The Hakutsuru Art Museum (白鶴美術館) in Kobe's Higashinada Ward is holding its spring exhibition from Tuesday, March 3 through Sunday, June 7, 2026.
The sub-building exhibition is titled "Creatures Alive! Alive! — Hakutsuru Animal Wonderland Through Art", while the new building presents "Animal Patterns in Middle Eastern Carpets".
About the Exhibition
The exhibition draws from the museum's collection of Chinese fine arts and crafts as well as Japanese paintings and calligraphy, spotlighting works in which animals play a central role.
Bronze vessels from the Yin and Western Zhou periods, dating back more than 3,000 years, are adorned with mythical creatures assembled from various animal forms. As history progressed, divine and fantastical beasts continued to appear in art, before depictions of real-world animals grew more prominent during the Tang dynasty — a shift particularly visible in the museum's silverware collection.
The exhibition aims to trace how people have represented animals throughout history, examining the backgrounds and purposes behind each work — from ancient mythical beasts and guardian deities to familiar creatures from everyday life. The new building complements this theme with an exploration of animals rendered in Middle Eastern carpets.
Main Exhibits
Sub-Building (Chinese Art and Crafts)
- Bird-Shaped You Vessel (鳥形卣) — Western Zhou period
- Gold-Plated Silver Cup with Hunting Scene in Hexagonal Form (鍍金狩猟文六花形銀杯) — Tang period ※Important Cultural Property
- Five-Colored Jar with Fish and Aquatic Plants (五彩魚藻文壺) — Ming period
New Building (Carpets)
- Semnan/Tehran, Northern Persia — Early 20th century
Exhibition Overview
| Sub-building title | Creatures Alive! Alive! — Hakutsuru Animal Wonderland Through Art |
| New building title | Animal Patterns in Middle Eastern Carpets |
| Period | Tuesday, March 3 – Sunday, June 7, 2026 |
| Closed | Every Monday (open May 4 Mon/Holiday; closed May 7 Thu instead) |
| Hours | 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM (last entry 4:00 PM) |
| Admission | Adults ¥800 / University & High School ¥500 / Middle & Elementary School ¥250 |
| Ages 65 and over ¥500 / Groups of 20 or more receive a 20% discount |
Related Events
Lecture: Cultural Property Conservation and Restoration
- Date: Sunday, May 3, 2:00 PM–3:00 PM
- Theme: "Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property — Focusing on Works from the Hakutsuru Art Museum"
- Speaker: Shin-ichiro Tagawa, Representative, Yanogami Cultural Property Restoration Studio
- Capacity: 40 people
Lecture: Animals in Ancient East Asian Culture
- Date: Sunday, May 24, 2:00 PM–3:30 PM
- Theme: "Journey Through East Asian Divine Beasts"
- Speaker: Fumiko Matsuura, Professor, Faculty of Letters, Nishogakusha University
- Capacity: 40 people
Lecture: Animals in Middle Eastern Carpets
- Date: Sunday, June 7, 2:00 PM–3:30 PM
- Theme: "Animals in Middle Eastern Carpets"
- Speaker: Norihito Hayashi, Associate Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Ryukoku University
- Capacity: 40 people
Workshop: Wool and Yarn
- Dates: Sunday, April 26 / Wednesday, May 6 (Holiday) / Sunday, May 10
- Time: 1:30 PM–3:30 PM
- Theme: "Sheep Wool and Yarn Workshop"
- Instructors: Students from Konan University
- Capacity: 40 people (5 seats)
Art Talk: Animals in Art
- Date: Saturday, June 6, 1:00 PM–2:30 PM
- Theme: "Animals in Art"
- Speaker: Museum curator
- Capacity: 40 people
Slide Lecture: Exhibition Highlights
- Dates: Each Saturday — March 7, April 4, May 2
- Time: 1:00 PM–2:00 PM
- Theme: "Exhibition Highlights"
- Speaker: Museum curator
- Capacity: 40 people
Access
Hakutsuru Art Museum
6-1-1 Sumiyoshiyamate, Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0063
- Approximately 1 km northeast of Hankyu Mikage Station (approx. 15-minute walk)
- Free parking available (large buses accommodated)
- From Hanshin Mikage Station or JR Sumiyoshi Station, take City Bus Route 38 (bound for Uzumori-dai) and alight at "Hakutsuru Bijutsukan-mae"
Official website: https://www.hakutsuru-museum.org
