Image: The Museum of Art, Kōchi, Kōchi-shi
The Museum of Art, Kōchi will continue displaying a neon work by Yanagi with its lights switched off, following the artist’s wishes, according to a museum update published on August 19, 2026.
The notice says the work, which takes the form of Japan’s national flag, stopped operating on August 15. The museum will nevertheless maintain its public presentation, but in an unlit state. The update does not provide the work’s title or specify the artist’s full name.
The date of the shutdown coincided with August 15, observed in Japan as the anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The museum describes the coincidence as an opportunity to reconsider the relationship between the work and the society and history surrounding it today.
The decision changes the work’s visible condition without ending its display. Rather than removing the piece after the neon ceased operating, the museum has said it will continue to make the work available to viewers in darkness, in accordance with Yanagi’s intention.
The museum’s statement presents the altered presentation in historical as well as operational terms. It identifies the flag-like form, the date on which the neon stopped, and the artist’s request as factors in its decision to keep the work on view. No further information about the duration of the unlit display or any related programme was included in the update.
The neon work stopped operating on August 15, 2026, and remains on public display at the Museum of Art, Kōchi with its illumination turned off.
