10 Things in Tokyo: November 2018

Trolls in the Park is a free outdoor festival around Nishi-Ogikubo’s Zenpukuji Park. This year’s theme, “Absence,” may seem like a bit of a downer, but the lineup includes fun events like a jazz concert, plays, an open-air café, and displays by more than 20 artists. Tours will be given from 12:30 to 14:00 on the starting and ending days of November 3 and November 23.

Tatsuo Majima takes aim at political apathy with his Dance of the Day series, a collection of videos that record himself dancing only when one his Twitter followers reports voting in government elections. Taro Nasu presents these videos along with clay sculptures Majima made to represent each performance, a total of 230 since the June 2013 House of Councilors election. Ends Nov. 10.

Wooden Toys from Tohoku: Forms of Play and Prayer at Musashino Art University’s Folk Art Gallery introduces wooden toys from Japan’s northern Tohoku region, which extends from Fukushima up to Aomori. Nearly 200 items from across the area include lathe-carved tops, Ejiko basket dolls, miniature cars, and pull toys crafted with prayers for children’s growth and happiness, a tradition of artisanship originating in local customs and beliefs. A Family Day event will be held on Saturday, November 3. Ends November 30.

Genichiro Inokuma (1902–1993) studied under Matisse and became popular for his vibrant abstract paintings that channel the European masters of Modernism while frequently including favorite motifs like cats. Horses and Women is on at the Equine Museum of Japan, an impressive facility in Yokohama with a large park, riding days, and exhibits on the history of equine culture in Japan. In recent years the museum has been spotlighting relationships between prominent artists and horses, this time turning to Inokuma, who often painted women and horses together in works that exalt beauty and balance in form. Ninety works from throughout Inokuma’s career trace his artistic progress. Ends December 2.

Hiraki Sawa is one of Japan’s most intriguing video artists. Airplanes zip in and out of rooms, bathtubs morph into surreal waterparks, and household objects grow legs and stroll around in his works. Narrator of Latent Images at Yokohama’s Kanagawa Arts Theatre presents Sawa’s hypnotic projections along with live dance, music, and spoken-word performances. November 11–December 9. MuPon subscribers receive admission discounts to this event.

Japanese ceramics flourished during the Momoyama period (1573-1603), when the towns of Shigaraki, Oribe, and Karatsu developed their own distinctive styles. Understanding and appreciation of these Momoyama ceramics continues to evolve even today, and in Momoyama Tea Utensils: A New View, the Nezu Museum shows off recently excavated artifacts along with other tea ceremony masterpieces of the era. Ends Dec. 16.

Awakenings: Art in Society in Asia 1960s-1990s is a collaboration by the Japan Foundation Asia Center and three national museums in Japan, Korea, and Singapore. Reexamining postwar Asian art, it features 140 avant-garde paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, and other works from ten different Asian regions. These selections offer insight into a time when the continent was emerging from colonial rule and rapidly transforming. Ends December 24.

Tsuyoshi Tane is a Paris-based architect whose cutting-edge works draw on the histories and memories of the sites where they’re built. Take, for instance, Kofun Stadium, his proposal for Tokyo’s new Olympic stadium that called for a structure shaped like a kofun burial mound in homage to the distinctive feature of Japanese archeology. This impressively immersive show explores the full range of Tane’s practice with a floor-to-ceiling photo installation, films, and eye-level models you can walk around and even into. Ends December 24. MuPon subscribers receive ¥200 admission discounts.

The Dynamism of Contemporary Japanese Theater at Enpaku, Waseda University’s theater museum, considers Japan’s stage arts from the late-1990s through today. See props, posters, and other archival materials that shed light on today’s leading playwrights and troupes like Toshiki Okada of Chelfitsch and Motoi Miura of Chiten. Ends January 20.

Catastrophe and the Power of Art looks at how artists have responded to disaster in the years since the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. Tackling subjects like natural calamities and environmental, social, and political uncertainty, it displays works by dozens of international artists. Contributions from creators ranging from Yoko Ono and Ai Weiwei to illustrator Manabu Ikeda and street artist Swoon explore art’s ability to document, vocalize, rally, and heal in times of distress. Ends January 20. A sign language tour will be given on Friday, November 23 from 15:00 to 16:00. MuPon users receive ¥200 admission discounts.