#Crafts

[Autumn/Winter 2026] Aizuwakamatsu Art Guide: Tsuruga-jo Castle Projection Mapping, Sazaedo, Oyakuen Garden and the Fukushima Museum

For three nights from November 20, “Tsuruga-jo Castle Projection Mapping 2026” lights up the keep and stone walls with imagery inspired by Aizu crafts. This guide covers the castle keep, the Fukushima Museum, Oyakuen Garden and the double-spiral Sazaedo to visit by day, with admission, hours and the last loop bus.

[Autumn/Winter 2026] Gifu Park Art Guide: Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition, Gifu Light Story and the Reopened Museum of History

At Gifu Park at the foot of Mount Kinka, an immersive ukiyo-e exhibition and a light event follow one after the other from November to February. We put together a route that also takes in the Gifu City Museum of History, which reopens on November 3, and the Gifu Great Buddha, along with the closure of Gifu Castle and the ropeway’s suspension dates.

Hirosaki Castle Chrysanthemum and Autumn Leaves Festival Ran Until November 8, with Projection Mapping on Flower Art and Bamboo Lanterns

An autumn festival that began in 1962 was held at Hirosaki Park in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, until November 8. Video was projected onto flower art depicting the White Tiger, and bamboo lanterns made with citizens and illuminated cherry and maple trees lit up the park at night.

Contemporary Craft Exhibition “Aikyakuko” at Kyoto’s Ginkaku-ji Ran Until November 10, with Tomioka Tessai’s Sliding-Door Paintings in a Normally Closed Study Hall

Works by 16 artists using clay, lacquer, glass and other materials were shown in the study hall and Shuhoken of Higashiyama Jishoji. The exhibition was supervised by Hiromi Kurosawa, former chief curator of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. Advance registration was required, and admission, including temple entry, was ¥3,000.

Oita Bamboo Craft Event “Take-e” Ran at the Oita Prefectural Art Museum Until November 8, with Live Making, a Bamboo Market and a Lighting Ceremony

In Oita, said to be Japan’s top producer of madake bamboo, this event showed how a single stalk of bamboo becomes an object. Exhibitions and live making by bamboo artists, workshops and a bamboo market ran for 12 days, with light-ups starting from the lighting ceremony.

Tokyo Midtown Yaesu’s Christmas 2026 Lights Up Edo’s Canals, with Tokujin Yoshioka’s “STAR” Also Illuminated

From November 19, Tokyo Midtown Yaesu presents an illumination themed on the canals and ships of the Edo period, in which ships carrying crafts from around Japan as “cargo” travel a route of light. Admission is free.

The 119th Nitten Opens October 30 at The National Art Center, Tokyo, with About 3,000 Works, the New “Mio Prize” and “Touch Viewing”

The open-call exhibition in five divisions, Japanese-style painting, Western-style painting, sculpture, craft art and calligraphy, is held in Roppongi. This year it has established the “Mio Prize” and launched an initiative letting visitors touch some sculptures. It runs until November 22.

Special Exhibition “The Birth of Karamono” at Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum Tokyo from November 3: About 80 Works Including Six National Treasures Trace the Origins of Tea Ceremony Design

The exhibition traces the origins of “karamono,” prized in the tea ceremony of medieval Japan, back to ancient China some 3,000 years ago. A National Treasure landscape attributed to Huizong and the celadon tea bowl “Bakohan” appear in the first and second periods, and a special section features the results of a casting experiment on a gudo flower vase.

Suntory Museum of Art Plans Four Exhibitions for Its 20th Anniversary in Roppongi in 2027, Showing the National Treasure “Choju Giga” for the First Time in 20 Years

Marking 20 years since it relocated and reopened, the Suntory Museum of Art has announced four anniversary exhibitions for 2027. Starting with “KIRIKO,” they continue with Shiba Kokan, the National Treasure “Choju Giga,” and a display of all 20 National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties in its collection.

CURATION⇄FAIR Kyoto Ran Until November 8 at Three Temples in Nishijin, Including Myokenji, with 33 Exhibitors

An art fair spanning eras and fields, from antiques, crafts, modern art and contemporary art to Nordic ceramics and jewelry. Thirty-three exhibitors showed at Myokenji, Honpoji and Myokakuji, and the special exhibition “Ko + Gei” Kyoto 2026 was also held.

“Ceramic Resonance” at Bizen City Museum of Art Until December 20; About 100 Contemporary Ceramic Works by 15 Artists from Across Japan

A special exhibition marking the first anniversary of the Bizen City Museum of Art, which opened in July 2025. With about 100 vessels and objects by 15 artists working in Bizen and in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saga and elsewhere, it presents where contemporary ceramics stands today.

Lisa Larson Memorial Exhibition at Marui Imai in Sapporo from December 4; Tracing the Life of the Swedish Ceramicist

A memorial exhibition for Lisa Larson, the Swedish ceramicist and designer who died in 2024 at the age of 92, opens on December 4 at Marui Imai Sapporo Main Store. It follows the Tokyo venue at Matsuya Ginza in September and October.

“Kazuo Yagi and His Family” at Chiba City Museum of Art from December 9; About 170 Ceramics, Textiles and Sculptures by Six Members of the Yagi Family

The exhibition introduces about 170 works by Kazuo Yagi, who founded the avant-garde ceramics group Sodeisha, and members of his family who worked in ceramics, textiles and sculpture. It is timed to the 70th anniversary of the birth of his second son, sculptor Tadashi Yagi.

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

An exhibition tracing the gaze of people from the early modern to the modern period who were drawn to old masks, collected them and copied them. It introduces Tetsuya Kano’s replica Gigaku masks, a wooden demon mask formerly owned by Takeshiro Matsuura and Noh masks formerly owned by the Mizoguchi family.

“Swedish Textiles” at Setagaya Art Museum Until November 15; About 200 Works, Including Nordic Printed Fabrics

Centered on vintage textiles from the collection of Sara Axtelius, a collector living in Sweden, the exhibition introduces fabrics from the mid-20th century onward from three perspectives: motifs, designers and daily life.

“National Treasure Pine Trees in Snow and the Four Seasons” at Mitsui Memorial Museum from December 12; Okyo’s Screens and Depictions of the Seasons and Weather

Maruyama Okyo’s National Treasure “Pine Trees in Snow,” a year-end and New Year fixture, is shown together with calligraphy, paintings and crafts from the museum’s collection. Focusing on how the seasons and weather are expressed and on “mitate” (visual allusion), the exhibition also includes four “Seashore of the Four Seasons” screens shown for the first time.

[Autumn/Winter 2026] Museum Guide to Okazaki, Kyoto: Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, National Museum of Modern Art and Hosomi Museum

From “Zen and Ghibli” at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art to the jewelry exhibition opening October 24 at the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, here are the exhibitions in the Okazaki area with opening hours, prices, discounts and access, based on official information.

[Autumn/Winter 2026] Art Spots in Kanazawa: Before the 21st Century Museum Closes, Plus the National Crafts Museum and D. T. Suzuki Museum

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa begins a long-term closure on May 6, 2027. To coincide with its final special exhibition before the closure, opening October 31, here are the exhibitions and visitor information for the National Crafts Museum, the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, the D. T. Suzuki Museum and more.

Special Exhibition “Bugaku Costumes” at the Nezu Museum from October 24; About 50 Works Including Costumes from Amano Shrine, Shitennoji and Rinnoji

The exhibition traces the costumes of bugaku, the danced form of gagaku, through items handed down at Amano Shrine on Mount Koya, Shitennoji in Osaka and Rinnoji in Tochigi. According to the museum, about 50 works are on display, including many National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.