KITAWAKI Noboru, “For the Sleepless Night” (Study), 1937, oil on canvas, 40.9×53.0 cm
Collection Exhibition
June 28 (Sat.) – November 3 (Mon., nat. hol.), 2025
Special Exhibition Marking 80 Years Since the End of WWII: A Small Something for the Sake of Peace
Narahara Ikko, “Blue Yokohama”
Highlights: Salvador DALÍ, Paul CÉZANNE and NARA Yoshitomo
In 2025, Japan will mark 80 years since the end of World War II. This collection exhibition, which will be on display on 15 August, the day the war concluded, is organized around the theme of war and art. It will run concurrently with the “Sato Masahiko Exhibition.”
The title of the exhibition, “A Small Something for the Sake of Peace,” comes from the words of Tomura Hiroshi (1938–2025), an artist whose work was acquired during the museum’s recent renovations. Tomura, who was born in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, used this phrase to express what he felt he must do as an artist, having himself survived the war relatively unscathed (he lost no relatives). The exhibition traces how artists living in times of conflict have faced war and society, and sought to resist inequality and violence through their art.
In addition to this collection exhibition, the museum will also display for the first time all 43 photographs from leading postwar photographer Narahara Ikko’s “Blue Yokohama” series, which were also acquired during the recent renovations. “Blue Yokohama” is an early series in the artist’s career, which he started after his first two solo exhibitions, “Human Land” (1956) and “Domains” (1958). Children playing in a residential area for U.S. soldiers in Japan, locals in Chinatown, foreign ships docked in the harbor at midnight—Narahara’s poetic gaze captures these and other images of a Yokohama that was a melting pot of cultures, inviting his viewers into a world of the unknown.
For the first time, the collection exhibition will also feature a highlights section introducing masterpieces from the collection. Works by Salvador Dalí, Paul Cézanne, and Nara Yoshitomo will be exhibited with special children’s commentary to help parents and children to enjoy these important works together.
Finally, a brand new series of collaborations between emerging artists and the museum collection will be launched. “Opening Dialogues - Toda Sayaka: Blooms in Silence” will be held in one of the galleries.
NARAHARA Ikko, “Blue Yokohama,” 1959 (printed in 1994), gelatin silver print, 31.1×21.3 cm, Gift of Narahara Ikko Archives
© NARAHARA IKKO ARCHIVES
Salvador DALÍ, “Mural Painting for Helena Rubinstein ‘Fantastic Landscape – Heroic Noon’,” 1942/43, tempera on canvas, 251.0×224.0 cm
©Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, JASPAR Tokyo, 2025 C5040
Artists
■A Small Something for the Sake of Peace
Robert Capa, Jean (Hans) Arp, Max Ernst, Kurt Schwitters, George Grosz, Man Ray, Meret Oppenheim, André Masson, John Armstrong, Joan Miró, Louis Marcoussis, Pablo Picasso, Vladimir Tatlin, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Otto Dix, Georges Braque, Fukuzawa Ichiro, Saito Yoshishige, Kitawaki Noboru, Okada Kenzo, Miyazaki Shin, Hamada Chimei, Tsuruoka Masao, Harada Masamichi, Isamu Noguchi, Sawada Kyoichi, Kawaguchi Tatsuo, Tomura Hiroshi, Kazama Sachiko
■Narahara Ikko, “Blue Yokohama”
Narahara Ikko
■Highlights: Salvador DALÍ, Paul CÉZANNE and NARA Yoshitomo
Salvador Dalí, Paul Cézanne, Nara Yoshitomo, Philippe Halsman, René Magritte
*Random order
NARAHARA Ikko, “Blue Yokohama,” 1959 (printed in 1994), gelatin silver print, 31.0×21.3 cm, Gift of Narahara Ikko Archives
© NARAHARA IKKO ARCHIVES
Paul CÉZANNE, “Mont Sainte-Victoire Seen from Gardanne,” 1892–95, oil on canvas, 73.0×92.0 cm
Exhibition Highlights
1. To mark 80 years since the end of World War II, approximately 115 works from the collection will be exhibited, tracing the footsteps of creators who confronted the themes of war and society. The exhibition will be accompanied by “Opening Dialogues - Toda Sayaka: Blooms in Silence.”
2. Narahara Ikko’s “Blue Yokohama” series, which was never published as a book during his lifetime, will be exhibited for the first time in full. All of the prints from this series were acquired by the museum during its recent renovations. A photo book featuring this series, “Tokyo, the ’50s/Blue Yokohama,” is also scheduled for publication in late July 2025 (by Fukkan.com).
3. In a brand-new initiative, the collection exhibition will also include a highlights section introducing masterpieces by Salvador Dalí, Paul Cézanne, and Nara Yoshitomo. Easy-to-understand explanations will direct viewers’ attention to some surprising similarities in all three works. Last of all, special children’s commentary will be made available for parents and children to enjoy the works together! Don’t miss out!
George GROSZ, “Homage to Edgar Allan Poe,” 1918, oil on canvas, 65.6×65.4 cm
©Estate of George Grosz, Princeton, N.J. / JASPAR Tokyo, 2025 C5047
FUKUZAWA Ichiro, “Unfinished Symphony,” 1930, oil on canvas, 114.6×80.0 cm
Robert CAPA, “El Guettar, Tunisia,” March 1943 (reprinted in 1985), gelatin silver print, 27.0×25.4 cm
SAWADA Kyoichi, “Cross, Tet Offensive, Hue,” Februrary 15, 1968 (reprinted in 1986), gelatin silver print, 21.8×32.4 cm
Outline
- Dates
- June 28 (Sat.)–November 3 (Mon., nat. hol. )
- Venues
- Gallery 4 (Special Exhibition Marking 80 Years Since the End of WWII)
Gallery 5 (Opening Dialogues)
Gallery 6 (Narahara Ikko and Highlights)
- Open Hours
- 10:00–18:00 *Admission until 30 minutes before closing.
- Closed
- Thursdays
Tickets
- Adults
- ¥500 (¥400)
- University students
- ¥300 (¥240)
- High school students
Junior high school students - ¥100 (¥80)
- Children under 12
- Free
*( )= Group of 20 or more (pre-booking required)
*Free admission for high school and younger students with valid ID on every Saturday.
*Visitors with disabilities and one caregiver accompanying them are admitted free of charge (Please present a certificate at the entrance).
*The ticket for the
Sato Masahiko Exhibition also gives admission to the Collection Exhibition and
Opening Dialogues for the same day.
*Visitors can also enjoy the ongoing
Collection Exhibition in Jiyu Area （free admission）.
