As we are nearing the end of 2023, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and share our activities at the Maruki Gallery.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your support and visiting the gallery this year. 

Activities and programs held at the Maruki Gallery in 2023

This year, for the first time in three years since the pandemic started, we could hold events at the gallery for large audiences. We also received an increasing number of group visits, including school classes. 

In 2023, we carried out the following exhibitions and events. Click the title for more details.

[Special Exhibition] Cho Kunje Photography Exhibition: From Subterranean Darkness to the Light Above – Coal Mines, Koreans, and Leprosy

[Mini Special Exhibition] Special Exhibition of Ogata Jun’s Works “Montage of Flame and Ash” — Preserving the Color of Memory and the Great Tokyo Air Raids

[Workshop] Searching for Pieces of Change at the Maruki Gallery

[Event] 56th Anniversary of Opening of the Maruki Gallery

[Special Exhibition] Kubo Sutemi Woodblock Print Exhibition: Our Path

[Event] Hiroshima Memorial Day at the Maruki Gallery – Hokimoto Sora and Maeno Kenta live performance

[Special Exhibition] Yuma Tomiyasu – In Presence of Shadows

[Special Exhibition]   “Pikadon” and its times

[Event] Screening of Phantom Light “Pikadon – Hiroshima A-Bomb Story” and reading of Musei Tokugawa’s “Chain Reaction: Hiroshima Yumoresuku”

[Mini Special Exhibition] Pieces of Change and Beyond – Records of the research at the Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels / Renovation plan

We also streamed some of the events online this year, as well as shared videos related to the exhibitions. The videos (Japanese) are available on Maruki Gallery’s YouTube Channel.

[Talk Event] 56th Anniversary Talk Event: ‘Designing the Midst of Change’ 
[Preview of Special Exhibition] Yuma TomiyasuIn Presence of Shadows
[Preview of Special Exhibition] Pieces of Change and Beyond
[Online Talk Program] Pieces of Change – Findings from the survey of the current Maruki Gallery architecture 
[Talk Event] Announcing a proposed renovation plan
[Online Report Session] Report session on the activities of the Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels
*We also have many other archived videos.

We are happy that the online activities we started during the pandemic have enabled us to reach new audiences, as well as our long-time supporters who live far from the Maruki Gallery.

Report on the restoration of paintings

In July this year, The Hiroshima Panels (I): Ghosts, which was restored by the Cultural Property Aichi University of the Arts, returned to the Maruki Gallery and is back on display. The director and researchers of the Institute were present on the day of delivery, and it was covered by various media outlets.

Ghosts was mounted on a folding screen from a hanging scroll in the 1980s. This was the first major restoration since then, entailing the replacement of the folding screen’s frame, as well as renewing the backing paper and meticulously removing stains on the surface. Viewers may feel that the surface of the painting has become a little brighter.

Currently, The Hiroshima Panels (II): Fire is undergoing a restoration process; Fire was taken out when Ghosts returned. The restoration process is expected to take about 18 months, so Fire will return to the Maruki Gallery in 2025, after the restoration is completed. In the meantime, a full-size replica is on display so that visitors will be able to see what the painting looks like.

Progress update on the Preservation Fund for the Hiroshima Panels

The Preservation Fund for the Hiroshima Panels, which started on 5 May 2017 (the 50th anniversary of the gallery’s opening) has received warm support from all over the world. 

As of the end of October 2023, the cumulative amount of donations exceeds 300 million Japanese yen. After deducting ongoing expenditures (costs for design work, pre-construction work, PR activities, restoration of the paintings, etc.), the total amount stands at approximately 240 million Japanese yen.

From the beginning of this process, we have informed our supporters that the target amount for the renovation costs was 300 million Japanese yen. However, due to the significant rise in material and labor costs in recent years, the estimated cost of the renovation has increased. We are now faced with a very difficult decision on the future of the building.

According to our current estimates, our new target amount is a total of 400 million yen. We will inform you of the next target amount as soon as possible.

Thank you again for your continued support and cooperation! 

We sincerely thank you for all your support this year. 
We wish you a wonderful 2024!