A Traveler from 1200 Months in the Past

TOP Collection

Apr. 4—Jul. 7, 2024

• Apr. 4—Jul. 7, 2024
• Closed Mondays (however, the museum will be open on Monday, April 29 and Monday, May 6, and closed on Tuesday, May 7).
• Admission：Adults ￥700／College Students ￥560／High School and Junior High School Students, Over 65 ￥350

This exhibition of works from the collection of the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum has the theme of time travel.
The science-fictional fantasy of people freely traversing all the eras of history has existed since time immemorial. However, in the world of the imagination and the realm of art, it is no fantasy, and anyone can break free of the conventional bounds of time and space.
In 1924, the poet and children’s book writer Miyazawa Kenji published Spring and Asura, poetically describing the inner landscape of “the phenomenon called I” and envisioning “the fourth dimensional continuum” in which all things overlap at a cosmic time-scale. Miyazawa Kenji’s imagination was sparked by the latest developments in science and thought of his day, but although he set his vision down in words a hundred years ago, there is something about it that still resonates in our hearts in this fragmented current era.
This exhibition begins its journey through time in the year 1924, exactly a century ago, and presents photographic and film works and materials primarily drawn from our collection of over 37,000 items. With the theme of “a traveler from 1,200 months in the past,” it enables visitors to encounter narratives woven in various times and places. It is also a trip through time and space that connects the pre-World War II, postwar, and contemporary periods through the power of imagination, with the words of the poetic preface to Miyazawa’s Spring and Asura serving as a guide. We invite you to enjoy this journey through a wealth of still and moving images.

*The schedule is subject to change. Any further changes will be announced.

Organized by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture
With assistance from J-WAVE 81.3FM