Culture Gate to Japan Art Exhibition Opens Online and at Airports Across Japan

Date: 2021 March 27 11:09

Posted by Joe

We've just been sent some interesting details about the Culture Gate to Japan Art Exhibition. Set around the airports of Japan each exhibition focuses on a different aspect of Japanese art, history and culture relevant to each location. Kansai International Airport will be hosting a manga themed exhibition, which includes new works by artists including Yuki Urushibara (Mushishi), Machiko Satonaka, Yoshihiro Yamada, Yuichi Yokoyama and more.

But you can't get to Japan right now to enjoy this I hear you cry! Well the reason we're publishing this is the official Culture Gate website has lot of interactive content for you to enjoy from each exhibition online. So you don't have to go hopping around each airport of Japan to get exhibition experience.

We've been told "There are high-tech, contemporary artworks by 29 artists installed at eight locations across Japan. Each location's exhibition is inspired by the culture and history of the region of Japan it is located. From the mysterious soundscapes of Hokkaido's indigenous Ainu people to the vibrant history of Okinawa's ancient Ryukyu Kingdom, diverse cultures can be found throughout Japan. Through this project, artists and creators seek to reinterpret and convey the appeal of these rich cultural resources, each molded by the particular regional climate in which they developed. As the gateways to these unique regions, airports are the ideal location at which to exhibit these works, inviting visitors to discover new aspects of Japanese culture."

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The Pilgrimage Route / URUSHIBARA Yuki / © URUSHIBARA Yuki / KODANSHA

Press release as follows:

Updated: 25 March 2021

Tokyo, Japan

CULTURE GATE to JAPAN - a digital art exhibition running at airports across Japan for over 6 months

Multimedia art exhibition offering new perspectives on the diversity of Japanese culture opens online and at seven airports across Japan and Tokyo International Cruise Terminal

The exhibition website provides a rich variety of information, videos and images so that people around the world can learn about Japan from home and plan trips for the future.

CULTURE GATE from JAPAN runs from February 2021 until at least September 2021.

Beginning in February of 2021, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, launches a new cultural promotion project called "CULTURE GATE to JAPAN." Held at seven airports across Japan, Tokyo International Cruise Terminal and online, artists and creators active in the field of media arts will exhibit artworks based on the unique history and charms of each area with the goal of communicating the diversity of Japanese culture.

From the mysterious soundscapes of Hokkaido's indigenous Ainu people to the vibrant history of Okinawa's ancient Ryukyu Kingdom, diverse cultures can be found throughout Japan. Through this project, artists and creators seek to reinterpret and convey the appeal of these rich cultural resources, each molded by the particular regional climate in which they developed. As the gateways to these unique regions, airports are the ideal location at which to exhibit these works, inviting visitors to discover new aspects of Japanese culture.

Period: February 2021 ~ at least September 2021 (Please check the website for each location's up-to-date opening times)

Locations and Content:


Chubu Centrair International Airport, Central Japan

Theme: MOTION
For this exhibition, two artists have created works evoking the movement of the region's mighty samurai warriors and ninjas during Japan's tumultuous Warring States period.

Artists & opening dates: Yusuke Shigeta - opened 9 Feb 2021 / EUPHRATES - opened

27 Feb 2021

Videographer Yusuke Shigeta at Chubu Airport with the digital, folding screen depicting a famous samurai battle in 3D animation that he created for CULTURE GATE to JAPAN.


Fukuoka Airport, Kyushu

Theme: PATTERN
Fukuoka Airport is the gateway to the island of Kyushu, home to many traditional crafts such as Arita-yaki and Satsuma-yaki ceramics, Hakata-ori textiles, Satsuma kiriko cutglass and Baramon kites elaborately hand-painted with ogres and warriors. Two artists will exhibit their works, drawing inspiration from the patterns found on these crafts.

Artists & opening dates: Mirai Mizue opened 10 February 2021 / Macoto Murayama opened 27 February 2021


Naha Airport, Okinawa

Theme: MEMORY

Two artists have crafted stunning visual works that connect the memories of the island's historic Ryukyu Kingdom, drenched in sunlight and colour, with the modern world.

Artists& opening dates: nuQ / Satoru Higa - both opened 13 February 2021


New Chitose Airport, Hokkaido

Theme: INVISIBLE
Creative company NAKED, INC. has infused empty space with various media to create an all new, immersive experience. Through unwritten, unspoken auditory transmissions, theexhibition features works that allow visitors to feel the language and spirit of the Ainu culture through sound.

Artists & opening dates: NAKED, INC. - part I opened 22 February & part II (AR) on 19 March 2021


Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) & Narita International Airport

Theme: VISION GATE
Under the supervision of Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture & Design at MoMA, this exhibit seeks to explore the concept of "vision" from past to future, and its role as the foundation of Japanese culture.

At Tokyo's gateway airports of Haneda and Narita six videos by six different artists usher travellers into Japan's extraordinarily rich and eclectic culture. Broadcast in synchronized sequence along the path leading from each arrival gate into a new world, they each highlight a different aspect of Japan's creativity and reality, arranging distinct styles and contexts in surprising juxtapositions.

Also, not to be missed at Haneda airport is an installation by sound artist and designer Yuri Suzuki and musical artist and composer Miyu Hosoi. Keeping the human voice at the core of their proposal, Hosoi and Suzuki distilled the sounds of the Japanese language - - hiragana sounds - and created a unique composition in which the sound emanates from a choir of dozens of standing horns, that are conversing with each other like people waiting for friends and relatives in the Arrival Hall of an airport.

Artists& opening dates: The six artists who have created videos are acky bright / Jun Inoue / Sachiko Kodama / Mariko Mori / Monika Mogi / PARTY (creative group).

Four videos live from 27 February; all installations live from 15 March and closing on 5 September 2021

Sound installation at Tokyo International (Haneda) Airport is by Miyu Hosoi and Yuri Suzuki. Open 15 Feb - 5 Sept 2021.


Kansai International Airport, Gateway to Osaka, Kyoto and wider Kansai region

Theme: LIFE
The Kansai region is divided into eight distinct areas. In this exhibit, eight manga artists have created murals showing the unique cultures of each of these areas and their harmonious coexistence with the nature in which they developed.

Artists: Opened 20 March 2021


Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, Tokyo

Theme: Back TOKYO Forth
In addition to the artwork itself, there will also be a video detailing the creative process, from conception to completion.

Artists: Asako Fujikura / Kota Iguchi / Synesthesia Lab feat. Evala / Michiko Tsuda / Senzo Ueno / Hideki Umezawa + Koichi Sato.

Opens late March. More on the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal exhibition will be available inlate March.



Organizer: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

Exhibition venues: New Chitose Airport, Narita International Airport, Tokyo International (Haneda) Airport, Kansai International Airport, Chubu Centrair International Airport, FukuokaAirport, Naha Airport, Tokyo International Cruise Terminal

Dates: February 2021 ~ at least September 2021 (Please check the website for each location'sup-to-date opening times)

Why now when travel restrictions are still in place due to Covid-19?

The global effects of the novel coronavirus have made it difficult to meet new people and experience new cultures in person. However, that should not interrupt the exchange of art, ideas, and culture. Through this project, Japan hopes to continue providing people around the world with the same sense of wonder and joy felt when encountering a new culture. As the new coronavirus is restricting the ability to travel, a wide range of videos about the artworks and the destinations that inspired them have been created, so that visitors to theofficial website can enjoy the work from anywhere in the world. The exhibition will also be held for an extended period, currently scheduled for at least the end of September 2021.

How many artists are taking part?

The work of 29 artists is on display across the 8 sites.

Official website: https://www.culture-gate.jp

Main social hashtags: #CULTURE_GATE_JP #japaneseculture #mediaarts