The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum Turns 100: Commemorative Exhibitions Including the Musée d’Orsay Show “What a Wonderful World” Open in November

The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (Ueno, Tokyo) marked its 100th anniversary in 2026. The museum opened on May 1, 1926, as the “Tokyo Prefectural Art Museum.” As commemorative exhibitions, it opens the special exhibition “What a Wonderful World: Masterworks from the Musée d’Orsay” on Saturday, November 14. From Thursday, November 19, it holds, free of charge, an archives exhibition looking back on the museum’s 100 years and the exhibition “For You to Read the World.”

From a stage for open-call exhibitions to an “entrance to art”: 100 years of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

According to the museum, it was born as Japan’s first public art museum. It was made possible when Keitaro Sato, a coal merchant from Kitakyushu, donated 1 million yen to fund its construction.

After opening, it served mainly as a venue for exhibitions by artists’ associations. In its first year, 10 open-call exhibitions were held, and 473,434 people visited. In 1944, during the war, exhibitions by associations were effectively suspended. After the war, non-juried, open-entry exhibitions such as the Indépendants emerged.

The building changed from the old building designed by Shinichiro Okada to the new building designed by Kunio Maekawa, which opened in 1975. After a renewal in 2012, the museum now holds about 10 special and thematic exhibitions a year, along with more than 250 exhibitions by open-call associations and school education exhibitions, attracting about 2 million visitors. The museum’s mission is to be an “entrance to art.” The 100th anniversary logo was designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, who created the museum’s symbol mark and logo in 2011.

Three commemorative exhibitions, with about 110 Orsay works in seven chapters

The special exhibition “What a Wonderful World: Masterworks from the Musée d’Orsay” runs until Sunday, March 28, 2027. It presents about 110 works from the Musée d’Orsay’s collection, including paintings, sculptures, decorative arts and photographs, in seven chapters. According to the organizers, Millet’s “The Gleaners” comes to Japan for the first time in 23 years, and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Gauguin’s “Arearea” for the first time in 16 years.

Admission is 2,400 yen for adults, 1,300 yen for university and vocational school students and 1,600 yen for those aged 65 and over, and free for those aged 18 and under and high school students and younger. Advance tickets (adults 2,200 yen, etc.) are on sale until Friday, November 13. On weekdays from Tuesday, December 8 to Friday, December 18, university and vocational school students are also admitted free. Details of the exhibition are in our article on the Orsay exhibition.

The archives exhibition “Opening the Beginning: 100 Years of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum” looks back on the museum’s history mainly through materials from its archives. Beginning with the prologue “Keitaro Sato: Father of the Museum,” it consists of five chapters on themes including the old and new buildings, open-call and association exhibitions, and exhibitions of overseas art. The epilogue displays photographs solicited from the public.

The exhibition “For You to Read the World” takes “dialogue with the world” as its theme. It presents five ways of reading: “Reading by Light,” “Reading by Time,” “Reading by Words,” “Reading from Nature” and “Imagining with the Whole Body.” The participating artists are Alberto Giacometti, Momo Yamanishi, Shuntaro Tanikawa, Bikky Sunazawa and Elena Tutatchikova. Both exhibitions run until Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday), with free admission.

Editor’s perspective

For 100 years, the museum has remained a venue where artists’ associations present their work. The archives exhibition in particular offers an opportunity to see, from an angle different from the masterpieces of the special exhibition, the museum’s role in supporting Ueno’s culture of open-call exhibitions. Autumn and winter exhibitions in Tokyo are summarized in our [Autumn/Winter 2026] recommended exhibitions in Tokyo.

Overview

Facility: Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
Address: 8-36 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Access: 7-minute walk from the Park Exit of JR Ueno Station
Special exhibition: 100th Anniversary of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum — What a Wonderful World: Masterworks from the Musée d’Orsay (Saturday, November 14, 2026 – Sunday, March 28, 2027, Special Exhibition Rooms, adults 2,400 yen, etc.)
Exhibition: 100th Anniversary of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum — For You to Read the World (Thursday, November 19, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday), Galleries A and C, free)
Archives exhibition: 100th Anniversary of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum — Opening the Beginning: 100 Years of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (Thursday, November 19, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday), Gallery B, free)
Hours: 9:30–17:30 (until 20:00 on Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: For the special exhibition, Mondays (open on November 23, January 4, January 11 and March 22), November 24, December 22 – January 3, 2027, January 12 and March 23. For the two free exhibitions, December 7 and December 21 – January 3, 2027
Organizers: Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) and others
Official website: https://www.tobikan.jp/100th/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Postcard of the front of the Tokyo Prefectural Art Museum, published by Kogeisha (from a press release by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on materials released by the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (November 6, 2025) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team