Crafts Featuring Pokémon on Display in Shiga Prefecture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:30 JST, May 5, 2024

MORIYAMA, Shiga — Many fans have been flocking to see a special craft exhibition featuring Pokémon at the Sagawa Art Museum in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture.

About 80 artworks, including those made of wood, metal and fabric, created by 20 craftspeople, from young artists to living national treasures, are on display at “Pokémon × Kogei: Playful Encounters of Pokémon and Japanese Craft,” which opened on March 30 and runs through June 9.

The exhibition was first held at the National Crafts Museum in Kanazawa between March and June 2023, attracting about 95,000 visitors. The event was then held from July to January in Los Angeles. Shiga Prefecture is the first stop for the exhibition, which will tour nationwide beginning this year.

One artwork on display is a Charizard ceramic jar that was created by Keiko Masumoto, who lives in the prefecture. Other pieces include a woodwork that elegantly depicts Ho-Oh, a Pokémon whose feathers glow in seven colors, a metal sculpture and a yuzen kimono featuring Pokémon characters.

“All the works were really powerful and fun to see,” said an elementary school student, 8, from Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture.

Sagawa Art Museum curator Yasunori Fujii said, “I hope many people will appreciate the precision and beauty of Japanese craftsmanship, which has been cultivated over many years, through Pokémon, as it is something people of all ages are familiar with.”

The exhibition is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Mondays. It is also closed on May 7 but will open on May 6 instead. Reservations are required and can be made on the museum’s website.

Admission is ¥1,300 for adults, ¥900 for high school and university students, and free for junior high school students and younger.