks

The protagonists of the exhibition are not only the masks themselves. The museum explains that its aim is to trace the gaze of people from the early modern to the modern period who were drawn to old masks, collected them and copied them. The clues are Tetsuya Kano, who made replicas of Gigaku masks; Takeshiro Matsuura, who owned a wooden demon mask; and the Mizoguchi family, lords of the Shibata domain, who owned a group of Noh masks.

This is not the first time Seikado has featured Takeshiro Matsuura. In 2024, it held the special exhibition “Demon of Painting Kawanabe Kyosai × Genius Matsuura Takeshiro.” Its press materials introduced Takeshiro (1818–88) as an explorer, antiquarian, writer and the person who named Hokkaido. According to the materials, items formerly owned by Takeshiro came into the possession of Yanosuke Iwasaki (1851–1908) around the end of the Meiji period and are believed to have long been kept in the Seikado Bunko.

Seikado began as a library founded in 1892 (Meiji 25) on the grounds of Yanosuke Iwasaki’s residence in Surugadai, Tokyo. Its holdings comprise about 200,000 classical books and 6,500 works of East Asian antique art, including 7 National Treasures and 84 Important Cultural Properties. In October 2022, the museum began exhibiting on the ground floor of the Meiji Seimei Kan, an Important Cultural Property.

What can visitors see? Replica masks, a wooden demon mask and Noh masks

The exhibition page shows images of five works. Tetsuya Kano’s “Bishamonten Mask (Horyuji Property)” dates from the late Meiji period (late 19th to early 20th century). The “Wooden Demon Mask” formerly owned by Takeshiro Matsuura is of unknown date.

Images are also shown of “Okina (by Fukurai)” from the Muromachi period (16th century), “Hannya (by Genkyu)” from the Edo period (18th century) and an “Akahada Ware Incense Container in the Shape of a Mask Box” from the Edo period (18th–19th century). The group of Noh masks formerly owned by the Mizoguchi family, lords of the Shibata domain, is another of the pillars of the exhibition cited by the museum.

The exhibition is divided into a first period (November 21 – December 20) and a second period (December 22 – January 17, 2027). As of October 20, the exhibition page does not list display periods for individual works, the number of works or the chapter structure. Visitors who want to see a particular work should check the official website before visiting.

Related events: A lecture commemorating completed restorations and slide talks

On Sunday, December 6, from 13:30 to 15:30, a lecture commemorating completed restorations, “Buddhist Statues and Masks: Restoration Today,” will be held at Meiji Yasuda Hall in Meiji Yasuda Village (4F, 2-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku). The speakers are Yoshiteru Kawase, professor at Waseda University, and Motoya Myochin of Meikodo, with Yotaro Onuma, curator at the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, as moderator.

Capacity is 200, and a participation ticket (1,500 yen) that includes admission to the exhibition is required. Reservations are required, with booking opening at 10:00 on Wednesday, October 21 on Seikado’s ticket reservation site. Tickets are sold online only, not at the counter.

Slide talks explaining the works by the curator in charge will be held on Sunday, November 29, Tuesday, December 8, Sunday, January 10, 2027 and Monday, January 11 (national holiday). There are two sessions each day, from 11:00 and 14:30 (about 45 minutes each), at Meiji Yasuda Gallery on the 1st floor of Meiji Yasuda Village, with 40 people per session. Numbered tickets are distributed on the day (priority for reservations), and an admission ticket for that day is required.

Tickets, prices and opening hours

Admission is 1,500 yen for adults, 1,000 yen for university and high school students and 700 yen for holders of a disability certificate (one companion free), and free for junior high school students and younger. Timed reservations through the official online ticketing have priority, and same-day tickets are also sold. Those eligible for free admission do not need a reservation.

There is a “repeater discount” of 200 yen off adult admission for those who show the admission ticket from a previous visit at reception. Groups of 20 or more must contact the Hello Dial (050-5541-8600) in advance, and there is no group discount.

Opening hours are 10:00–17:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is open until 20:00 on the fourth Wednesdays, November 25 and December 23, and until 19:00 on Friday, January 15 and Saturday, January 16, 2027. It is closed on Mondays (open on November 23 and January 11, 2027), Tuesday, November 24, Monday, December 28 to Friday, January 1, 2027, and Tuesday, January 12.

Every Thursday is a “Talk Free Day,” when visitors can chat as they view. The audio guide (700 yen per device) is narrated by voice actor Ryo Iwasaki. Visitors are asked to refrain from video recording and flash photography.

Access

The address is Meiji Seimei Kan 1F, 2-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. The museum entrance is on the 1st floor of Meiji Yasuda Village (formerly Marunouchi MY PLAZA). It is directly connected to Exit 3 of Nijubashimae (Marunouchi) Station on the Chiyoda Line and is a 5-minute walk from both the Marunouchi South Exit of JR Tokyo Station and the International Forum Exit of JR Yurakucho Station. It is also right by the “Meiji Yasuda Village / Seikado” stop of the free “Marunouchi Shuttle” bus. The museum has no parking for cars or bicycles.

Editor’s perspective

The exhibition is structured to reexamine masks from the side of the people who copied or owned them. Histories of copying and ownership offer clues to how old masks were viewed in later eras. That Seikado, which began as a library on the grounds of the Iwasaki residence, takes the gaze of collectors as its theme also overlaps with the museum’s own history.

The run spans the year-end and New Year holidays. November 25 and December 23, when the museum is open until 20:00, fall during Marunouchi Illumination 2026 on Marunouchi Naka-dori. Exhibitions and events in January are summarized in our January 2027 art event calendar. Costumes for bugaku, the dances of gagaku court music, are introduced at the Nezu Museum’s special exhibition “Bugaku Costumes: The Inherited Beauty of Textiles” until November 23.

Overview

Name: THE MASKS: People Captivated by Masks
Dates: Saturday, November 21, 2026 – Sunday, January 17, 2027 (first period: until Sunday, December 20; second period: from Tuesday, December 22)
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing; until 20:00 on November 25 and December 23, and until 19:00 on January 15 and 16, 2027)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23 and January 11, 2027), Tuesday, November 24, Monday, December 28 – Friday, January 1, 2027, Tuesday, January 12
Venue: Seikado@Marunouchi (Seikado Bunko Art Museum)
Address: Meiji Seimei Kan 1F, 2-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Admission: Adults 1,500 yen, university and high school students 1,000 yen, holders of a disability certificate 700 yen (one companion free), junior high school students and younger free
Inquiries: 050-5541-8600 (Hello Dial)
Official website: https://www.seikado.or.jp/next_exhibition
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Meiji Seimei Kan, home of Seikado@Marunouchi (photo: Wiiii, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Seikado Bunko Art Museum (its fiscal 2026 exhibition schedule and the 2024 special exhibition “Demon of Painting Kawanabe Kyosai × Genius Matsuura Takeshiro”) and information on its official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team