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Exhibition Overview: 'Hiroshima Midori-toridori'

From August 1 to August 17, 2025, the YUGEN Gallery in Omotesando, Tokyo, will host a special exhibition titled "Hiroshima Midori-toridori" to commemorate 80 years since World War II's end. This collective exhibition, organized by Tamentai Gallery in Hiroshima, aims to promote reflection on Hiroshima's transformation over eight decades using botanical themes.

Curator's Statement

Eighty years ago, Hiroshima was reduced to ashes after the atomic bombing, earning it the sorrowful title of a barren wasteland where “not a blade of grass could grow for 75 years.” Today, the city thrives, enveloped in lush greenery. However, recent years have seen a rising number of fallen trees in the urban center.

The saplings sent from around the world, symbolizing hopes for peace and recovery, have flourished, but now some are exhausted beyond what humanity expected. This exhibition confronts such realities by focusing on the diverse vegetative life of Hiroshima, tracing connections between modern Japanese history, war, and the continuum of recovery to the present.

Featured Artists

Four artists will showcase their works:

• - Asuka Takamatsu draws inspiration from the early post-war years, capturing the neatly planted young trees and the flower fields of insect-repelling chrysanthemums that once blanketed the Seto Inland Sea Islands. While these landscapes are lost to urban economic activities over time, museumgoers will discover through her art how the essence of these scenes persists in the vibrancy of modern nature.
• - Mayu Watanabe creates collages by pasting photographs of plants onto imaginary islands. At this exhibition, she'll exhibit a collection featuring various plants captured in Hiroshima, forming a unique ecosystem on a piece of paper, along with a new video installation. Her work focuses on a fallen American honey locust in Hiroshima, producing hand-drawn animations that evoke a “shady nook” inspired by this tree.
• - Moeko Tokumoto, known for using leaves as her medium, will present “Map of Migratory Birds,” a piece crafted by stitching together leaves collected with community support in Hiroshima. The peculiar patterns reflect the diverse traits of the trees, reinforcing that these plants serve various purposes, not just for human benefit, but also as resting spots for weary birds.
• - Taiki Arita will reveal a new work exploring the aftermath of the “black rain” that fell in Hiroshima's outskirts immediately following the bombing event. Using materials from the region where this rain was reported, alongside charred organic matter from modern Hiroshima, Arita’s abstract pieces challenge the viewer to consider the lasting impact of such cataclysmic events.

Event Duration & Details

Exhibition Title: Special Exhibition for 80 Years Post-War: “Hiroshima Midori-toridori”
Duration: August 1 (Fri) to August 17 (Sun), 2025
Hours: Weekdays 13:00 - 19:00, Weekends and Holidays 13:00 - 20:00
Note: The final day will end at 17:00; the gallery will remain open throughout the exhibition.
Location: YUGEN Gallery, 3-1-31 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Entry Fee: Free

Gallery Talks and Events

On August 2 and 3, join curator Kou Yamamoto for guided gallery talks, where visitors can immerse themselves in the artworks on display. Furthermore, on August 11 at 18:30, an online talk event titled “Reflecting on Plants and Our Distance from August 1945” will feature discussions with the participating artists. This intersection of art and remembrance will contextualize their creations within the shifting landscapes over the past eight decades.

About YUGEN Gallery

Established in February 2022, YUGEN Gallery specializes in contemporary Japanese art, with locations in Omotesando, Tokyo, and in Fukuoka. The name “YUGEN” captures the essence of Japanese aesthetic ideals, encompassing depth, elegance, and grace—attributes embodied in the artworks exhibited.

Explore more on the gallery's official website