Matsuzakaya Nagoya will hold the exhibition Bhajju Shyam "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" Announcement Commemorative Exhibition from Thursday, November 19 to Monday, November 23, 2026 (a national holiday), in the large event hall on the 7th floor of its Main Building. The exhibition marks the announcement of "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories," an autobiographical picture book and short animation by Bhajju Shyam, an artist from the Gond people of India.
The original artworks of the picture book and the animation will be shown in the Tokai region for the first time. About 20 original artworks, including pieces shown at the solo exhibition at World Heritage site Toji Temple in Kyoto, will be on display, and some of them will be on sale. Admission is free.
In addition, the "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" Announcement Commemorative Fair, previously held at Daikanyama Tsutaya Books and Ginza Tsutaya Books, will tour five Tsutaya stores nationwide, starting at Nagoya Minato Tsutaya Books on Wednesday, October 21.
Matsuzakaya Nagoya Exhibition
Matsuzakaya Nagoya will hold an exhibition commemorating the completion of "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories," the first picture book and short animation that Bhajju Shyam, an artist from the Gond people of India, has created jointly with Japan.
Bhajju Shyam is known as a co-author of The Night Life of Trees (Tara Books), which won the Bologna Ragazzi Award. His work expresses the myths and views of nature handed down among the Indigenous Gond people of central India through fine lines and vivid colors. In 2018, he became the first Gond artist to receive Padma Shri, one of the most prestigious civilian honors in India. In Japan, his first solo exhibition "Bhajju Shyam KYOTO" was held in 2023 and 2025 at World Heritage site Toji Temple in Kyoto, and about 30,000 people in total have visited, including its traveling exhibition at Tokeiji Temple in Kamakura.
Highlights
- The original artworks of the picture book "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" are shown in the Tokai region for the first time
- A short animation with the artist's own narration and tabla performance by U-zhaan will be screened
- About 20 original artworks, including pieces shown at Toji Temple, are on display (some are on sale)
Picture books, reproduction prints and original goods will also be available at the venue. Ahead of the exhibition, the "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" Announcement Commemorative Fair will start at Nagoya Minato Tsutaya Books on Wednesday, October 21.
Exhibition Details
- Exhibition name: Bhajju Shyam "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" Announcement Commemorative Exhibition – The World of Picture Book, Film and Original Artworks Opened by an Indian Storyteller –
- Dates: Thursday, November 19 to Monday, November 23, 2026 (national holiday)
- Hours: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM (closes at 6:00 PM on the final day)
- Venue: Matsuzakaya Nagoya, Main Building 7th floor, large event hall (3-16-1 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya)
- Admission: Free
- Organizer: Matsuzakaya Nagoya
- Planning: Bhajju Shyam KYOTO Executive Committee (バッジュ・シャーム・キョウト実行委員会)
- Details: https://dmdepart.jp/museum/nagoya/bhajjushyam-japan/
"MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" Announcement Commemorative Fair
Photo: Sachiko Sasaki
Following its favorable reception at Daikanyama Tsutaya Books and Ginza Tsutaya Books, the "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" Announcement Commemorative Fair will tour five stores in Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo and Fukuoka.
At the venues, the picture book "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" is on sale, together with reproduction prints and original goods inspired by the world of the work. The fair offers a chance to experience Bhajju Shyam's world through books and products.
- Nagoya Minato Tsutaya Books (名古屋みなと 蔦屋書店), Nagoya
- Dates: Wednesday, October 21 to Thursday, November 19, 2026
- Venue: 1st-floor event space
- Umeda Tsutaya Books (梅田 蔦屋書店), Osaka
- Dates: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 to Tuesday, January 5, 2027
- Venue: Next to the south counter
- Daikanyama Tsutaya Books (代官山 蔦屋書店), Tokyo (second time held here)
- Dates: Saturday, January 30 to Friday, February 12, 2027
- Venue: Building 1, 1st-floor natural science floor
- Ropponmatsu Tsutaya Books (六本松 蔦屋書店), Fukuoka
- Dates: Monday, February 15 to Sunday, March 7, 2027
- Venue: Children's section display table
- Futako-Tamagawa Tsutaya Kaden (二子玉川 蔦屋家電), Tokyo
- Dates: Wednesday, March 10 to Wednesday, April 14, 2027
- Venue: 2nd floor, Gallery 2
Venue details will be announced by each store at a later date.
About "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories"
"MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" is an autobiographical work that tells the story of Bhajju Shyam's life through his own narration and newly drawn original artworks. His life in a Gond village in the forest, his encounter with his teacher, his experiences in an unfamiliar country, and his feelings about drawing are vividly portrayed through his own eyes. In the picture book, pictures and words resonate on every spread, allowing readers to trace the world of memory through rich colors and the texture of the paper. In the short animation, the artist's own voice and the performances of musicians including U-zhaan, one of Japan's leading tabla players, gently bring the painted landscapes and creatures to life.
Picture Book
- Title: MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories
- Publication date: July 15, 2026 (early release at JR Kyoto Isetan, followed by sales at retailers and online)
- Publisher: Bhajju Shyam KYOTO Executive Committee
- List price: ¥3,960 (¥3,600 plus tax)
- Format: A4 landscape, modified size (W308 x H220 mm)
- ISBN: 978-4-9914474-1-9
- Languages: Japanese, English and Hindi
- Art direction and design: Kenta Shibano (芝野健太)
- Printing and binding: Live Art Books Co., Ltd. (株式会社ライブアートブックス)
Animation
- Title: Bhajju Shyam: MORIBITO - The Keeper of Memories
- Year: 2026
- Running time: 6 min. 7 sec.
- Language: Hindi (with Japanese and English subtitles)
- Original artworks and narration: Bhajju Shyam
- Music: Yosuke Nagao (長尾洋輔)
- Tabla: U-zhaan
- Bansuri: Taro Terahara (寺原太郎)
- Nominated in the short film category at the 1st Japan-China International Animation Film Festival (第1回日中国際アニメーション映画祭)
The "MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories" Project
A Japan-India joint production project that grew out of "Bhajju Shyam KYOTO," the exhibition series of Gond artist Bhajju Shyam (first held in 2023 at World Heritage site Toji Temple in Kyoto). It delivers to audiences in Japan and abroad, in the form of a picture book and animation, the artist's memories, words and creative background that an exhibition alone cannot fully convey.
Bhajju Shyam Profile
Bhajju Shyam was born in Patangarh, a Gond village in a forest in central India. Inheriting the expressions and stories of the Gond people and refining them through his own perspective, he continues to expand the expression of contemporary Gond art by blending a modern sensibility with simple storytelling. Beginning with a group exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1998, solo and group exhibitions of his work have been held around the world.
His representative works include The Night Life of Trees, published by the South Indian publisher Tara Books and translated into eight languages worldwide (Japanese edition: 夜の木, published by タムラ堂), and Creation (Japanese edition: 世界のはじまり, published by タムラ堂). In 2018, he became the first Gond artist to receive Padma Shri, one of the most prestigious civilian honors in India.
