Exhibitions in Osaka
October 2026
October 2026 at a glance: 9 exhibitions opened, 0 closed, and 5 more were on view across the city.
Opened in October
- Teach Me, Noh Performer!1 Oct
Fujita Museum
Noh masks, robes and related paintings and lacquerware, shown with the Shukugawa Noh stage Kawarashoen to explain Noh.
Andrew Wyeth3 OctAbeno Harukas Art Museum
Japan's first Wyeth retrospective: about 100 works, 15 new to Japan, built around windows, doors and the theme of boundaries.
Dynamic Calligraphy of the Ming Dynasty: Treasures from the Ho Chuang-shih Collection, Taipei9 OctOsaka 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 Sculpture9 Oct
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 Metalwork9 Oct
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 Qing9 Oct
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.
NHK Sunday Museum 50th Anniversary Exhibition10 OctNakanoshima 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.
- Enjoying Fossils 202617 Oct
Osaka Museum of Natural History
Theme display of fossils normally kept in storage, from Paleozoic invertebrates to Cenozoic vertebrates, including the heteromorph ammonite Nipponites.
- Edo in Focus: Japanese Treasures from the British Museum31 Oct
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.
Was on view in October
Nomu: Tea, Sake and Smoking Vesselsto 23 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 2026to 23 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)to 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.
- 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.
Image credits
5
- Andrew WyethChristina Olson, 1947, Myron Kunin Collection, Minneapolis. Photo: Curtis Galleries, Inc. © 2026 Wyeth Foundation for American Art / ARS, New York / JASPAR, Tokyo
- Dynamic Calligraphy of the Ming Dynasty: Treasures from the Ho Chuang-shih Collection, TaipeiCourtesy of Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
- NHK Sunday Museum 50th Anniversary ExhibitionCourtesy of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
- Nomu: Tea, Sake and Smoking VesselsCourtesy of Itsuo Art Museum
- New Discoveries! Osaka's Archaeology 2026Courtesy of Osaka Museum of History
Stay in the loop on Osaka
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.