Sébastien Raineri

At 23 years young, Art Osaka is going stronger than ever. That’s our main takeaway after the 2025 edition of the longest-running contemporary art fair in Japan ended its five-day programme across two complementary venues: the Osaka City Central Public Hall in Nakanoshima and Creative Center Osaka in Kitakagaya. From June 5 to 9, Osaka once again shone as a vital axis of the country’s contemporary art scene, as it hosted a celebration of cutting-edge work; one that continues to distinguish itself through a dual commitment to curatorial ambition and grassroots creativity. Here are some of the things that caught our eye at Art Osaka 2025. RECOMMENDED: How to see the highlights of Osaka’s arts and culture scene in one day

タイムアウト東京 > アート&カルチャー > 「KYOTOGRAPHIE 2025」に行くべき6のこと 春が広がる京都。写真という芸術メディアを通じた、文化交流のための国内随一の国際的なプラットフォーム「KYOTOGRAPHIE」が開催される時期だ。京都の伝統とイノベーションが融合したこの国際写真祭は、京都1000年の遺産と国際的な文化発信地としての役割が合わさっている。 KYOTOGRAPHIEは単なる国際写真祭ではない。京都への入り口である。京都の寺院、伝統的な町家、近代的なランドマークなど、詩的な背景の中、毎年恒例の本写真祭は、京都という文化都市をオープンエアのギャラリーへと変えていく。 明治時代の酒蔵から京都駅の洗練された鉄骨まで、京都の最も象徴的であり、かつ思いがけない場所に、考え抜かれ、埋め込まれた力強いビジュアルが期待できるのだ。2025年4月12日〜5月11日（日）の会期で開催される今年のテーマは「HUMANITY」。ここでは英語版編集部によるKYOTOGRAPHIEが、毎春アートファンにとって行くべきディスティネーションとなる理由を6つ紹介したい。

The Setouchi Triennale is one of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary art festivals. Since its inception in 2010, the showcase has brought world-class art to the islands of the Seto Inland Sea in the form of site-specific installations, interactive projects, and performances that integrate seamlessly with the natural and cultural environment. Visitors can explore artworks scattered across Naoshima, Teshima, Shodoshima, and around 10 other islands, encountering everything from avant-garde sculptures to traditional crafts reinterpreted in contemporary forms. Returning in 2025 to once again transform the Inland Sea area into a massive open-air museum, the Triennale is held across three seasons: Spring (April 18 to May 25), Summer (August 1 to August 31) and Autumn (October 3 to November 9). The festival always brings together artists from around the world to engage with the region’s rich history, breathtaking landscapes and vibrant local communities, and the 2025 edition will continue this legacy with new commissions that reflect themes of ecology, sustainability and coexistence – urgent topics in an era of climate change and depopulation. Read on for our picks of things not to miss at the 2025 Setouchi Triennale. RECOMMENDED: Check out our ultimate guide to the Setouchi area

As spring unfolds in the ancient city of Kyoto, the spotlight once again turns to Kyotographie – Japan’s premier international platform for the exchange of culture through the artistic medium of photography. Celebrating its home city’s unique blend of tradition and innovation, this festival intertwines Kyoto’s thousand-year legacy with its role as a beacon of international culture. But Kyotographie isn’t just a photo festival: it’s a portal. Set against the poetic backdrop of Kyoto’s temples, teahouses, traditional machiya dwellings and modern landmarks, the annual springtime celebration transforms Japan’s cultural capital into an open-air gallery. Expect powerful visuals thoughtfully embedded in some of the city’s most iconic – and unexpected – venues, from a Meiji-era (1868–1912) sake brewery to the sleek steel face of Kyoto Station. Running from April 12 to May 11, this year’s edition of the festival highlights the unifying theme of ‘Humanity’. Here’s why Kyotographie makes for an essential addition to any art fan’s spring itinerary.

Their time in the subcultural shadows long gone, manga and anime are now common sights at prestigious art museums around the world, with large-scale exhibitions showcasing otaku culture and popular titles popping up from New York and London to Singapore in recent years. But Tokyo is still the world capital of anime and manga shows, and this year brings another packed slate of highlights to exhibition venues around the city. These are our picks of the best displays coming up in 2025 – from cyberpunk dreams and epic sagas to art inspired by the world’s most famous monster. RECOMMENDED: The best art exhibitions to see in Tokyo this year

The art year 2025 in Tokyo is looking packed, with a hefty slate of exhibitions and events highlighting everything from cutting-edge contemporary art to thousand-year old treasures. The visionary sound installations of Ryuichi Sakamoto can be appreciated at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo through the end of March, while spring sees the Mori Museum highlight the intersection of art and digital technology and the Azabudai Hills Gallery showcase the eclectic work of Tomokazu Matsuyama. Big draws in the latter half of the year include an in-depth look at the career of Expo 2025 site designer Sou Fujimoto and the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum’s celebration of 1920s fashion. Mark your calendars… RECOMMENDED: The best new attractions and facilities opening in Tokyo in 2025

Explore how post-war black markets shaped the evolution of Tokyo’s urban fabric at this intriguing exhibition, held at Takashimaya Archives Tokyo on the fourth floor of the Nihombashi Takashimaya department store. On show until February 23 2026, the display marks 80 years since the end of World War II and focuses on the makeshift marketplaces that emerged amid the ruins of Tokyo. During the war, large-scale demolitions, intended to prevent the spread of fires caused by air raids, created vacant lots across the city. In the chaotic years that followed, these empty spaces, together with bombsites and even roadside corners, were transformed into black markets. Known as yami-ichi, they supplied goods and sustenance in a time of scarcity while seeding new social and commercial hubs. Particular attention is given to Shinjuku, where some of the black markets grew into vibrant entertainment districts that remain central to Tokyo’s identity today. And while most of the markets eventually vanished, their traces endure in the city’s streetscapes and neighbourhoods. Curated by Tokukazu Ishigure of Kwansei Gakuin University, the exhibition reframes black markets as more than unlawful encroachments, highlighting their role as catalysts of urban renewal – spaces where disorder gave rise to energy, resilience and reinvention.

One of the world’s largest and most influential gaming events returns to Makuhari Messe over the last weekend of September. The 29th edition of Tokyo Game Show is themed ‘Unlimited, Neverending Playground’, underscoring TGS’s vision of games as a boundless arena where creators and players from around the globe come together to shape the future of entertainment. While September 25-26 is reserved for industry professionals, the show will open to the public on September 27 and 28, welcoming visitors of all ages to experience cutting-edge titles, immersive demos and much more. Across 11 halls, the massive event will showcase the latest innovations from major publishers and independent studios alike, alongside keynote speeches, sponsor sessions and the prestigious Japan Game Awards. A refreshed identity marks TGS 2025, with a newly redesigned logo and a striking main visual by illustrator Zashiki Warashi, signaling a new era for the show. Actor and avid gamer Kanata Hongo, widely recognised for his roles in game and anime adaptations, has been named Official Supporter, lending his enthusiasm and expertise to the event. Highlights include the Red Bull 283 Academy on September 27, where top young players of Street Fighter 6, mentored by pro legends, will face off in a climactic team battle. TGS 2025 promises to be an expansive playground of innovation, creativity and connection for fans and industry insiders alike.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo celebrates its 30th birthday by gathering together over 30 artists and collectives from diverse generations and geographies to reflect on how contemporary art can illuminate the hidden structures of daily life while opening new possibilities for collective imagination. Foregrounding domestic, institutional and urban contexts from households shaped by gender norms to the contested spaces of Okinawa and Mumbai, ‘Choreographies of Everyday’ investigates how subjectivity is formed, constrained and transformed. Newly commissioned works developed through research in Tokyo will join pieces by artists including Satoru Aoyama, Jonathas de Andrade, Mako Idemitsu, Shilpa Gupta and the Rice Brewing Sisters Club. Together, these works confront systemic violence and oppression while highlighting acts of resistance, creativity and humour that endure in the everyday. The exhibition’s title signals both mechanisms of social control and the agency to subvert or transcend them. In that spirit, the show unfolds as a dynamic platform, enriched by performances, talks and workshops throughout its duration.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese women artists briefly rose to prominence within the avant-garde, their work shaped by the influx of the abstraction-heavy Art Informel movement from Europe. Yet as ‘action painting’ in the style of Jackson Pollock, with its emphasis on bold gestures and physical force, gained ground, women’s contributions were increasingly sidelined. The notion of ‘action’ was closely aligned with masculinity, reinforcing traditional gender hierarchies and leaving many female painters absent from critical discourse. This winter exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo seeks to reframe this narrative. On show from December 16 to February 8 2026, ‘Anti-Action: Artist-Women’s Challenges and Responses in Postwar Japan’ revisits a pivotal yet overlooked chapter of Japanese art history. Inspired by Izumi Nakajima’s acclaimed study Anti-Action: Post-War Japanese Art and Women Artists (2019), the exhibition highlights alternative strategies of creation that challenged the dominant ethos of their time. It features approximately 120 works by figures such as Yayoi Kusama, Atsuko Tanaka, Hideko Fukushima and Aiko Miyawaki, alongside lesser-known contemporaries.  Through rare and unpublished works, immersive large-scale installations and fresh scholarly perspectives, ‘Anti-Action’ reveals how these artists redefined the possibilities of art beyond the parameters of physical action, and how their legacies continue to resonate today.

Pop art impresario Andy Warhol (1928–1987) blurred the boundaries between high culture and mass consumption, transforming everyday objects and the faces of celebrities into icons of contemporary art. His fascination with fame, beauty and repetition made him both a mirror of his age and a relentless critic of it, leaving behind a body of work that continues to resonate in today’s image-saturated culture. Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo’s ‘Serial Portraits’ showcase is part of the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s Hors-les-murs program, which brings highlights from its Paris collection to audiences worldwide. This free exhibition focuses on Warhol’s radical reinvention of portraiture, from his playful photo booth experiments in the early 1960s to the spectral self-portraits he made shortly before his death. Highlights like the Self-Portraits series (1977–1986) are displayed alongside both celebrated and lesser-known works to offer insight into Warhol’s evolving exploration of identity, celebrity and the endless possibilities of repetition. By juxtaposing iconic images with hidden gems, the exhibition reveals how Warhol turned portraiture into a stage for both personal reflection and cultural critique.

Marking 100 years since the dawn of the Showa era and 80 years since the end of World War II, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo looks back with ‘Opening Documents, Weaving Memories’, an exhibition that reflects on Japan’s turbulent mid-20th century. With 280 works on view, the display explores how art has served both as a record of history and as a medium for reconstructing memory across generations. Spanning the 1930s to the 1970s, the exhibition unfolds across eight sections that probe the role of painting, photography and film during wartime and its aftermath. Visitors encounter powerful ‘War Record Paintings’, commissioned by the Imperial Japanese army and navy to document battles, alongside intimate portrayals of life on the home front. Works such as Ai-Mitsu’s Self-Portrait (1944) and Ken’Ichi Nakamura’s Kota Bharu (1942) highlight the complex intersections of personal expression and state narrative. Later sections trace the shifting visual language of memory, from depictions of wounded bodies in the 1950s to dialogues prompted by Vietnam War imagery in the 1970s. By juxtaposing propaganda, personal visions and post-war reinterpretations, the exhibition invites audiences to consider how museums can act as repositories of collective memory. In doing so, it opens documents of the past while weaving them into living dialogues with the present and future.

Noritake Suzuki is an acclaimed picture book author known for his wit, vibrant illustrations, and deep empathy for childhood wonder. Born in Hamamatsu in 1975, Suzuki got his big break with Ketchup Man in 2008 and has since captivated readers with hits like the Shigotoba, The Working Place of Japan Professionals series and the bestselling Big Pinch Picture Book, which earned him the top prize at the MOE Picture Book Awards in both 2022 and 2024. From October 8 to December 7, the Play Museum in Tachikawa serves as host for the artist’s imaginative world by way of an exhibition based on Suzuki’s hit Big Pinch book series, which depicts the small yet dramatic ‘crises’ children face in everyday life.  Labelled ‘pinch entertainment’, it’s an immersive experience where you get to step into, play with and even create your own cartoon disasters. From oversized spilt milk to interactive ‘pinch’ games, the exhibition transforms anxiety into laughter. Exclusive to this Play Museum exhibition are original sketches, early illustrations and hands-on installations that visitors of all ages can enjoy. For fans of imaginative storytelling and joyful problem-solving, this is a must-visit celebration of life’s little mishaps.

Hokkaido-born Atsushi Suwa is one of Japan’s foremost contemporary realist painters. Noted for his extraordinary technical mastery, Suwa combines rigorous research with a penetrating gaze, producing works that explore physical likeness and themes such as memory, mythology and the traces of history. His portraits, still lifes and narrative paintings have earned him wide acclaim both in Japan and abroad. From September 11 to March 1 2026, the What Museum on Tennozu Isle presents the artist’s first large-scale solo exhibition in three years. Encompassing around 80 works, the exhibition spans early creations, intimate family portraits and newly painted still lifes, with nearly 30 of the pieces shown publicly for the first time. At the heart of the display is At the Shore (2025), a monumental painting depicting a human-like figure assembled from objects in Suwa’s studio, reflecting the artist’s pandemic-era withdrawal from portraiture and his gradual reawakening to the human form. Curated by Takenori Miyamoto, the exhibition unfolds across five themed rooms and is accompanied by a documentary film and a short story by Akutagawa Prize winner Kaori Fujino.

The visionary behind the Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding series, Hideo Kojima has reshaped the landscape of video games. An uncompromising auteur, he has continually expanded the boundaries of interactive storytelling, blending cinematic ambition with philosophical depth. His studio, Kojima Productions, has established itself as a creative powerhouse since its founding in 2015, producing globally acclaimed titles and cultivating a dedicated following of players and cinephiles alike. Celebrating a decade of innovation, Kojima Productions now invites fans to join an afternoon of reflection, conversation and surprise announcements about the studio’s upcoming projects. ‘Beyond The Strand’, held on September 23 at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills, will be hosted by Hideo Kojima himself, with guest appearances also in the offering. Tickets are available exclusively through a Lawson Ticket lottery beginning September 2 at 10am. Details on a global livestream are expected in the coming weeks, allowing fans around the world to share in this milestone moment.

Marking 80 years since the end of the Pacific War and 40 years since Setagaya’s Peace City Declaration, the Lifestyle Design Center in Sangenjaya’s Carrot Tower invites visitors to reflect on childhood, daily life and peace across the turbulent decades of Showa Japan. Curated by Akio Kasuga, a noted scholar of design and children’s culture and a professor emeritus at Tokyo Zokei University, the exhibition draws from his remarkable collection of more than 6,000 objects. On view are board games, picture books, magazines, toys, school supplies and everyday items spanning the pre-war, wartime and post-war years. These materials reveal how social upheaval, political control and cultural transformation were reflected in the lives of children. The displays capture both the constraints of wartime propaganda and the post-war re-emergence of colour, creativity and hope, from early heroes of manga and animation to the optimism of rapid economic growth. By revisiting the tools of play and learning that shaped generations, the exhibition encourages visitors to consider the enduring themes of war, peace and the future of childhood in Japan.

Few artists have touched the soul of modern art as profoundly as Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). In a mere decade, the Dutchman produced an astonishing body of work, including vivid landscapes, tormented portraits and expressive still lifes, that continues to resonate deeply with audiences worldwide. Yet Van Gogh’s posthumous fame owes much to those closest to him: his brother Theo, Theo’s wife Johanna, and their son Vincent Willem. Together, they ensured that the painter’s vision and legacy would endure for generations. The first exhibition in Japan to focus on the Van Gogh family and their collection, ‘Van Gogh’s Home’ at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum features over 30 of its protagonist’s works, from early drawings to late masterpieces, as well as four letters shown on these shores for the first time. The display traces the journey of the collection from the artist’s death to the present day, with highlights including immersive digital experiences and rarely seen works by Van Gogh’s contemporaries.

This year marks a century since the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris gave birth to the Art Deco movement. The Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum celebrates with a dazzling display highlighting the work of jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels, which won a Grand Prize at the landmark event 100 years ago with creations such as the ‘Entwined Flowers, Red and White Roses’ bracelet. That gemstone-adorned stunner and around 250 other creations from the Art Deco giant, including jewellery, timepieces and accessory cases from the Maison’s patrimonial and private collections, will be exhibited alongside 60 archival documents. The museum’s Main Building, once the residence of Prince Yasuhiko Asaka and itself an architectural masterpiece shaped by the Art Deco spirit, will display rare pieces crafted between the 1910s and 1930s. The annex, meanwhile, will highlight the Maison’s signature savoir-faire, transformable designs and exquisite gemstone artistry. Seeking to facilitate dialogue between history, craftsmanship and design, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover the artistic vitality of Art Deco while celebrating the enduring artistry and innovation of Van Cleef & Arpels. Note that tickets must be purchased for a specified date and time slot. The museum will extend its opening hours to 8pm on November 21, 22, 28 & 29 and December 5 & 6.

Roppongi has long balanced two identities: a hub of world-class museums and cultural spaces by day, and a vibrant party destination after dark. Every autumn, Roppongi Art Night fuses these two sides into a citywide festival of creativity. Held from September 26 to 28, the 14th edition of the event will see streets, plazas, museums and shopping complexes transformed into open-air galleries and performance venues. Themed ‘A Festival of City, Art, and Future’, the 2025 festival features more than 50 programmes by around 30 artists, ranging from installations and performances to video pieces, digital art and workshops. This year’s edition is especially notable for highlighting the latest in Korean art – a focus chosen to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea. Contributing everything from extensive public installations to participatory performances, Korean artists will bring a fresh perspective on urban life, identity and tradition to the capital. Across Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown, the National Art Center, Suntory Museum of Art, 21_21 Design Sight and beyond, you can expect an eclectic journey through art that reflects on the present while imagining possible futures. Here are five highlights not to miss. Digital visions of a dizzying future ‘Delivery Dancer’s Arc: 0° Receiver’, 2024. Photo: Ayoung Kim At Roppongi Hills Arena, a 13-metre-wide LED screen will showcase Seoul-based artist Ayoung Kim’s dazzling video install

Few would argue against the late Leiji Matsumoto as one of Japan’s most visionary manga artists. Best known for sci-fi epics like Space Battleship Yamato, Galaxy Express 999 and Space Pirate Captain Harlock, the Fukuoka native conjured up incredibly intricate worlds to convey a deeply humanistic message. This summer, the master storyteller’s seven-decade career and the creative cosmos he envisioned can be explored in great detail at Tokyo City View, where ‘Leiji Matsumoto Exhibition: A Creative Journey’ is on show until September 7. ©Leiji Matsumoto/Leijisha | Photo: Sébastien Raineri The first large-scale retrospective dedicated to Matsumoto, who passed away in 2023, the exhibition traces the evolution of an artist whose pen moved across space and time with unshakable conviction and emotional resonance. Among the highlights on display is a trove of original drawings discovered in the artist’s studio after his death, each a testament to his precision, poetic imagination and narrative mastery. These hand-drawn works, some shown for the first time, allow you to rediscover Matsumoto as both a craftsman and a dreamer. Here’s what else to look forward to at the exhibition. The departure platform in the sky Before stepping into the world of Leiji Matsumoto’s imagination, you’re invited to begin your travels in the sky. High above the city, a familiar scene awaits: an evocative recreation of the departure platform from Galaxy Express 999. ©Leiji Matsumoto/Leijisha | Photo: Sébast

From the dreamlike forests of My Neighbor Totoro to the bustling bathhouse of Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli has enchanted audiences around the world with unforgettable visuals as much as with its acclaimed poetic storytelling. Over the four decades since Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki co-founded the studio back in 1985, Ghibli has cultivated an imagery so recognisable that it’s come to be considered a style all unto its own – as the recent brouhaha over AI-generated Ghibli art proved. This summer, Miyazaki and co’s magical universe takes physical form at Tennozu Isle, where Warehouse Terrada B&C Hall is hosting the Studio Ghibli 3D Sculpture Exhibition until September 23. Both a meticulous exploration of iconic Ghibli scenes and a celebration of the international bonds that have carried the studio’s stories far beyond Japan’s shores, the show offers an unmissable opportunity to see, feel and experience some of your favourite Ghibli moments in an all-new format. A new dimension of animation Photo: Sébastien RaineriThe bakery from ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ The centrepiece of the exhibition is an extraordinary collection of three-dimensional models and sculptures, each capturing a key scene from some of Ghibli’s most iconic films. Titles such as Kiki’s Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, Pom Poko and My Neighbor Totoro come alive in everything from miniature landscapes to life-sized recreations, allowing you to step into spaces once confined to the tw

Seventy years after the King of the Monsters first emerged from the depths of the Pacific, Godzilla returns to Tokyo by way of a sweeping, boundary-defying art exhibition at the Mori Arts Center Gallery. Running until June 29, ‘Godzilla The Art Exhibition’ marks the fifth instalment of the celebrated Godzilla: The Art series and one of the most ambitious artistic reinterpretations of the cinematic icon to date. The exhibition employs contemporary art to showcase Godzilla as a mirror for modern anxieties, a symbol of cyclical destruction and rebirth, and an evolving artistic archetype capable of speaking across media, cultures and generations. It’s also an absolute blast, providing a monster-sized serving of material for die-hard Big G fans and lizard laypeople alike to geek out over. Art beyond the silver screen Ever since making its first cinematic appearance in 1954, Godzilla has loomed large as a vessel for cultural and historical tensions. Born from the trauma of nuclear warfare and inspired by the real-world fallout of hydrogen bomb testing, the irradiated lizard initially symbolised Japan’s post-war fears. But over time, this figure has taken on new shapes: protector, anti-hero, metaphor for environmental catastrophe. Photo: Maki Matsumoto | Haroshi "GODZILLA" TM ＆ © TOHO CO., LTD. © HAROSHI Courtesy of NANZUKA | Roby dwi Antono "Godzi-lab" TM ＆ © TOHO CO., LTD. © Roby Dwi Antono Courtesy of NANZUKA ‘Godzilla The Art Exhibition’ makes it clear that there’s no single a

If you’re looking to escape the city and soak up some inspiration in soothing surroundings this Golden Week, consider heading out to the Hyogo coast between May 4 and 6. That’s when the Hayashisaki Matsue Beach House in the city of Akashi will open its doors for ‘The Homesick Moon’, a collaborative exhibition between celebrated Thai artist Juli Baker & Summer and Akio Isshiki Architects. Photo: Ludovic BalayInside the house at Hayashisaki Matsue Beach The venue, a 50-year-old seaside home lovingly restored by and for the aforementioned architectural firm, provides an immersive environment for an event that blends art, architecture and dialogue while reflecting on memory, light and place. Photo: Yosuke OhtakeThe venue seen from the outside Known for her radiant illustrations and poetic storytelling, Juli Baker & Summer presents a series of lantern-inspired works designed to harmonise with the house’s warm, nostalgic atmosphere. Her exhibition explores the emotional resonance of light and how it connects rural and urban experiences, past and present, and homesickness and belonging. Photo: SuppliedArtwork by Juli Baker & Summer The event also features a series of talks and a portrait workshop, including a talk session on May 4 about regional revitalisation through international artistic collaboration, and a family-friendly portrait session with Juli Baker & Summer on May 5. Proceedings will close with a discussion on the intersection of art and architecture on May 6. The e

Deservedly known as the ‘God of Manga’, Osamu Tezuka continues to loom large over Japanese pop culture more than 35 years after his passing. A visionary whose artistic and philosophical contribution to the medium of comics is without equal, the Osaka native created a wealth of works now considered masterpieces. Phoenix (Hinotori; 1967–1988), however, stands apart as Tezuka’s self-proclaimed ‘life’s work’: a sprawling epic that weaves together past and future, delving into profound questions about life, death, and humanity’s eternal struggle for meaning. Tokyo City View at Roppongi Hills now presents the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to this epic saga. Running from March 7 to May 19 2025, ‘Osamu Tezuka’s “Hinotori” Exhibition’ offers an unprecedented look into the artist’s most monumental undertaking. It’s a display worth making the trip for, whether you’re a hardcore Tezuka acolyte or a complete newcomer to the manga form. Photo: Sébastien Raineri The god of manga Over the course of a career that spanned more than four decades – from the immediate post-World War II period to the dawn of the Heisei era – Osamu Tezuka revolutionised the medium of comics, shaping its narrative and artistic conventions. With more than 700 titles and 150,000 pages, his extensive body of work laid the foundation for modern manga and anime. Born in 1928, Tezuka’s artistic vision was shaped by Western cinema, early Disney animation, and Japanese storytelling traditions. His breakthrough wo

If your familiarity with Ryuichi Sakamoto is limited to his scores for films like Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence and The Last Emperor, a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo this winter or spring may prove startling and satisfying in equal measure. At ‘Ryuichi Sakamoto: seeing sound, hearing time’, on at the MOT until March 30 2025, the interdisciplinary segment of Sakamoto’s oeuvre takes on a monumental dimension by way of a multisensory experience that connects sound, space and time. Encouraging contemplation, lingering and meditation, the immersive retrospective offers an unparalleled opportunity to discover the artist’s sound installations and traces his experimental and pioneering journey through landmark pieces as well as previously unseen works conceived shortly before his untimely death in 2023. Photo: Kisa Toyoshima Room-sized artworks explore Sakamoto’s concept of ‘installation music’, under which the artist and his collaborators designed environments for the public to experience sound in physical space. These three-dimensional experiences interact dynamically with the museum’s architecture and highlight Sakamoto’s understanding of technology as an essential tool for making sense of the world as a whole, including the relationship between humans and their environment. An eclectic career – and a lingering influence Born in Tokyo in 1952, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s passion for music began early, inspired by a home rich in art and literature. His love for Debussy an