Upcomming / Current Exhibition
Upcomming / Current Exhibition
Commemorating the Museum’s 25th Anniversary—Unseen Treasures from the Collection
Established by Toshiko Okamoto, Taro Okamoto’s partner in both public and private life,
the Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum first opened its doors to the public in May 1998, a mere two years after Taro’s death.
Twenty-five years have now passed but although the museum is housed a small, residential-sized building,
it has won the support of numerous visitors for the way in which it conveys Taro's life and spirit to the present day.
To date, the museum has held 84 exhibitions and welcomed a total of 900,000 visitors.
Past Exhibition
The Original Image of Japan
Taro Okamoto was a person who continually asked the question, ‘What is Japan?’ Having decided to leave Paris and return home to fight for Japan, Taro had a fateful encounter one day in November 1951.
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Life in Five Hundred Million Years’ Time — Yōichirō Kawaguchi: beyond AI
‘Let’s imagine what it will be like five hundred million years into the future, a time when humankind may no longer exist.’ So says Yōichirō Kawaguchi, a pioneer computer graphics artist who has been active on the world stage since the seventies. This is not simply a fancy.
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Art of the Sun—Taro Okamoto’s Public Art—
Art is like the sun. The sun provides limitless light and heat.
Even if you have been sunbathing, the sun doesn’t put out its hand and say, ‘Hey, that was lovely and warm, how about giving me some money?’ does it? Art is like the sun. That is what Tarō Okamoto thought.
Living Moment by Moment —Tarō Okamoto and Jazz—
‘In my life I ignore the past and I ignore the future. I live in the present, exploding, moment by moment.’
Neither clinging to the past nor presuming upon the future.
This was the way that Tarō Okamoto lived.
The Road to the Tower of the Sun
In March 2018, the Tower of the Sun was finally reborn. After half a century of neglect the interior has been restored and reincarnated as a permanent exhibition facility.
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Tower of the Sun 1967–2018 —What did Tarō Okamoto Question—
In March 2018 the Tower of the Sun will finally be reborn. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by seismic retrofitting work on the tower, the long-neglected interior has been renovated and transformed into a permanent exhibition space.
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Tarō Okamoto’s Tōhoku
In 1957, five years after he discovered Jōmon culture, Tarō Okamoto set out on a trip in search of the true essence of Japanese culture and the first place he visited was the Tōhoku region, where he encountered ‘primeval Japan’.
Tōhoku was a poor region, cut off from the rest of the country in the winter, but there he discovered a ‘spirit of magic’ in dialog with an invisible power, still existed.
Twenty Year’s of the TARO Award/Twenty Enfants Terrible
Left alone following Tarō Okamoto’s death, Toshiko proved much more resilient than many of us had feared. She said that it was her job to transmit a knowledge of Tarō’s work to the next generation and set about achieving this without delay.
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Noritaka Tatehana, Aesthetics of Magic
Taro Okamoto is an exceptional artist who goes far beyond my comprehension and makes me want to think that he himself is the magic. All his life, Taro never sold his work with his own hands. For Taro, resisting the society was his way of interfering with the society with all his might.
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