“Seiji Togo: 130th Anniversary of His Birth” at the SOMPO Museum of Art from January 9, 2027; About 100 Paintings and Commercial Design

At the SOMPO Museum of Art in Shinjuku, Tokyo, “Seiji Togo: 130th Anniversary of His Birth,” commemorating the museum’s 50th anniversary, will be held from Saturday, January 9 to Sunday, February 21, 2027. It is a retrospective of the Western-style painter Seiji Togo (1897–1978), who was deeply involved in founding the museum. According to the museum, it will show about 100 paintings, one of the largest selections ever, together with about 100 related materials from his commercial design work, such as book designs, illustrations and confectionery packaging. It will be his first solo exhibition in Tokyo in seven years.

Seiji Togo and the SOMPO Museum of Art: why the museum features Togo for its 50th anniversary

The SOMPO Museum of Art opened in July 1976 as the “Seiji Togo Museum of Art” on the 42nd floor of the Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance head office building, with Togo’s cooperation. At its opening, Togo provided works for it. In April 1978, following Togo’s death, his family donated 345 works, 156 of them by Togo himself. The museum says it now holds the largest collection of Seiji Togo’s works in Japan.

The museum’s name changed to the “Yasuda Kasai Seiji Togo Museum of Art” (1987), the “Sompo Japan Seiji Togo Museum of Art” (2002) and the “Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art” (2014), and it took its current name in April 2020. In July of that year, it moved to a new museum building on the grounds of the Sompo Japan head office. This exhibition commemorates the museum’s 50th anniversary and also marks the 130th anniversary of Togo’s birth. Also commemorating its 50th anniversary, the museum is currently holding “Albert Marquet” until December 13.

What works can be seen? Four chapters and a column

According to press materials released in September 2026, the exhibition centers on works and related materials in the museum’s collection and is organized in four chapters and a column.

1. Chapter 1 “Early Years: Exploring the European Avant-Garde”: Early works influenced by Futurism and Cubism

2. Chapter 2 “Maturity: ‘Seiji Beauties,’ or the ‘Togo Style’”: The period in which he established his graceful images of women

3. Chapter 3 “Activities in Other Fields: Book Design, Writing and Commercial Design”

4. Column “The Charm of Drawing: The Bearing of Figures and Street Scenes”: Sketches of people and street scenes

5. Chapter 4 “Late Years: Inspiration from Distant Lands”: Large works based on ideas gained on travels abroad

Main works include “Playing the Double Bass” (1915), “Surrealist Stroll” (1929), “Black Gloves” (1933), “Breeze” (1937), “Nostalgia” (1959), “Old Castle of Montalbán” in conté and watercolor (1962), “Moroccan Girl” (1967), “Leda” (1968), “Valley of the Kings” (1973), “Tassili” (1974) and “Ramesses’ Favorite Consort” (1976). “Valley of the Kings” measures 226.7 × 144.4 cm and “Tassili” 226.5 × 181.5 cm. Among the materials are his design for Chiyo Uno’s book “Why Are Poppies Red?” (Chuokoron-sha, 1930), his design and illustrations for “Les Enfants Terribles” (Hakusuisha, 1930), and the “Seijo Alps Co., Ltd. wrapping paper” based on Togo’s original artwork. Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” is also shown in the collection corner.

From avant-garde painter to “Seiji beauties” and commercial design

According to the chronology in the press materials, Togo was born in Kagoshima and moved to Tokyo as a child. In 1915, at age 18, he held his first solo exhibition under the name Seiji Togo, presenting avant-garde works reminiscent of Futurism and Cubism. The following year, at the 3rd Nika Exhibition, he won the Nika Prize on his first acceptance. He stayed in France for about seven years from 1921, and after returning to Japan he worked with the Nika Association as his base. The images of women he painted in the 1930s were called the “Togo style” and “Seiji beauties.” After the war he devoted himself to reviving the Nika Association, becoming its chairman and a director in 1961. From 1967 he traveled to the Middle East, North Africa, South America and elsewhere, and he died suddenly in 1978.

His work in commercial art was also wide-ranging. In the early 1930s he designed insurance leaflets and posters for Tokyo Fire Insurance, and in 1934 “Black Gloves” appeared on the cover of a fire insurance brochure. He also provided original artwork for customer calendars for Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance (now Sompo Japan Insurance) and for wrapping paper, paper boxes and tins for Seijo Alps, and from around the 1950s his work spread to wrapping paper and cookie tins for Japanese and Western confectioners. Goods such as folding fans, furoshiki and promotional calendars are also introduced.

Tickets, prices and related events

Admission for adults (26 and over) is 1,600 yen for same-day tickets and 1,500 yen for tickets bought in advance. For those 25 and under, same-day tickets are 1,100 yen and advance tickets 1,000 yen, with proof of date of birth required (age at the time of the visit applies). Elementary, junior high and high school students and holders of a disability certificate are admitted free, as is up to one caregiver. Holders of an atomic bomb survivor’s health handbook are also admitted free. No group tickets are sold.

Advance tickets and pair tickets are scheduled to go on sale on Wednesday, December 9, 2026; details of the pair tickets have not been announced. If the galleries become crowded beyond a certain number of visitors, entry may be restricted.

On Monday, February 15, 2027, a day the museum is closed, a participatory viewing session, “Gallery ★ de ★ Talk Art,” in which volunteer guides and participants discuss what they feel when looking at the works, will be held from 14:00 to 16:00. Capacity is 50 (first come, first served), the fee is 1,600 yen (free for high school students and younger), and online applications open at 10:00 on Friday, January 8, 2027.

Access and opening hours

The address is 1-26-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. It is a 5-minute walk from the West Exit of JR Shinjuku Station and from Shinjuku Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, a 6-minute walk from Exit C13 of Nishi-Shinjuku Station on the Marunouchi Line, and a 7-minute walk from Seibu-Shinjuku Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line and from Exit A1 of Tochomae Station on the Toei Oedo Line. The museum has no parking of its own.

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is closed on Mondays and on January 12, but open on January 11. If JR and other lines suspend services in advance because of a typhoon, heavy snow or similar, the museum may close temporarily.

Editor’s perspective

The use of Togo’s original artwork in insurance brochures and calendars overlaps with the origins of the museum, which began as the “Seiji Togo Museum of Art” in an insurance company’s head office building.

The early “Surrealist Stroll” is also listed among the main works in “Synchronic Constellations” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (until December 13). The same work is placed in different contexts in that exhibition, which reexamines modern art in Taiwan and Japan, and in this one, which surveys Togo’s career through the museum’s collection.

Overview

Name: Seiji Togo: 130th Anniversary of His Birth, Commemorating the Museum’s 50th Anniversary
Dates: Saturday, January 9 – Sunday, February 21, 2027
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on January 11), January 12
Venue: SOMPO Museum of Art
Address: 1-26-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Admission: Adults (26 and over): same-day 1,600 yen, advance 1,500 yen. 25 and under: same-day 1,100 yen, advance 1,000 yen. Free for elementary, junior high and high school students and holders of a disability certificate
Organizers: SOMPO Museum of Art, The Yomiuri Shimbun
Special sponsor: SOMPO Holdings
Special cooperation: Sompo Japan
Supported by: Shinjuku City, Nika Association
Inquiries: 050-5541-8600 (Hello Dial)
Official website: https://www.sompo-museum.org/exhibitions/2025/togoseiji-130th-anniversary/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Exterior of the SOMPO Museum of Art, January 2024 (photo: Asanagi, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the SOMPO Museum of Art (September 18, 2026) and information on its official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team