Things to do in Tokyo today

Note: The dates and hours of this event may change due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Please see the official website for the latest details. A celebration of art and culture set in the forest surrounding Meiji Shrine, this festival – co-presented by Japan Cultural Expo – zooms in on the relationship between nature and Japanese arts and culture with a diverse programme that will be going on until 2021. Held at Meiji Shrine itself, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, as well as at various venues in the vicinity, the festival kicks off in March 2020 with ‘Tenkukaikatsu’, an open-air sculpture exhibition that features work by leading artists such as Kohei Nawa and Atsuhiko Misawa. Their contributions draw on the unique environment they are displayed in, as well as on the history and culture of the shrine. Another noteworthy programme comes courtesy of the Thanks Flower Project, which delivers flowers from the Tohoku region around the world in gratitude for assistance provided to the areas affected by 3.11. The project will be displaying various flowers from throughout Japan in the Meiji Shrine forest until the end of the festival. For more programme details, see here.  

The ritzy Ginza Six department store will be decked out with a mesmerizing cloud-like art installation created by Japanese designer and artist, Yoshioka Tokujin, from February 27 until the end of October. His works have been displayed all around the world including at the Musée d'Orsay and the Art Institute of Chicago. Recently, Tokujin turned heads with his designs for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic torches. As the name Prismatic Cloud suggests, Tokujin’s gigantic sculpture is made from over 10,000 white prism rods dangling from the top in the centre of the building, creating the illusion of a cloud hovering just below the ceiling.

Japanese photographer RK has risen to Instagram fame over the past few years, gaining over 400,000 followers with colourful, detail-packed images that convey the sense of daily life in Asia’s ultra-high-density cities. He also excels at revealing the unintentional symmetries and other patterns that appear in the cluttered architecture of cities such as Tokyo and Hong Kong. Here RK departs from the claustrophobia of his best-known work to present a ‘vision of crimson fantasy’. Solitary female figures, traditionally clad in the vibrant red hue that signifies good fortune in many Asian cultures, appear amid muted cityscapes and natural surroundings. The resulting impression is that these are goddesses who have manifested themselves on earth, unnoticed by all.　

[Update, Mar 24] This event has been postponed until further notice due to the coronavirus outbreak.   * Contemporary Scottish figurative painter Peter Doig is having his maiden exhibition in Japan at the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, where you can see a range of his works, from his earliest to some of his most recent. His style draws on artists like Paul Gaugin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Edvard Munch while incorporating imagery inspired by movie scenes and advertisements to create art with a romantic yet mysterious feel. The highlights are his overwhelmingly large paintings that span over three metres wide, making you feel as though you are part of the scene.

This exhibition, co-presented by Japan Cultural Expo, collects works by noted contemporary Japanese artists working at the forefront of art, photography, design and architecture. You’ll see work by some of the most important artists of our time, including Tadanori Yokoo and Kotobuki Shiriagari, plus contributions from past masters such as Soga Shohaku and Hokusai. Each piece here can be admired for its technique and individuality, but approaching the exhibits from the curator’s point of view, exploring the similarities and relationships between them, may just give you an entirely different perspective. Note: due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, this exhibition has been put on hold until further notice.

Note: The start of this exhibition has been delayed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Opening hours and dates are subject to change. The five types of Japanese performing art recognised as elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO are kabuki theatre, bunraku puppetry, noh and kyogen (comic theatre), gagaku (traditional court music) and kumiodori (Okinawan musical theatre). All five are featured extensively in this ambitious exhibition, presented by the Japan Arts Council and Japan Cultural Expo, which zooms in on the notion of Japanese beauty through a focus on the interplay between humans and nature. Besides watching performances of the five arts, you'll be able to admire costumes, props, instruments and other related items, watch videos of notable shows, and even briefly turn into a kabuki actor yourself by taking advantage of some digital ingenuity. Making Japan's time-honoured performing arts accessible to first-timers, the exhibition is a great way to experience this seemingly opaque sphere of traditional culture.

The ritzy Ginza Six department store will be decked out with a mesmerizing cloud-like art installation created by Japanese designer and artist, Yoshioka Tokujin, from February 27 until the end of October. His works have been displayed all around the world including at the Musée d'Orsay and the Art Institute of Chicago. Recently, Tokujin turned heads with his designs for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic torches. As the name Prismatic Cloud suggests, Tokujin’s gigantic sculpture is made from over 10,000 white prism rods dangling from the top in the centre of the building, creating the illusion of a cloud hovering just below the ceiling.

Japanese photographer RK has risen to Instagram fame over the past few years, gaining over 400,000 followers with colourful, detail-packed images that convey the sense of daily life in Asia’s ultra-high-density cities. He also excels at revealing the unintentional symmetries and other patterns that appear in the cluttered architecture of cities such as Tokyo and Hong Kong. Here RK departs from the claustrophobia of his best-known work to present a ‘vision of crimson fantasy’. Solitary female figures, traditionally clad in the vibrant red hue that signifies good fortune in many Asian cultures, appear amid muted cityscapes and natural surroundings. The resulting impression is that these are goddesses who have manifested themselves on earth, unnoticed by all.