“Pokemon x Crafts Exhibition” now underway at MOA Museum of Art

Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture
Experience the “techniques” of traditional crafts through Pokémon

The “Pokémon x Crafts Exhibition – Great Discoveries of Beauty and Crafts” is currently being held at the MOA Museum of Art. In just under a month since its opening on July 6, the museum has been bustling, with over 50,000 visitors. This is a perfect exhibition for the summer holidays, as it can be enjoyed by both children and adults. The exhibition is until September 9.

The exhibition is themed around Pocket Monsters (AKA Pokemon), which is popular worldwide through games and animation, and will feature approximately 70 pieces created by 20 masterful Japanese modern artists, including Important Intangible Cultural Property Holders of Traditional Crafts (Living National Treasures), using their respective skills in metalwork, woodwork, ceramics, lacquerware, dyeing and weaving. The exhibition is divided into three parts: “Appearance – Approaching!”, which uses the artist’s technique to capture the appearance, gestures and aura of Pokémon; “Life – Admire!”, in which Pokémon are incorporated into crafts such as tableware and kimonos that make life more beautiful and vibrant; and “Story – Immerse!”, which expresses the world of the work, including how Pokémon are raised and evolved, and the setting for their journey. The exhibition was first held at the National Crafts Museum (Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture) in March 2023, and has since traveled to the JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles (USA) and the Sagawa Art Museum (Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture).

The exhibition features a variety of works that will have visitors losing track of time, including the “Shinrabansho Pokemon Jar,” with over 500 Pokemon painted in detail on the surface of the ceramic piece; obi clasps and brooches featuring the Pokemon Umbreon created by Living National Treasure Katsura Morihito, an artist of metal engraving; “Gengar Ghost,” an Edo Komon fabric with patterns so skillfully woven that you would hardly notice the Pokemon hiding there; “Pikachu Forest,” where you can search for different colored Pikachu while passing through around 900 laces featuring the popular Pokemon character Pikachu; glass craft “Vessel-TSURARA,” which makes use of the texture of the material to express Pokemon’s “moves,” and lacquer work “Untitled.”

Photography is permitted in the exhibition room (strobes/flashes not permitted). Visitors eagerly look at and photograph each piece, and some comment like, “The metal sculptures of Flareon and Vaporeon standing on the tatami mats look like they’re really alive,” and “I’d like to try on a kimono with lots of Pokémon on it.” At the shop you can enjoy shopping for the exhibition catalogue and original goods.

Starting August 8th, some of the exhibits will be changed out with new Ryukyu Bingata works by Shiroma Eiichi (dyeing and weaving) being shown to the public for the first time. Works by Edo Komon by Yasuyoshi Komiya (dyeing and weaving) and Yuzen by Saori Mizuhashi (dyeing and weaving) will also be replaced with works that have been shown for the first time in other traveling exhibitions.

During the event, a greeting event will be held where Pikachu dressed in a kimono with the traditional ‘工’ character pattern will greet visitors, and they will be able to interact with the museum’s Noh theater and take photos .

Talk Event with craft artists

On August 3, a special talk event between Eiichi Shiroma (dyeing and weaving) and Yuki Hayama (ceramics), who are exhibiting at the “Pokémon x Crafts Exhibition,” was held in the reception room of the MOA Museum of Art. Approximately 60 craft and Pokémon fans attended. The two artists talked about how they came to participate in the exhibition, how they deepened their understanding of the world of the work by reading the Pokédex and playing the games, and how they discovered commonalities between the themes they normally work on and Pokémon, which they then incorporated into their works. It was hoped that this exhibition would encourage many children and young people to experience the charm of crafts.

[Organizer/Sponsor Information] “Pokémon x Crafts Exhibition – Great Discoveries of Beauty and Crafts” Organized by MOA Museum of Art, NHK Enterprises Chubu Supervised by: National Crafts Museum Special cooperation: The Pokémon Company Production cooperation: NHK Promotion Cooperation: Yomiuri Shimbun