Intense virtual world sent from abroad by Team 4...this exhibition includes painting, sculpture and installation.

4th installment in yearly series of exhibitions featuring artists living in Mitaka working in a variety of media.

Manga artist Fujiko F. Fujio created an enormous number of comics throughout his life, with an ideal to amuse himself as well as his readers. This retrospective exhibition introduces works that he made throughout his entire life. From children who have only heard about Doraemon to those who grew up reading his old comics, everyone can enjoy this exhibition. -Lecture Animation "Celebrating the Release of 'Doraemon Movie Nobita and the Green Giant Legend' -- Making Doraemon Anime was Always My Dream" Date: March 20th (Thurs) Doors open 12:00-, Starts 13:00- Capacity: 50 Reserve by e-mail or phone after March 1st (Sat), 12:00. Guests: Ayumu Watanabe, Nobukazu Suzuki -Talk Event "Fujiko F. Fujio -- the Creative World" Dates: April 29th (Tue) Doors open 12:30, Starts 13:00 Capacity: 50 Reserve by e-mail or phone after April 5th (Sat), 12:00. Guests: Kazuhiko Kurokawa, Shintaro Mugiwara, Nobukazu Suzuki *Please see the website for more details. (Japanese)

Tama Art University's professor Kudo is retiring from teaching, and this commemorative exhibition presents his abstract sculptures, shedding light on his long career as an artist as well as an educator.

-Live performance by Hideo Hirabayashi (synthesizer) "Samedi Soir vol.6" Date & Time: May 24th (Sat) 19:30- Charge ¥1000/ Drink ¥500 [Image: "Ease vol.7" (2008) Giclee print on arche paper, 420 × 297mm]

This exhibition presents artist books created by four artists from 1970 to the present, mainly by Lawrence Weiner. Venue: Musashino Art university Museum & Library 2F, Archive Gallery

Perhaps few people know of "Panda Kopanda (kid panda)," a film created by the duo Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki 36 years ago focusing on "carefully drawing daily life, with nothing special." This incomparably happy film about the strange life shared between an active young girl and a grown an baby panda is scheduled to be re-released in theaters this spring. This exhibition gearing up to the theater release displays Hayao Miyazaki's original image boards for the film in a bamboo forest. Miyazaki's belief in "portraying 'everyday life' as entertainment" and connections with the duo's later works are of interest. Location: Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, 2F Gallery Curation and Design: Goro Miyazaki *Please contact the museum for more details. [Image: Hayao Miyazaki From the 'Panda Kopanda' image board ©TMS]

Developed in the late 17th century, ukiyo-e printmaking is a popular art that was well loved by Edo citizens. Early Ukiyo-e were set in kabuki stages and depicted actors and beautiful female roles, and this style led by artists such as Utamaro and Sharaku reached the height of its popularity in the Kansei Period during the mid-eighteenth century. Afterwards, the subject of Ukiyo-e expanded suddenly and rapidly from the 1830s to the Meiji era, becoming a media that reflected the desires of Edo commoners. The travel boom resulted in landscape prints, and heroes from novels and plays about ghosts and the supernatural appeared in warrior prints. The political currents of the time were picked up in satirical images of the shogunate's reforms, and those portraying the opening of Japan after the arrival of Commodore Perry's black ships. The Edo printmakers incorporated new expressive styles into their works in addition to new content. Prints based on western paintings and the limited information available at the time have a mystique that translates to us viewers living in a society where images from all over the world is passed on every minute. This exhibition features 150 carefully selected works from Ei Nakau's massive Ukiyo-e collection, centering on works from the end of the Edo era. Related Programs -Live Ukiyo-e Printmaking Performance (with explanation) A printmaking craftsman will perform the process of creating Hokusai'd masterpiece "Kanagawa Okinami-ura". Date: April 29th (Tues, Holiday), 11:00, 14:00 (Performance time one and a half hours) Fee: Free. No reservations needed. -"Why the End of the Shogunate is Interesting Now" by Ei Nakau (Chairman of the International Ukiyo-e Study Group) Fee: Free. Please make reservations by calling 0422-47-5122. -Explanation of Works by Ei Nakau (Chairman of the International Ukiyo-e Study Group) Date and Time: May 11th (Sun), 11:00, 14:00 (40 minutes each) Fee: Free. Separate entry fee to exhibition. No reservations needed. Please see museum website for details on above events and other event listings.

This is the first edition of the retrospective exhibition series of Hideo Hagiwara, who passed away last November at the age of 94. Works that showcase his various modes of expression and artistic techniques are on display from the museum's collection. Location: Hideo Hagiwara Memorial Gallery [Image: "Stone Flower (white, yellow)" (1960)]

Internationally acclaimed artist Taro Gomi (1945-) has produced more than 350 illustrated books. His inspired touch with simple shapes, colors, and words has attracted a wide following among children and adults alike. "As a creator, there's nothing more exciting than making books. Planning, producing, printing, and seeing the completed book, or sometimes seeing something emerge from my work -- the entire process is really fun for me. I want to share this enjoyment with others and create something that my readers can savor in the same way, too," says Gomi. This exhibition introduces the processes involved in Gomi's book production, from his preparatory sketches through to their animation, and various related documents. Related Events (Please see the website for details.) -"Telling Folktales" by a volunteer group Reading of a Taro Gomi book, by volunteer staff Date: May 4th (Sun) 14:00-15:00 -Lecture by Taro Gomi "Picture Book Time" Date: May 5th (Mon/ Holiday) 14:00-15:30 This exhibition consists of two parts: Part 1, April 1st (Tue) - May 7th (Wed)/ Part 2, May 9th (Fri) - June 11th (Wed).

Yozo Hamaguchi's surreal works incorporating ordinary motifs such as lemons and nuts are on display. Location: Yozo Hamaguchi Memorial Gallery [Image: "Still Life, Pepper" (1955)]

During Meiji period, Japan started advancing to Micronesian Islands. In parallel with the beginning of the World War I, Japan took over the islands and started to govern them by 1921. From Taisho period to the beginning of Showa period, a lot of Japanese painters and sculptors visited these Islands -- like the famous painter Gauguin did in order to escape from the advanced society and to research the culture on these islands. This exhibition features works by these Japanese artists with the aim to seek for influences, both artistic and cultural, which these southern islands gave upon them. We will encounter newly discovered Japanese modern art that these artists cultivated in this particular area, whose history cannot be told without referring to problems of colonialism and war. Please see exhibition website for more related events and details. [Image: Hisakatsu Hijikata "A Girl of Croton" (1972)]

Taro Okamoto (1911−1996) was active in a variety of artistic media. Although he started out as a painter, he later produced his first three-dimensional sculpture in 1952. By using a hybrid material of clay mixed with earth, he was able to freely mold in three dimensions. When sculpted and fired, the shapes hardened, just as he intended, retaining the same shape for many years to come. He further expanded upon this artistic technique by learning how to use plaster to reproduce shapes made from clay. He would complete works in metal or plastic by using the same plaster molds. By producing works in larger dimensions, he made sculptures that he would be installed in public spaces for all to see. Okamoto continually tested the possibilities of sculpture and 3D molding. This exhibition is testament to the unique shapes and forms he created. Lecture May 11th (Sun) "Taro Okamoto and Surrealism" by Shogo Otani (The Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) June 7th (Sat) "Taro Okamoto and Sculpture" by Shuji Tanaka (Oita University) both starting at 14:00. Capacity: 70 people Free. Reservation not required. [Image: "Chair - Drowse" (1967) Fabric, metal]

In 1956, Taro Okamoto published a book entitled, "Traditions of Japan." The catalyst that aroused his interest in this primitive history was the exhibition "Jomon Earthenware," held at the Tokyo National Museum in 1951. Okamoto began to discern certain stylistic differences between Jomon and Yayoi earthenware - the former involved a sense of dynamism and a four-dimensional sensibility, while the latter was still and quiet, suffused by a more two-dimensional sensibility. His analysis of these issues was published in magazines, and was also included in his book on tradition. It was around this time that Okamoto began to focus on creating sculptures. By looking back at Jomon earthenware, we can begin to understand Okamoto's sculpture in a new light. This exhibition showcases paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs that reveal Okamoto's interpretation of and response to "the tradition of Japan." [Image: "Low of the Jungle" (1950) Oil on canvas]

Starting from April 16th until the first half of December, exhibitions of around two months each every season are planned. Map series, works on paper, fingerprint series, and cross-sections.

Murauchi Art Museum holds western paintings with an emphasis on works by the Barbizon painters in the 19th century. Works of Impressionist painters and modern artists are also contained in the collection. [Image: Jean-François Millet "Antoinette Hebert looking herself in the Mirror" (1844-45) Oil on canvas 98.0 x 78.0cm]

"Cache-cache": French for hide-and-seek. Exhibition of 17 creators working in graphics, illustration, painting, comics, product, craft and interiors.

This exhibition will be held in Gallery and Studio B. D Hwang will be resident at Youkobo during the exhibition period. Opening party: May 16th (Fri), 17:00-20:00

About 40 years ago, textile designers almost never paid attention to patterns of their work, settling on simple motifs like small flowers and animals. Wakisaka moved to the U.S. and Europe around that time and worked for Marimekko and Jack Lenor Larsen. He then made a contract with Wacoal Interior Fabric, introducing new and novel textile desings. Wakisaka has been one and only textile artist so far who worked for all of these world's leading corporations. Textiles and original drawings Wakisaka designed, centering on the museum collection, will be on display. This exhibition aims to seek the origin of his designs by looking back at what he felt and expressed in his days in Finland, the U.S. and Japan.

Opening Party (with secret guest): May 17th (Sat) 18:00- Talk event with guest : May 24th 19:00- "Go for Future" with "future artist" Ichiro Endo, May 31st (Sat) 19:00- Closing event: June 8th (Sun), 19:00- Held concurrently with this event is the "Green Leaves - Seed" exhibition at Gallery Fall in Nishi Ogikubo from May 28th - June 8th. Open 12:00-20:00 (closed Mon and Tue). #102 Nishiogi Kita 3-18-10, Suginami-ku, Tokyo Tel/fax: 03-5856-0522