Film director and screenwriter Isao Takahata, well versed in art and literature spanning all ages and cultures, has been active at the forefront of animation creation. He described Chihiro as “a rare artist who captures the dignity of children” and acknowledged deriving creative inspiration from her work. Through Takahata’s keen eye for beauty, this exhibition will allow guests to rediscover the appeal of Chihiro’s artwork, providing a means of experiencing the world of Chihiro’s illustrations in an all-new light.

“Residing in day-to-day life, Takeshi Motai’s aesthetic sense is paradoxically sublime. His artwork makes no distinctions between East and West; it is pure spirit.” So says Yoshitomo Nara, the artist behind this exhibition. We hope that you will enjoy viewing works that transcend time and touched Nara’s heart, including The Debris of Paris, Motai’s sketchbook from his journeys in Paris, and his illustrated tale The Picture Book of Dreams.

Among picture books we can find many titles that are based on the theme of travel. In this exhibition we will present a number of works from the Chihiro Art Museum Collection related to travel, including works conveying a longing for unknown lands and foreign countries, adventures to fantasy worlds, and encounters with scenery that stirs travelers’ emotions.

Chihiro once said, “The charm of children’s arms and legs is infinite.” She would draw sketches of her son and other children daily and could depict a child in most any conceivable pose without the need for a model. In this exhibition we will explore how Chihiro was able to capture and express the dynamism of children.

In this exhibition we will showcase numerous works depicting children from the Chihiro Art Museum Collection based on the themes “The Hearts and Minds of Children,” “Children in Society,” and “Children’s Dreams.” We explore the various ways in which artists from regions with different histories and culture, nature and social conditions approach the portrayal of children.

Throughout her life, Chihiro Iwasaki never tired of creating illustrations of children. In this exhibition we will focus on Chihiro’s 55-year life and artistic career, presenting works that she produced for picture-story shows, textbooks, illustrated magazines, and picture books, along with reference materials and photographs. We hope you will enjoy this full view of Chihiro, who lived during the turbulent times spanning Japan’s Taisho (1912 – 1926) and Showa (1926 – 1989) periods, wished for the peace and happiness of children, and was active as an artist.

In the 1910s, several Japanese magazines for children, such as as Kodomo no Tomo (The Children’s Companion) and Akai Tori (Red Bird), were launched one after the other. Against the backdrop of the prosperity that arrived to Japan after World War I, a period known as the Taisho Democracy, highly artistic illustrated magazines and picture books emerged from the movement at the time promoting fairy tales, nursery songs and pictures for children. Following World War II, picture books enjoyed a resurgence thanks to the contributions of Chihiro Iwasaki and other unique artists. In this exhibition we will follow the progression of the uniquely rich expressiveness of Japanese picture books over the past 100 years.

Collage, an artistic technique in which various materials are pasted on a surface to create a composition, is one method of expression that is sometimes employed in picture books. Different artists make use of different materials. Eric Carle uses thin hand-colored paper, while Claudia Legnazzi uses various items, such as grains, leaves and packing materials. We hope that you will enjoy the varied artistic expressions made possible through collage’s interweaving of diverse textures.

Birds, animals that are very familiar to humans, have fascinated people from ancient times through their beautiful shapes and colors and have been featured in many works of art. Each and every depiction of a bird reveals something of the local characteristic of its region as well as the personality of the artist who created it. In this exhibition we will present a number of works featuring birds from the Chihiro Art Museum Collection. We hope that you will enjoy viewing these birds from around the world.