Contemporary artist MADARA MANJI, known for his mastery of the traditional Japanese metalworking technique mokumegane, will participate in the group exhibition View — Rethinking Landscape, opening September 12, 2026, at the Koumi-machi Kogen Museum of Art in Nagano Prefecture.

This exhibition, one of the highlights of the autumn season, explores the concept of “landscape” from a variety of perspectives, ranging from animation to painting, photography, and contemporary art. Bringing together diverse “views” from Japan and abroad, the exhibition features works by artists who have visited the region through artist-in-residence programs, as well as works by artists connected to Koumi Town, including Makoto Shinkai, the internationally acclaimed animation film director born in Koumi. Works associated with the eastern region of Nagano (Toshin) and Koumi Town are also presented, offering an opportunity to consider how the same landscape can take on different forms—not only through different modes of expression, but also through the individual perspectives and sensibilities of artists and viewers.

MADARA MANJI’s work in the exhibition is Alive #01 (2024), a sculptural work consisting of a mokumegane plate mounted onto an iron cube. Mokumegane is a traditional Japanese metalworking technique that creates distinctive wood-grain-like patterns by layering and bonding metals such as brass, copper, silver, and gold. Since July 2025, the work has been installed outdoors at the Koumi-machi Kogen Museum of Art, where it continues to change as it is exposed to wind, rain, and snow.

Mokumegane plate attached to the cube

Located at an elevation of 1,280 meters, the museum stands at the boundary between the forest, shaped by a natural order beyond human intervention. Within this setting, the 1,200 × 1,250 × 1,600 mm iron cube gradually rusts as its surface reacts with light, air, rain, and wind. The rust continues to develop under the influence of its surroundings, and the work will only be complete when it eventually weathers away and disappears.

The artist himself regularly visits the work, observing its transformation: “Every time I see it, the work has changed. Once I have seen it in a particular state, I will never be able to see that same state again. It feels a little sad.” He continues, “I look forward to witnessing the changes and the sequence of transformations that this work undergoes in this place until it reaches completion.” The transformation remains unpredictable even for the artist himself, who looks forward to witnessing how the work changes over time. With each visit, the work reveals a different state.

《Alive #01》& MADARAMANJI

The section “The Air of the Land” features landscape paintings by leading Japanese Western-style painters including Ryuzaburo Umehara and Makoto Takada, alongside works by artists connected to Koumi Town, works donated by contemporary artists who have held exhibitions at the museum in recent years, and works created during artists’ residencies in the area. Rather than simply presenting views of a particular place, this section focuses on the inner landscapes that emerge from having experienced the natural environment and atmosphere of the land itself. MADARA MANJI’s Alive #01 is positioned within this context.

The exhibition also introduces background art by Makoto Shinkai, the animation film director born in Koumi Town, spanning seven films from Voices of a Distant Star (2002) to Weathering with You (2019). In addition, Shoichi Tsuda, a painter born in Nagano City, and environmental artist Junichi Kakizaki, born in Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture, are presented under the theme “The Diversification of Images in the Contemporary Era.”

Shinkai has drawn on memories of his hometown of Koumi as an original landscape in his background art, and the exhibition brings together scenes distinguished by different seasons, times of day, and viewpoints. Drawing on the memories, myths, and legends associated with particular places, Tsuda develops a distinctive pictorial world that appears simultaneously real and fictional. Kakizaki passed away in June of this year while staying in Koumi Town to create a work for this exhibition. The unfinished work will also be exhibited as a tribute to the artist.

Exhibition Information

Exhibition: View — Rethinking Landscape: From Animation to Painting, Photography, and Contemporary Art
Dates: September 12 (Sat.) – November 15 (Sun.), 2026
Venue: Koumi-machi Kogen Museum of Art
Opening Hours: 9:00–17:00 (last admission 16:30)
Closed: Tuesdays (Open on September 22 and November 3; closed on Thursday, September 24 and Wednesday, November 4.)
Admission: Adults ¥500 (groups of 20 or more: ¥400) / Free for high school students and younger

Participating Artists:
Makoto Shinkai, Ryuzaburo Umehara, Kesao Kuribayashi, Kisei Kobayashi, Shuichi Shima, Makoto Takada, Kiyomitsu Tanimoto, Yoshiaki Hikita, Taishi Hirokawa, Mitsuhiro Yamagiwa, Masatsugu Yui, Erin de Clarke, Thomas Bernard, Libby Black, Biwa Takahashi, MADARA MANJI, Shoko Yui, Junichi Kakizaki, Shoichi Tsuda

Organized by: Koumi-machi Kougen Museum of Art
With the cooperation of: CoMix Wave Films Inc. / TOHO CO., LTD. / Okamoto Joji
URL:https://www.koumi-museum.com

Related Events

・Opening Gallery Talk

September 12 (Sat.), 14:00–

・Curator-led Gallery Talks

September 26 (Sat.), October 11 (Sun.), November 3 (Tue., national holiday), and November 14 (Sat.), 14:00–

No reservation required.
Participating artists may join the talks.
An admission ticket is required to participate.

・Animation Screenings by Director Makoto Shinkai

The voices of a distant star (short animation, approx. 25 min.)

5 Centimeters per Second (feature-length animation, approx. 63 min.)

September 22 (Tue., national holiday), 10:00 / 14:00

October 24 (Sat.), 10:00 / 14:00

The two films will be screened consecutively with a 10-minute intermission. Visitors may also watch only one of the two films.
Free admission; no reservation required.
Approximately 40 people per screening.