TOP Collection: Don't think. Feel.

Apr. 2—Jun. 21, 2026

• Apr. 2—Jun. 21, 2026
• Closed Mondays (except when May 4), May 7.
• Admission：Adults ￥700(560)／College Students ￥560(440)／High School Students, Over 65 ￥350(280) *Prices in parenthesis apply to groups of 20 or more. (Reservation is required.) *Free for junior high school students or younger, and holders of Japan’s disability identification cards (shogaisha techo) together with two caregiver. *Those over 65 years old receive free admission on the third Wednesday of every month by presenting proof of age at the ticket counter.

The TOP Collection is a series of exhibitions drawn from the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum’s collection of approximately 39,000 photographs and moving image works, with each installment adopting a different perspective.
The theme of the first exhibition in fiscal 2026 is “feeling” in the age of AI. Here, “feeling” refers not only to physically touching in a narrow sense, but to engaging with things and phenomena through the senses more broadly. As AI continues to make rapid inroads throughout society, many skills and abilities once regarded as uniquely human are being reassessed. In this context, there is renewed value in reflecting on what truly defines human potential. This collection exhibition focuses on synesthetic (sense-blending) experiences particular to culture and the arts, ways of communicating through the senses, and the power of the imagination.
Room1 takes as its point of departure the words of the Hong Kong martial artist, actor, and philosopher Bruce Lee (1940–1973), who spoke of the importance of feeling: “Don’t think. Feel.” Inspired by this phrase, we have selected works from the collection that stimulate the five senses. From here, the exhibition unfolds like an anthology of short stories, comprising five distinct subthemes. While each sub-theme explores a different topic, the works resonate together in unexpected ways, encouraging visitors to reconnect with their own capacity to engage with the world through the senses. We hope this exhibition will open up new perspectives on the TOP Collection and on myriad ways of engaging with art.


Onchi Koshiro, from the series Hakubutsu shi(Records of Nature), 1938-42, Gelatin silver print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Saito Harumichi, View of a Star from the series Exploring the World, 2019, Chromogenic print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Kageyama Koyo, Family Portrait, Wheat Harvest Celebration, 1946, Gelatin silver print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Photographer unknown, Portrait of a Mother and Child, 1840-59, Hand-colored daguerreotype, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Kawauchi Rinko, Illuminance, 2001-26, 2-channel video, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Kawauchi Rinko, Illuminance, 2001-26, 2-channel video, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Inakoshi Koichi, from the series RUST CITY TOKYO, 1986, Gelatin silver print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Morimura Yasumasa, A Requiem: Where is the Dictator? 1, 2007, Gelatin silver print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Yoshida Shiho, from the series Whale under the sand, 2021, Inkjet print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art

Room 1: Don’t think. Feel.
Room 2: A Historical Folklore of Family Photography
Room 3: Kawauchi Rinko, Illuminance
Room 4: Room of Memory
Room 5: What Lies Beneath the Image

Exhibiting Artists
Man Ray, Onchi Koshiro, Edward Weston, Tamura Sakae, Kondo Tatsuo, Hamaya Hiroshi, Kitai Kazuo, Hosoe Eikoh, Yoshino Erika, Saito Harumichi, Ueda Shoji, Kageyama Koyo, Fukase Masahisa, Alec Soth, Kawauchi Rinko, Sekiguchi Masao, Takanashi Yutaka, Tsuchida Hiromi, Kono Asahachi, Alfred Stitglitz, Nakayama Iwata, Goto Keiichiro, Kitadai Shozo, Morimura Yasumasa, Yoshida Shiho and others

Organized by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Supported by J-WAVE 81.3FM
In cooperation with Graduate School of  Humanities, The University of Osaka