Shopping Guide
Sakura Exhibition 2015 in Tokyo is currently being held for five days straight from March 24. With international tours held every year, the schedule for this year’s American exhibitions will soon be released.
The Sakura Exhibition is a chance to introduce and showcase Japanese creators and sakura to the world. Since its start in 2009, the exhibition has made its way around the world to places like the U.S., U.K., Portugal, the Netherlands, Thailand, Vietnam, and others.
Hideyuki Mori, an event management staff member, noted, “This year we have a lot more works from arts lab-type creators drawing in analog than before. When the Sakura Exhibition first started, we had a lot of bold and distinct artwork using Bezier curves, but this time, there was an increase in the number of hand-illustrated, soft artworks.” He also explained that the change in time might be the reason behind the increase in analog styles. “As computers were just starting to get used, artwork using different software was new and fresh. Now, it seems like the craze of using digital tools has died down a lot.”
On display at the Tokyo exhibition hall are 122 creators’ works, which range widely from manga-style designs to rigid digitized styles. The official site will upload information on the works after early April.
Also, all the works (high quality, on-demand print) will be available for sale internationally. For those interested, don’t miss out on the notification from the event’s official Facebook page.
“I think there are a lot of people interested in Japanese animation and illustration,” Mr. Mori commented. “Aside from the ones that are already popular abroad, we have a wide breadth of works here. I hope visitors will be able to discover them and find a new appeal to these artworks as well.”
The international tour will take place in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco to time it with the National Cherry Blossom Festival 1 in America. “We have a few different sites in mind as well, and are currently in the middle of reviewing them. We’re definitely looking to bring the exhibition to a lot of different places, so that’s something people can look forward to,” Mr. Mori said with a smile.
Sakura Exhibition 2015 will be electing and announcing the grand prize winner (Sakura Prize) and the business/organization prize (including the TOM Prize) from the artworks this fall.
^1^ A sakura-themed spring festival that occurs in Washington, D.C., U.S. The origin of the festival comes from Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki and his gift of cherry trees to Washington, D.C. in March, 1912. Starting on Family Day, the last Saturday of March, the festival takes place every year for two weeks.
[Event Details]
Dates: March 24–28, 2015
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. opening on the first day)
