Japanese Gallery Kensington

03/10/2026

Japan Matsuri is tomorrow! 🇯🇵

What can you find at our Japan Matsuri stall?
We’ll be bringing a wide selection of Japanese art, collectibles and traditional items to Trafalgar Square, including:

🎞️ Original anime production cels
🎨 Japanese posters
👘 Kimono-themed prints
🥢 Japanese chopsticks
and more.

Whether you’re looking for a unique piece of Japanese art, an anime collectible or a traditional Japanese gift, come and explore our selection at Japan Matsuri.
You’ll find us on the North Terrace, on the National Gallery side of Trafalgar Square.

📅 Sunday 4 October
⏰ 10am–8pm
📍 Trafalgar Square
🏛️ National Gallery side
@‌japan_matsuri

30/09/2026

21/09/2026

50 warriors. 50 stories. One of Kuniyoshi’s great series of warrior prints.
Created from 1848, Heroes of the Grand Pacification brings legendary warlords, strategists and warriors to life through bold portraits, dramatic settings and short biographies.
Working under the restrictions of the Tokugawa shogunate, Kuniyoshi used altered names while giving each figure a distinctive identity and story.

08/09/2026

Tomorrow, 9 September, is Choyo no Sekku, one of Japan’s five traditional seasonal observances and a day closely associated with chrysanthemums.
Chrysanthemums have long symbolised longevity and good fortune in Japan, and the occasion was traditionally marked by appreciating the flowers.
This print, Chrysanthemums Viewing by Chikanobu Yoshu, depicts women of the Ōoku, the inner quarters of Edo Castle, enjoying chrysanthemums in bloom.
A fitting scene for this elegant seasonal tradition.
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Artist: Chikanobu Yoshu (1838-1912)
Title: Chrysanthemums Viewing
Series: Court Ladies of the Chiyoda Palace
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04/09/2026

From paper to skin.
Kuniyoshi’s tattooed Suikoden heroes became hugely popular in Edo Japan, with their designs inspiring real tattoos and spreading across ukiyo-e, kabuki and tattoo culture.

01/09/2026

“Those who do not learn from yesterday, nor know what tomorrow may bring, may have only today to live.”, attributed to Yoshimoto Imagawa
In 1560, Yoshimoto Imagawa led a powerful army into Owari, where he faced the much smaller forces of Nobunaga Oda.
At Okehazama, heavy rain swept across the battlefield before Nobunaga’s forces reached Yoshimoto’s position. Yoshimoto fought back, but ultimately lost his life in the clash.
Nearly three centuries later, Kuniyoshi Utagawa depicted his final moments in Night Rain at Narumi.
Under driving rain, Yoshimoto makes his final stand. The verse inscribed above the scene also recalls the rain at Okehazama and Mōri, the warrior traditionally credited with ending Yoshimoto’s life.
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◆Highlight Item
Artist: Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1798-1861)
Title: Night Rain at Narumi, Inagawa Yoshioto
Series: Eight Views of Military Glory
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28/08/2026

As September approaches, we look at the special place the moon has long held in Japanese culture.
From tsukimi and the many names given to the moon, to Tsukioka Yosh*toshi’s One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, its changing forms have inspired generations of Japanese artists.

24/08/2026

As summer draws to a close, we look back at the centuries-old tradition of fireworks at Ryogoku.
Dating back to the eighteenth century, the displays became one of Edo’s great summer spectacles, with crowds and pleasure boats gathering along the Sumida River.
Today, the tradition lives on in the Sumida River Fireworks Festival.

20/08/2026

Pilgrims once carried enormous wooden swords all the way from Edo to Mount Oyama.
During the Edo period, groups of craftsmen and townsmen travelled to Oyama carrying large wooden swords, or kidachi, as votive offerings, praying for protection from misfortune and the fulfilment of their wishes. Before climbing the mountain, they purified themselves beneath its waterfalls and offered the swords.
This 1860 triptych by Toyokuni III depicts kabuki actors as stylish Oyama pilgrims, in red fundoshi, with elaborate tattoos and wooden swords dedicated to Oyama Sekison Daigongen.
Oyama pilgrimage became so popular that it also found its way into kabuki and rakugo, becoming part of Edo’s wider popular culture.
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◆Highlight Item
Artist: Toyokuni III Utagawa (1786-1865)
Title: Actors at the Waterfall of Oyama Sekison Shrine
Publisher: Itoya Shobei
Date: 1860
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