A Two-hour Lunar Journey Across Four Galleries — All You Need to Bring Along Is Your Imagination!
The Moon, that massive object floating in the night sky, whether waxing or waning, is a constant presence whenever we look up, quietly casting its light onto nocturnal pathways. Across cultures and throughout history, the Moon has long stirred the human imagination—as an object of worship or a source of stories—appearing in countless myths, folktales, poems, songs, and books. This exhibition is centered around five artworks that take the moon as their theme, along with a selection of adjacent works. Come and take a two-hour lunar tour through our four galleries this autumn. No need to pack anything except your imagination.
Exhibition Highlights
Episode 1 Robert Rauschenberg’s Booster (1967) and Pop Art
Starting in the 1960s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of America aggressively pursued a program of manned spaceflights in competition with the Soviet Union, a race that caught the imagination of the American public as well. Leading figures in the Pop Art movement, whose attention leaned towards mass imagery and ordinary events, also felt drawn to suddenly emergent reality of the moon. This episode centers on Robert Rauschenberg’s print Booster, with its many layers that include an X ray image of his own body, drawings, artworks, newspaper clippings, power tools, and the Astronomical Almanac for that year. It is accompanied by a selection of works by other Pop Art creators.
Episode 2 Noguchi Rika’s To Dive (1995) and Traces of Light Lurking in Everyday Life
One winter day, Noguchi Rika happened to see a silhouette-like figure with an oxygen tank on its back. She followed it, having encountered the diver for the first time, imagining it to be “someone going to the moon.”* The medium of photography, and Noguchi’s work is no exception, may be likened to a gaze that quietly observes and captures the queerness of the world through the process of scooping and preserving traces of light that lurk in daily life. Accompanying Noguchi’s works in this section are photographs by Araki Nobuyoshi, a photographer noted for his unwavering focus on the rawness of life and its inseparable companion—death. *Quoted from Canon’s New Cosmos of Photography (1996).
Episode 3 Kumi Sugai’s Moon (1957) and the Informel Movement in Japan
Kumi Sugai moved to France in 1952 where he was influenced by the Art Informel movement. His subsequent work combining primitive abstraction with themes informed by ancient Japanese culture made a strong impression on the Paris art scene. The work shown here, Moon, is one example. In the early 1960s, Sugai dramatically changed his style, producing abstract paintings with bold colors and a sense of speed. This episode presents abstract works by other Japanese artists who were also active in France during the 1960s, including Toshimitsu Imai.
Episode 4 Shiro Kuramata’s How High the Moon (1986) and Floating Furniture
Shiro Kuramata was an early adopter of new materials and fabrication methods, creating innovative works using acrylic, glass, aluminum, and steel mesh. How High the Moon, titled after a jazz standard, is made from expanded steel mesh, a seamless building material commonly used at construction sites. Despite its use of industrial material, the work conveys Kuramata’s characteristic sense of weightlessness, transience, and quiet presence. This section brings together Kuramata’s furniture from the museum’s collection, works by his close associates Arata Isozaki and Aiko Miyawaki, and photographic works by Hitoshi Nomura that capture the movement of the sun.
Episode 5 Attributed to Oguri Sotan, Scene with Two Monkeys and a Full Moon (Muromachi period) and Depictions of the Moon Across Time
In Japanese painting, the theme of “monkeys trying to catch the moon’s reflection” was a common one derived from Buddhist precepts in which monkeys are shown climbing onto a branch, reaching for the moon’s reflection, only to fall into the water when the branch breaks. The moral lesson being conveyed of “knowing one’s place” is underscored by the monkeys in this work, one of which gazes dreamily at the moon on the water’s surface, while the other innocently reaches out towards the moon shining in the sky, a scene that exudes both humor and emotional warmth. In this season, the special exhibition room Kankai Pavilion presents a work with Musashino as its theme, an iconic landscape famous for moon viewing that is cited in many anthologies of classical poetry, including the Manyoshu and Shinshokukokin Wakashu. This work, along with Tsunenobu Kano’s Moonlight Landscape and craft objects incorporating moon motifs, are displayed with selected pieces of contemporary art.
Epilogue Kimiyo Mishima’s Newspaper 84 E (1984)
Finally, please take a look at this large-scale sculpture by Kimiyo Mishima who uses ceramic to depict everyday objects such as newspapers, magazines, and empty cans. It looks like piece of newsprint that’s been crumpled up and casually tossed away. It is in fact heavy despite its soft appearance, and fragile because it is made of ceramic. Through such works, Mishima casually raises questions about the anxiety and vulnerability of a society inundated with a vast quantity of “information” that is produced and consumed on a daily basis.
Printed on the surface is a New York Times article dated August 31, 1984 about the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Of the countless newspaper articles destined to become waste the minute after they are read, this one caught his eye, perhaps due to the deep impression the event made on him. The work is on display in the corridor area.
Special Events *Details to be posted on the Hara Museum website.
Event 1 Gekko-den at Gokokuji Temple
Date and Time: Sunday, September 13, 2026 11:00-
Lecturer: Hidekazu Miyake (Associate Professor, Gunma Prefectural Women’s University)
Capacity: 30 participants
Fee: General: 3,000 yen (includes a one-time admission ticket to Hara Museum ARC that is valid any time during the exhibition period)
Art historian Hidekazu Miyake, a specialist in the Kano school of Japanese painting, has been invited as guest lecturer for this special viewing of the interior of Gekko den at Gokokuji Temple (a designated Important Cultural Property that is normally closed to the public). The building is closely connected to the museum’s Hara Rokuro Collection of traditional East Asian art.
Rokuro Hara (1842–1933), a businessman of the Meiji period, first viewed the Gekko-den when it was still a guest hall called the Nikko in, a part of Onjo ji (Miidera) Temple in Shiga Prefecture. In recognition of its cultural value and to prevent its acquisition by overseas interests, Hara purchased the structure and had it relocated it to his residence in Gotenyama, Shinagawa. The main hall—considered a masterpiece of shoin style architecture of the Momoyama period—was later renamed Gekko den and donated to Gokokuji Temple. Except for one panel on the theme of an assembly at the Orchid Pavilion, all other partition paintings by members of the Kano school, including Kano Eitoku, were remounted and converted into hanging scrolls or folding screens, which are now part of the Hara Rokuro Collection.
Event 2 Moon Viewing Party — An Evening at the Museum in Anticipation of the Moon
Date and Time: Saturday, September 26, 2026, 5:00–8:00 pm
Venue: Café d’Art, Hara Museum ARC
Capacity: 50 (advance reservation required)
Fee: General: 3,500 yen (admission not included; includes one drink; preschool children free)
Imagine how fun it would be to talk about art while waiting for the moon to rise from behind Mt. Akagi, with the museum’s distinctive pyramid shaped roof in the foreground. For this event, the museum’s galleries will remain open 30 minutes later than usual, and after the gallery doors close at 5:00 pm, the buildings will be illuminated. The architect Isozaki Arata, who designed the museum, enjoyed watching the moon rise from this site while he was still alive. During this evening, you can enjoy this and other anecdotes during a tour of the outdoor artworks, as well as food and drink at the Café d’Art. We invite you to enjoy this special twilight experience at the museum. Please note that on the day of the event, the direct bus service from Takasaki Station will be running on a special schedule, with extra buses coinciding with the closing hour of the event.
Event 3 Mid-Autumn Museum Light Up
Dates: September 25 (Fri.) and September 27 (Sun.), 2026
Time: 5:00–8:00 pm (last entry 7:30 pm)
Capacity: None (no reservation required)
Fee: 1,000 yen (museum admission required)
This year, the Mid Autumn Festival occurs on September 25*. This is followed by the appearance of the full moon on Sunday, September 27. On these two evenings, the museum grounds will be specially opened to the public at night. After 5:00 pm, the museum buildings will be softly illuminated and a tour of the outdoor artworks will be offered. Please check our website for further details as they become available. *On September 25, the sunset will be at 5:37 pm, and the moonrise at 4:46 pm (at Maebashi city).
Exhibition Information
Title: Fly to the Moon: Five Lunar Episodes
Dates: Saturday, September 12, 2026 – Monday, national holiday, January 11, 2027
Venue/Organized by: Hara Museum ARC
Address: 2855-1 Kanai, Shibukawa, Gunma 377-0027
Tel: 0279-24-6585 Email: arc@haramuseum.or.jp Official Website: https://www.haramuseum.or.jp
X: @haramuseum_arc Instagram: @haramuseumarc
Hours: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm (last entry at 4:00 pm)
Closed: Thursdays (except December 31) , January 1 *Closed in winter from January 12, 2027 to mid-March
Admission: General 1,800 yen (1,500 yen*), 70 and over 1,500 yen (1,200 yen*), Students 1,000 yen (700 yen*) (high school and university) or 800 yen (500 yen*) (elementary and junior high) *Online booking price.
*Free for Hara Museum ARC members / Free for elementary and junior high school students in Gunma prefecture on Saturdays when school is in session.
*For advance online tickets (date-specific), go to https://e-tix.jp/haramuseum_arc/