8 best art exhibitions showing in Osaka right now

The weird yet undeniably adorable Myaku-Myaku emerged as the breakout celebrity of the now-concluded Osaka Expo. Held at the 9th-floor event hall of Kintetsu Department Store in Abeno Harukas, this free exhibition explores the mascot’s lasting legacy, charting its rise from creation and early popularity to its enduring status as the face of the world’s fair.

Presented through news photography taken before and during the Expo, the exhibition also serves as a visual record of Japan’s biggest event of 2025, told through its most recognisable star. The showcase unfolds in chronological chapters, tracing the key stages in Myaku-Myaku’s life.

Here, you’ll learn how the character was born from a public design competition. The winning entry was created by picture-book author Kohei Yamashita, who envisioned Myaku-Myaku as a mysterious creature designed to leave room for imagination.

The exhibition then follows its nationwide appearances at pre-Expo publicity events, before assuming its intended role at the Expo site itself: engaging with visitors and collaborating with pavilions, celebrities and other popular characters. By the end, Myaku-Myaku had become so synonymous with the Expo that fans formed long queues simply to take photographs with its statues, ultimately cementing its status as a true Osaka icon.

The National Museum of Art, Osaka’s regular Collection exhibitions offer a glimpse into the museum’s extensive holdings, which span primarily from the 19th to early 20th century. Collection 2, however, adds a special feature to complement the usual Collection Highlights.

Titled ‘The Imaginative Power of the 21st Century’, the special presentation reflects on the first 25 years of this century, exploring both our current state of affairs and the trajectory ahead. At the turn of the millennium, few could have predicted the sweeping changes that had come to completely transform our lives, values and perspectives. This exhibition examines our recent history through contemporary works created over the past quarter-century.

The Collection Highlights section is lighter in subject matter, showcasing some of the museum’s most iconic works alongside recent acquisitions. Notable new additions include pieces by Joseph Beuys, Takashi Murakami, Maureen Gallace and Maria Farrar.

Generally speaking, surrealism has become synonymous with Salvador Dali and his iconic images of melting clocks, ants and elephants with long, spindly legs. However, the movement has evolved far beyond those otherworldly motifs since Andre Breton first defined the term in 1924.

Characterised by dream-like atmospheres and unsettling imagery, surrealism was initially an artistic expression focussed on exploring the subconscious mind, spurred on by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theories. But over the decades, its influence has penetrated many aspects of everyday life.

A century after its emergence, this exhibition at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka brings together a comprehensive selection of masterpieces from collections across Japan to showcase surrealism’s wide-ranging reach. These works allow you to explore how the movement has shaped everything from advertising and fashion to interior design, and witness its enduring impact on culture.

Since opening in 1982 with the renowned Ataka Collection of Chinese and Korean ceramics, the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka has expanded steadily over the past forty years. The museum owes much of this growth to the generosity of donors, among them Dr. Lee Byeong-Chang, who gifted a significant assemblage of Korean works. This expansive exhibition highlights both the depth and quality of these contributions.

The main highlight is the Shokei Collection, which is being exhibited for the first time ever. This remarkable array of tea utensils from China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan includes scoops, kettles, hanging scrolls and a rare 12th-century waka (a traditional form of Japanese poetry) manuscript fragment, along with many other implements essential to the tea ceremony.

Also on display are exceptional Chinese ceramic wine vessels from the Iriye Masanobu Collection, and a comprehensive historical grouping of Chinese ceramics from the Hakutoro Collection. Additionally, the series of burial figurines and mingqi (spirit objects) from the Umino Nobuyoshi Collection dates from the Han to the Tang dynasties.

The exhibition further includes a selection of Korean ceramics and related materials formerly owned by Asakawa Noritaka, an influential scholar who helped introduce the beauty of Korean ceramics to Japan.

One of the most prolific artists of our time, Yayoi Kusama has created a strikingly diverse body of work spanning painting, sculpture, performance art and fashion. Yet across all mediums, her art is consistently defined by themes of obsessive repetition and proliferation, expressions she has described as a form of ‘self-therapy’ born from her hallucinations.

What sets Kusama apart is her ability to continually reinvent these signature motifs in imaginative ways. Her work always feels fresh, even as it remains instantly recognisable. This thematic continuity is on display in the small but curated exhibition now showing at Espace Louis Vuitton Osaka until January 2026. Titled ‘Infinity – Selected Works From The Collection’, the showcase brings together pieces from her early career through to her most recent creations.

The clear highlight of the exhibition is the Infinity Room, which transforms her repetitive motifs into a physical, immersive experience. ‘Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli’s Field (or Floor Show)’ (1965/2013) is one of the earliest works in her widely celebrated ‘Infinity Mirror Room’ series.

The 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris was a landmark event in art history. It marked the launch of the Art Deco movement, one of the most influential design styles of the 20th century. For its centenary celebration in 2025, the Nakanoshima Museum of Art is hosting a special exhibition focused on the graphic art and design of the era, with a particular emphasis on its portrayal of women.

You can expect to see rare and exquisite Art Deco works from across Europe, especially France, including jewellery, perfume bottles, dresses and classic cars. The exhibition also features around 100 vintage posters that capture the glamorous image of the modern woman as envisioned a century ago.

As 2026 marks 160 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Italy, the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts is showcasing selected works from the Italy Pavilion of the now-concluded Osaka Expo. The three principal pieces on display exemplify the universal human ideals of faith, justice and knowledge.

Measuring 193cm in height, the imposing Farnese Atlas from the 2nd century AD is widely celebrated as one of the greatest examples of classical sculpture. It depicts the giant Atlas from Greek mythology carrying the celestial sphere on his shoulders, with the globe intricately carved with constellations and the zodiac.

The Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci created the Codex Atlanticus in the 15th century, a collection of drawings and writings covering his wide-ranging intellectual pursuits, from mathematics and astronomy to civil engineering and military technology. Selected pages from this collection are being displayed in Japan for the first time.

Completing the trio is the Banner of Justice (1496) by Pietro Vannucci, known as Perugino, the esteemed teacher of another Renaissance figure, Raphael. This oil-on-canvas painting is a notable example of religious art from the Italian Renaissance.