Graphic Japan

The first major exhibition in Italy on Japanese graphic art, Graphic Japan: From Hokusai to Manga, curated by Rossella Menegazzo and Eleonora Lanza, concluded on April 6, 2026, with great success, attracting over 55,000 visitors.
The exhibition, along with a rich calendar of activities — from the Public Program events, through which the public could explore the various facets of Japanese culture, to the film festival in collaboration with the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna—brought a broad and varied vision of Japan’s visual tradition to the city.
The strength of the project lay in its collaboration with numerous local organizations, including the Centro Studi d’Arte Estremo-Orientale, the University of Bologna, the Fondazione Bologna Welcome, and the Takamori cultural association, which made it possible to delve into the diverse expressions of Japanese culture—from Kamishibai theater to cinema, through fashion and music with the OtoDama concert, all the way to ukiyo-e prints.

Graphic Japan. From Hokusai to Manga, the major exhibition making its Italian debut in Bologna at the Civic Archaeological Museum, is a captivating visual narrative that traces the evolution of Japanese graphic art, from the iconic ukiyo-e prints of the Edo period (1603–1868) to contemporary manga and posters. A fascinating journey through the mark, the line, and the expressive power of a visual language that, over the centuries, has maintained a surprising aesthetic and conceptual coherence.

The exhibition is organized into four thematic sections—Nature, Figures, Line, and Contemporary Japonism—and features over 200 works: prints, illustrated books, posters, katagami (decorative stencils for fabric printing), and fine craftsmanship. A rich and multifaceted narrative that spans multiple art forms, from calligraphy to typography, from design to fashion, from cinema to comics.

Graphic Japan explores the reasons behind the international success of Japanese graphic art, highlighting the close connection between line and vision. From the elegant woodblock prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige to the more contemporary languages of manga, the exhibition illustrates how this artistic tradition has managed to renew itself over time while remaining faithful to its visual and poetic identity.

The works come from major Italian and Japanese public and private collections, including the “Edoardo Chiossone” Museum of Oriental Art in Genoa, the Museum of Oriental Art in Venice, the Dai Nippon Foundation for Cultural Promotion, and the Adachi Foundation.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Emilia-Romagna Region.