17 hours Ago By Ashley Tsuruoka
This time of year, you’ll find exhibitions that celebrate the season’s harvest, ikebana or textile works that harness fall plants and flowers, or hands-on workshops that, much like the season, inspire creative change. Autumn signifies many things, but for the artists of Japan, it’s —autumn of art. Have a full-day art walk through stylish neighborhoods like Shimokitazawa and Roppongi or visit a special gallery to appreciate rice field art, autumn ikebana, mid-autumn moon sculptures and more.
Here’s a look at some autumn art events inspiring an artful fall in Tokyo this year. Giant (moon) and (rabbit) sculptures, sound and light installations, handcrafted plants that glow in the moonlight and other delightful artworks will be scattered throughout Shimokitazawa. Just in time for (moon viewing), you may take part in many activities such as “harvest moon yoga” on the rooftop, crafting moon-rabbit bamboo lanterns and tasting many tsukimi-inspired treats.
Moon Art Night also encourages artistic exploration through a “Moon Viewing Stamp Rally,” where you can collect digital art stamps at participating locations and win a special Rabbit NFT. Experimental environments, architectural illuminations, multimedia sculptures and many otherworldly artworks created by distinguished international and Japanese artists will be exhibited throughout Roppongi. The theme “a festival of city, art and future” will spread throughout Roppongi Hills, The National Art Center, Mori Art Museum, Suntory Museum of Art and other spaces in the city.
There will also be special performances by the Watermelon Sisters drag queens as well as MeimageDance Taiwanese dancers. Pottery craftsmen from Saga, the birthplace of Japanese ceramics, will gather at Tachikawa Pottery Market to share autumn-colored decorative items and tableware that pair beautifully with tasty fall dishes. An exhibition of highly regarded porcelain and lacquerware craftsmen, as well as a “Crafts Marche” between pottery artists from all over the Kanto region, will also be held.
Cozy up your living space with a fall-inspired Japanese pottery piece. Did you know Shibuya is full of cultural facilities dedicated to contemporary and traditional Japanese arts? Well, this event was created in hopes of promoting a new image of the scrambled city. Begin your walk at a participating location, such as Toguri Museum of Art, Shibuya City Shoto Museum of Art, Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre, Jissen Women’s University Kosetsu Memorial Museum and other museums in Shibuya.
At your first location, grab a “Shibu Art & Walk” leaflet to join the stamp rally. Collect two stamps at other locations to receive a novelty gift. If you love art walks, autumn and Shibuya, then you’ll love Shibu Art & Walk.
Artists who use fabric as a means of creative expression will hold various hands-on workshops at the Kinuta Cloth art event. As you stroll through Kinuta Park, delight in colorful Kinuta cloth displays blowing in the wind and blending in with the season’s palette. Learn the history of Kinuta fabric as you dye or print your own handkerchief using autumnal plants and flowers harvested from the park.
Afterward, lay down your own cloth blanket and enjoy a peaceful fall picnic. Autumnal are flower arrangements made of marigolds, pomegranates, maple leaves (a thistle used to make soba), trifoliate orange and many other that bloom and ripen early in autumn. The 105th Sogestsu Ikebana exhibit at Nihonbashi Takashimaya will be a grand display of autumnal ikebana masterpieces.
Having gathered plants and flowers that flourish during the autumn season, masters of the Japanese flower arrangement will intuitively arrange their materials on site in a limited time frame, finding a balance between shapes, colors, textures and movement. Feel the connection between artists, ikebana masterpieces, and the beauty of the season. It has been said that Japanese woodblock prints inspired impressionist and post-impressionist artists of the West, including Monet and Van Goh.
At Immersive Museum Tokyo, grand displays of Hokusai’s “Great Wave” will undulate side by side with Van Goh’s “Starry Night.” Other scenes, including European and Japanese landscapes, will also engulf the space. As you step into these immersive paintings, experience a special connection between East and West, past and present, and the changing seasons.
Illustrations, photographs and (colorful woodblock prints)—of autumn rice harvesting will be on display at the “Autumn, Gratitude for the Harvest” exhibition. At Obento Gallery, you’ll see nishiki-e of rice fields, storehouses and waterwheels, as well as photographs of farmers. Detailed works give insight into the laborious cultivation process—planting rice, cutting stalks with a sickle, hanging it to dry, removing husks (threshing) and polishing brown rice into white.
Images of popular rice field art using ornamental rice will also be on display. The Japanese idiom “ ,” or grain hardship, describes how each and every grain is a symbol of a farmer’s hardship. Through this exhibition, we are reminded to appreciate the bounty autumn brings.
Handmade nut wreaths, food replica charms and autumn-scented candles are some of the crafts you’ll create at Autumn Walk at Tenbo Park. Perfect for families with children, enjoy the feeling of (admiring the changing leaves) indoors with seasonal decorations, autumn-themed books, autumn-inspired food items and mid-autumn moon drinks. They will also hold a tsukimi moon and star gazing event, in which a telescopic view of the moon will be projected.
Every autumn, the entire city of Tokyo dedicates a week to creative diversity through Art Week Tokyo. Over 50 museums, galleries and cultural institutions will present artists in various fields, including architecture and culinary arts, offering plenty of exciting multi-sensory experiences. Hop on the free AWT Shuttle Bus to visit all exhibiting locations and enjoy a day filled with the best of culture and autumn art in Tokyo.
.
