Yokoo Tadanori Prints Retrospective - HANGA JUNGLE-
- Main Features of the Exhibition
- Exhibition Overview
- Layout of Exhibition
- Exhibition Information
- Official Catalog
- Related Events
Yokoo Tadanori - HANGA JUNGLE-

Main Features of the Exhibition
Great retrospective exhibition of HANGA
A total of 250 works – about 230 prints including new prints, almost all of his HANGA works, and about 20 “ HANGA” works which used to be considered as posters – will be on display. This great retrospective exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of HANGA from the 1960s to today!!
Are we in the jungle!? A spectacular exhibition space
Yokoo’s HANGA will be displayed on every wall of the temporary exhibition room. His production style never remains the same and Yokoo’s HANGA works create a complex and diverse jungle of ecosystems, transforming our exhibition room into a brightly colored space!!
“Beyond” the image of HANGA
From giant HANGA to painting-like HANGA and poster-like HANGA – The “hyper prints” which could change the idea of conventional “prints” are all displayed here!!
Exhibition Overview
After producing brightly colored posters flavored with eros and mysticism for underground theaters in the1960s, Tadanori Yokoo gained attention as a leading designer who had an impact on Japanese culture, using his graphical skills to set the trends of the time. Since then Yokoo has gained generous media exposure as a “man in the limelight.” At the same time, he has been actively engaged in HANGA production. Even after he “retired” from graphic design and took up painting in 1982, he has continued producing works beyond the framework of “prints.”
The descriptive words of this exhibition are “HANGA” and “JUNGLE.” In this exhibition, “HANGA,” now used in English and accepted globally, connotes “hyper prints” which does not draw on the image of traditional Japanese woodcuts.
Another descriptor, “JUNGLE,” symbolizes the overlapping of Yokoo’s diversity of expressions with jungle images. His works, whereby all things in the universe were depicted by instinct and impulse, conjure images of a primitive jungle, producing complex and diverse ecosystems through the coexistence of living creatures.
Based on these descriptive words, this exhibition attempts to bring out an extraordinary universe of expression with Tadanori Yokoo’s HANGA works covering every wall, in images of the JUNGLE where all living creatures exist in gregarious harmony.
This space will help you to visualize the significance, in terms of present context, of Yokoo’s bold stand against modernism, which stresses the importance of logical thinking, and even foresee the future of contemporary prints.
<Presented Works>
Tadanori Yokoo’s approximately 230 prints and 20 posters: Approximately 250 works in total.
Layout of Exhibition
I 1968-1970 Production Process to Produce Works: Prints and Printing
II 1973-1974 Illusion of Paradise and the Millennium
1973, silk screen, 241.8×292 cm.
Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts

1974, silk screen, 102.5×72.5 cm.
Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art
III 1980-1984 Declaration as a Painter: From Drawing to Painting

1980, silk screen, 77.3×56.1 cm.
Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art
IV 1984-1986 Body and Nature

1986, woodcut, 100.7×80 cm.
Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art
V 1986-1991 Citation from Famous Paintings: To Personal Paintings
VI 1990-Present Then and Now
VII HANGA Poster? Print?

1965, silk screen, 103.5×73.4 cm.
Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts
Exhibition Information
Duration | Saturday, April 22 - Sunday, June 18, 2017 |
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Closed | Monday |
Hours | Weekdays: 10:00-17:00 (visitors must enter by 16:30) Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays: 10:00-17:30 (visitors must enter by 17:00) |
Venue | Temporary Exhibition Room |
Admission | General visitors: 800 (600) yen College and high school students/Senior citizens 65 years old or older: 400 (300) yen Free for junior high school students and younger * The fees shown in parentheses are for groups of 20 visitors or more * Free admission on April 22 (the opening day) * Half price for visitors who bring a Physical Disability Certificate, Rehabilitation Certificate, or Mental Disability Certificate, and one person accompanying them |
Organizers | Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, Tokyo Shimbun |
Next exhibition venue and date | Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art (Kobe City, Hyogo) Saturday, September 9 - Sunday, December 24, 2017 |
Yokoo Tadanori HANGA JUNGLE flyer PDF[2.22MB] *Japanese Only
Yokoo Tadanori HANGA JUNGLE press release PDF[1.23MB] *Japanese Only
Official Catalog
Related Events
Lecture “Yokoo Tadanori and the World of Giant HANGA”
Speaker | Sawaragi Noi (art critic, professor at Tama Art University) |
Date and Time | Sunday, April 23, 14:00-15:30 (door opens at 13:30) |
Venue and seating capacity | Lecture Hall on the 1st floor Seating capacity: 160 (on a first-come basis on the day), sign language interpretation available |
* Lecture is free of charge, but is limited to the exhibition visitors only.
* Admission restrictions may apply if the venue reaches full capacity.
“On-Demand Studio Meeting” – Secrets behind Creation Overheard from “Chatting” (three-man talk)
Speakers | Yokoo Tadanori (artist), Hosaka Kazushi (novelist), Isozaki Kenichiro (novelist) |
Date and Time | Sunday, April 30, 14:30-16:00 (door opens at 14:00) |
Venue | Lecture Hall on the 1st floor |
Seating capacity | 160 (reservation required) ※申込み受付終了 |
Cooperation | Kawade Shobo Shinsha Publishers |
“Studio Meeting” has been appearing serially in the literary magazine, “Bungei” (Kawade Shobo Shinsha Publishers). This series features free talk of three men, Tadanori Yokoo, Kazushi Hosaka, and Kenichiro Isozaki, who gather at Yokoo’s studio in Seijo, Tokyo. Covering extensive topics from art to literature, their talk itself is the time in which they are living, and you will see a glimpse of the “heart” of their “creation.” In this special project, these three men leave the studio, and relocate to Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts to continue their tripartite talk. Come hear what they have to say about the secrets behind their creation through the talk between an artist and two novelists.
▶『アトリエ会議』(河出書房新社)“Studio Meeting” (Kawade Shobo Shinsha Publishers)
*Contents of the event are subject to change due to unexpected circumstances.
Talks by Tadanori Yokoo and Yuga Yamato
Speakers | Yokoo Tadanori (artist), Yamato Yuga (actress, singer/former top star of Cosmos Troupe of Takarazuka Revue) |
Date and Time | Sunday, May 14, 14:00-15:30 (door opens at 13:30) |
Venue and seating capacity | Lecture Hall on the 1st floor 160 (reservation required) |
Ms. Yuga Yamato, who is on good terms with Mr. Yokoo, is a guest speaker. Mr. Yokoo is known for being a Takarazuka fan, and has painted in the motif of Takarazuka and created posters for their shows. They will discuss the exhibition, and the charms of Yokoo’s works and Takarazuka.
*Contents of the event are subject to change due to unexpected circumstances.
Talks by Tadanori Yokoo and Mika Ninagawa
Speakers | Yokoo Tadanori (artist), Ninagawa Mika (photographer, film director) |
Date and Time | Thursday, May 25, 14:00-15:30 (door opens at 13:30) |
Venue and seating capacity | Lecture Hall on the 1st floor 160 (reservation required) |
Ms. Mika Ninagawa, who is an active photographer and film director, is a guest speaker. Ms. Ninagawa has been exposed to and fascinated by Mr. Yokoo’s works since childhood. They will discuss the exhibition, including the charms of Yokoo’s works from Ms. Ninagawa’s point of view, and their approach to their works.
*Contents of the event are subject to change due to unexpected circumstances.
Special Talk by Museum Director
Date and Time | Saturday, June 10, 14:00- (approximately 45 minutes) |
Please come to the entrance of the Special Exhibition Room on the second floor with the ticket for the event.
Gallery Talk by Curator
Date and Time | Saturday, April 29, Saturday, May 13 Saturday, May 20, Saturday, May 27 14:00- (approximately 45 minutes) |
Please come to the entrance of the Special Exhibition Room on the second floor with the ticket for the event.
▶TADANORI YOKOO OFFICIAL WEBSITE
The latest information about Tadanori Yokoo’s journal, Twitter, and works can be found here.