“The Moon and the Stars: When Art Connects” at Chiba City Museum of Art Until November 23; Chiba’s 900th Anniversary, from Myoken Worship to Contemporary Art

The Chiba 900th anniversary special exhibition “The Moon and the Stars: When Art Connects” is on view at the Chiba City Museum of Art (Chuo-ku, Chiba) until Monday, November 23 (national holiday). Centered on Myoken, whom the Chiba clan worshipped as its guardian, the exhibition traces depictions related to the moon and stars through about 150 works, from early modern art to contemporary art. Shunkei Taoka’s restored large mural “The Appearance of Myoken” and Tatsuo Miyajima’s installation “Chi no Ten (Heaven on Earth)” are shown for the first time since their restoration.

Why now? Chiba’s 900th anniversary and Myoken worship

According to the museum, the history of the city of Chiba begins in 1126 (the first year of the Daiji era), in the late Heian period. That year, Taira no Tsuneshige moved his base to near present-day Inohana in Chuo-ku, Chiba, and took the name “Chiba.” 2026 marks 900 years since then.

Myoken, the guardian of the Chiba clan, is a deification of the Pole Star and the Big Dipper that revolves around it. The museum explains that Myoken was widely revered as a deity who watches over people from the heavens, shows them direction and governs their fate.

The museum also cites the passing on of the artistic culture woven in Chiba as one of the exhibition’s important themes. The restoration of the large mural “The Appearance of Myoken” was carried out by the City of Chiba as part of the Chiba 900th anniversary projects. The year before, in 2025, the museum also held the special exhibition “30th Anniversary of the Museum and Chiba 900th Anniversary: A Stroll Through Chiba Art.”

What can visitors see? From illustrated scrolls and astronomical materials to contemporary art

The exhibition is in three parts. According to the list of works, it uses multiple locations in the building, including the galleries and lobbies on the 8th and 7th floors, the 5th-floor lobby, the 4th-floor library and Sayado Hall on the 1st floor.

• Part I “From ‘Chiba’s 900th Anniversary’ to ‘The Moon and the Stars’: Chiba Myoken and the City of Chiba”: The Chiba Prefecture–designated Tangible Cultural Properties “Illustrated Scrolls of the Great Origin of Chiba Myoken” (text compiled in the Muromachi period, 16th century; paintings from the early Edo period; Eifukuji) and “Gilt-Bronze Openwork Hexagonal Hanging Lantern” (Eifukuji), works conveying the city of Chiba in the Edo period and Chiba and the moon and stars in Edo literature, Shunkei Taoka’s large mural and more

• Part II “The Faith and Forms of the Stars: Starting from the Little-Known Collection of the ‘Castle Planetarium’”: Centered on astronomical materials from the Chiba City Folk Museum, including Wang Zhiyuan’s “Chunyou Astronomical Chart” (rubbing of a stone carving from the Southern Song dynasty, 1247), Shibukawa Harumi’s “Map of the Astronomical Divisions” (published 1677), the “Brunacci Celestial Globe Map” (1687) and Katsushika Hokusai’s “Fuji from Torigoe” from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji

• Part III “Art Around the Moon and Stars Today and Tomorrow: Constellations Drawn by the Contemporary Art Collection and Nine Artists and Artist Units”: The museum’s contemporary art collection and works by nine contemporary artists and artist units

The scrolls are rerolled to show different scenes, and the albums have their pages turned during the run. Exhibits may also change due to circumstances.

Shown for the first time after restoration: Shunkei Taoka’s large mural and Tatsuo Miyajima’s “Chi no Ten”

Shunkei Taoka (1887–1969), born in Tokushima Prefecture, was a nanga (literati-style) painter associated with Chiba City. “The Appearance of Myoken” (1967, Chiba City Folk Museum; listed in the list of works with a slightly different spelling of the title) was commissioned by the city to coincide with the opening of the Chiba City Local History Museum (now the Chiba City Folk Museum). It is a large ink-and-color painting measuring 8.23 m wide and 3.6 m high, said to have been painted over about three months by Shunkei, then 81 and in the last years of his life, with his disciples at the shrine office of Inage Sengen Shrine.

Its composition refers to the “Battle of Yukino” scene in the “Illustrated Scrolls of the Great Origin of Chiba Myoken,” which is also shown in Part I. Owing to its size and condition, the mural had been withheld from public view, but it was restored as a Chiba 900th anniversary project.

Tatsuo Miyajima’s “Chi no Ten (Heaven on Earth)” (1996, Chiba City Museum of Art) is a large-scale installation 980 cm in diameter made with light-emitting diodes, ICs and wooden panels. It is on view in the 7th-floor gallery, and a 1995 drawing for “Chi no Ten” can also be seen in the 8th-floor gallery.

Nine contemporary artists and artist units, and the museum’s collection

Part III also introduces the museum’s contemporary art collection, including Kiyoshi Hasegawa’s “Magic” (1925), Tetsuro Komai’s “Gift of the Moon” (1952) and Yayoi Kusama’s “Nebula” (1990). The retrospective marking 50 years since Tetsuro Komai’s death continues from The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama to the Setagaya Art Museum.

The nine contemporary artists and artist units are Noe Aoki, Takuma Uematsu, Rikako Kawauchi, Akiko & Masako Takada, Atsuhiko Misawa, Yuri Miyauchi, Tatsuo Miyajima, Nozomu Watanabe and Yasuko Watanabe. According to the museum’s press materials, new and unreleased works on the theme of stars are shown for the exhibition. The main works by artists other than Miyajima are as follows (from the list of works).

• Noe Aoki: “Kotai” (Body of Light) (2026), in iron and glass

• Takuma Uematsu: Neon-tube work “same but different” (2024) and others

• Rikako Kawauchi: Oil painting “Stars Through a Spider Web” (2026) and others

• Akiko & Masako Takada: “The tiers of spacetime” (2026), using telescopes and paper tubes, and others

• Atsuhiko Misawa: “Animal 2023-01” (2023), displayed in Sayado Hall on the 1st floor

• Yuri Miyauchi: “Stars and Territory” (2026), using ink, embroidery and video on cotton cloth

• Nozomu Watanabe: “Seven Stones” (2026), with stone, concrete fragments and video, and others

• Yasuko Watanabe: Handmade felt work “Dear outside” (2017) and others

Tickets, prices, access and related events

Admission is 1,500 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for university students, and free for elementary, junior high and high school students. Groups of 20 or more and Chiba City residents aged 65 and over pay 1,200 yen for adults and 800 yen for university students. Holders of a disability certificate and one caregiver are admitted free. After 18:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, the “Night Museum Discount” gives 20% off. The exhibition ticket also gives access to “Selections from the Chiba City Museum of Art Collection” in the 5th-floor collection galleries.

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; last entry 30 minutes before closing). The galleries are closed on Mondays but open on the final day, Monday, November 23 (national holiday). The address is 3-10-8 Chuo, Chuo-ku, Chiba. It is about a 15-minute walk from the East Exit of JR Chiba Station, about 10 minutes from the East Exit of Keisei Chiba-chuo Station and 5 minutes from Yoshikawa-koen Station on the Chiba Urban Monorail (trains bound for Kenchomae).

An artist talk is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 14:00–15:30 (doors expected to open at 13:30), with Noe Aoki, Rikako Kawauchi, Akiko & Masako Takada, Deputy Director Tomoko Matsuo and curator Keisuke Mori. The same day is also a childcare service day. On Monday, November 9, a live performance by Ren Takada and GOOD LUCK HEIWA, “The Moon and the Stars: When Music Connects,” will be held (doors 17:00, start 18:00). Volunteers give gallery talks every Wednesday from 14:00. Check the official website for venues and how to participate.

The exhibition catalog (192 pages, 20 cm × 20 cm, 3,200 yen plus tax) is scheduled for publication in mid-November, and reservations are being accepted at the museum shop. It contains images and commentary for all exhibited works and newly shot installation views.

Editor’s perspective

The exhibition links the faith of the clan from which the city began, through the theme of stars, from old art to contemporary art. A medieval illustrated scroll, a large Showa-era mural that refers to it, astronomical materials and new works from 2026 are displayed in the same building. The museum’s theme of “passing on” is expressed most concretely in the two major works shown after restoration.

About a month of the run remains. The museum is open until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, with discounted admission after 18:00. The museum’s next special exhibition is “Kazuo Yagi and His Family,” opening on December 9.

Overview

Name: Chiba 900th Anniversary Special Exhibition: The Moon and the Stars: When Art Connects
Dates: Wednesday, September 16 – Monday, November 23, 2026 (national holiday)
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23)
Venue: Chiba City Museum of Art
Address: 3-10-8 Chuo, Chuo-ku, Chiba
Admission: Adults 1,500 yen, university students 1,000 yen, elementary, junior high and high school students free (groups of 20 or more and Chiba City residents aged 65 and over: adults 1,200 yen, university students 800 yen; holders of a disability certificate and one caregiver free)
Organizer: Chiba City Museum of Art
Official website: https://www.ccma-net.jp/exhibitions/special/26-9-16-11-23/
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Reference image: Katsushika Hokusai, “Fuji from Torigoe” from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (public domain, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Chiba City Museum of Art (September 4, 2026 and February 4, 2025) and information on its official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team