Exhibitions in Osaka
November 2026
November at a glance: 4 exhibitions opening, 4 closing, and 10 more on view across the city.
Opening in November
- Desire: A Curator's Wish List1 Nov
Fujita Museum
Fujita curators pick the works they most covet, among them Kano Sansetsu's Landscape in Summer and Winter, a Fierce Old Tiger and Ninsei incense containers.
Kagaku no Mikata: Everyday Things Full of Wonder7 NovOsaka Science Museum
A hands-on planned exhibition on the 1st floor that invites visitors to observe, test and think about the puzzles hidden in everyday objects and phenomena.
Osaka Directory 13: Tachibana Hazuki14 NovNakanoshima Museum of Art, OsakaFree
Solo show of new self-portrait based works by Tachibana Hazuki, including large pieces that blur life-size scale.
Okuda Benjiro, Sennichimae's Showman25 NovOsaka Museum of History
About 40 items from the Okuda family on the showman who helped build Meiji-era Sennichimae, including a guestbook, performer photos and account books.
Closing in November
- Enjoying Fossils 20268 Nov
Osaka Museum of Natural History
Theme display of fossils normally kept in storage, from Paleozoic invertebrates to Cenozoic vertebrates, including the heteromorph ammonite Nipponites.
Nomu: Tea, Sake and Smoking Vessels23 NovItsuo Art Museum
128 works on three senses of "nomu": drinking tea, sipping sake and smoking, from tea bowls and sake flasks to pipes and tobacco trays.
New Discoveries! Osaka's Archaeology 202623 NovOsaka Museum of History
About 150 finds and photo panels from recent Osaka excavations, including late Naniwa Palace roof tiles and Toyotomi-period gold-leaf tiles.
- Monogatari (Tales)30 Nov
Fujita Museum
Paintings and crafts drawn from stories, including a Genji picture album, Korin's cherry-blossom writing box and the Saigyo album.
Also on through November
Andrew Wyethto 6 DecAbeno Harukas Art Museum
Japan's first Wyeth retrospective: about 100 works, 15 new to Japan, built around windows, doors and the theme of boundaries.
- Living along the Saru River: Ainu Lives from Ancestral Times to the Presentto 15 Dec
National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku)
Special exhibition on Ainu life along the Saru River in Hokkaido, from ancestral times to the present.
- The Torres Strait (Zenadth Kes) and Japan: History and Connection As Seen Through the Ohshima George Photograph Collectionto 15 Dec
National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku)
Thematic exhibition on the history of the Torres Strait and its ties to Japan, seen through the Ohshima George photograph collection.
NHK Sunday Museum 50th Anniversary Exhibitionto 20 DecNakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
Marks 50 years of NHK's Sunday Museum art programme, with works by Ishida Tetsuya, Takahashi Yuichi, Ito Jakuchu and Funakoshi Katsura.
Dynamic Calligraphy of the Ming Dynasty: Treasures from the Ho Chuang-shih Collection, Taipeito 20 DecOsaka City Museum of Fine Arts
Ming dynasty calligraphy from the Taipei collection of Ho Chuang-shih, shown in a special exhibition. No display changes during the run.
- Asian Sculptureto 20 Dec
Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
Chinese cave-temple sculpture from the museum's collection, featuring Tianlongshan, Longmen and Xiangtangshan, including a seated Tang Buddha of 703.
- East Asian Metalworkto 20 Dec
Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
Chinese and Japanese metalwork compared, including a 14th-century openwork silver-gilt sutra box and the Han dynasty winged figure that inspired the museum's mascot.
- Jingdezhen Ceramics of the Late Ming and Early Qingto 20 Dec
Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
Jingdezhen porcelain from the late Ming to early Qing, made for Chinese, European and Japanese tastes, shown alongside the Ming calligraphy exhibition.
- Teach Me, Noh Performer!to 28 Dec
Fujita Museum
Noh masks, robes and related paintings and lacquerware, shown with the Shukugawa Noh stage Kawarashoen to explain Noh.
- Edo in Focus: Japanese Treasures from the British Museumto 31 Jan 2027
Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
Edo-period paintings and ukiyo-e prints from the British Museum's Japanese collection, including works by Hokusai, Utamaro and Hiroshige.
Opening in December 2026
iStratified Languages: Images from Contact Zones
1 DecNational Museum of Art, Osaka
iToward the 50th Anniversary Collection 2: Contemporary Art as History
1 DecNational Museum of Art, Osaka
iOsaka Directory 14: Sako Teppei
19 DecNakanoshima Museum of Art, OsakaFree
iLucie Rie: Elegant Ceramics Bridging East and West
26 DecAbeno Harukas Art Museum
Opening in January 2027
iCreative Women in Japan: Paving the Way for 100 Years
9 Jan 2027Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
iVietnam and Ceramics of the Sea: Maritime Trade Seen in Blue-Patterned Porcelain
9 Jan 2027Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
iOsaka Directory 15: Inui Mayuko
23 Jan 2027Nakanoshima Museum of Art, OsakaFree
Kobayashi Ichizo's Love of Art: Literary and Artistic Works in His Books
23 Jan 2027Itsuo Art Museum
Image credits
15
- Kagaku no Mikata: Everyday Things Full of WonderCourtesy of Osaka Science Museum
- Osaka Directory 13: Tachibana HazukiCourtesy of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
- Okuda Benjiro, Sennichimae's ShowmanCourtesy of Osaka Museum of History
- Nomu: Tea, Sake and Smoking VesselsCourtesy of Itsuo Art Museum
- New Discoveries! Osaka's Archaeology 2026Courtesy of Osaka Museum of History
- Andrew WyethChristina Olson, 1947, Myron Kunin Collection, Minneapolis. Photo: Curtis Galleries, Inc. © 2026 Wyeth Foundation for American Art / ARS, New York / JASPAR, Tokyo
- NHK Sunday Museum 50th Anniversary ExhibitionCourtesy of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
- Dynamic Calligraphy of the Ming Dynasty: Treasures from the Ho Chuang-shih Collection, TaipeiCourtesy of Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
- Stratified Languages: Images from Contact ZonesCourtesy of National Museum of Art, Osaka
- Toward the 50th Anniversary Collection 2: Contemporary Art as HistoryCourtesy of National Museum of Art, Osaka
- Osaka Directory 14: Sako TeppeiCourtesy of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
- Lucie Rie: Elegant Ceramics Bridging East and WestPhoto: Rui Shinano
- Creative Women in Japan: Paving the Way for 100 YearsCourtesy of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
- Vietnam and Ceramics of the Sea: Maritime Trade Seen in Blue-Patterned PorcelainCourtesy of Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
- Osaka Directory 15: Inui MayukoCourtesy of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
Stay in the loop on Osaka
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.