Image: Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts has opened a special exhibition, 'Water Margin', to mark its 90th anniversary. The show runs from July 11 to September 6, 2026, and brings together works spanning from Northern Song dynasty treasures to contemporary pieces inspired by the Chinese classic 'Water Margin'. The museum says the exhibition is designed to present the literary world of the tale through a wide range of art objects and later interpretations, rather than as a straightforward retelling of the novel itself.
According to the museum, 'Water Margin' uses one of the four great classic Chinese novels as its point of departure to survey art from the Northern Song through the Qing period, alongside Japanese works from the Edo era to the present. Among the named works on the museum website are Yan Wengui’s 'Landscape with Towers and Pavilions', a Northern Song painting held by Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts and displayed from July 11 to August 23, and Song dynasty ceramics including the Ru ware 'Celadon Water Lily Basin' in the collection of the Osaka City Museum of Oriental Ceramics. The exhibition also includes a broad historical range of Japanese material linked to the theme.
The museum’s announcement highlights the presence of works by Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, two artists long associated with the visual afterlife of Chinese narrative subjects in Japan. The website specifically cites Hokusai’s 'New Illustrated Water Margin', while Kuniyoshi appears in a print showing heroic figures from the tale. The museum also notes that the exhibition reaches into the modern era, naming artist Saito Takao among the featured contributors in the email announcement, which underscores the continuing appeal of the story across media and generations.
The exhibition is part of Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts’ 90th anniversary programming, and the museum frames it as an effort to connect Chinese and Japanese art through a shared cultural reference. The site explains that 'Water Margin' became hugely popular in Japan after entering the country in the Edo period, prompting adaptations and related works, including versions illustrated by Hokusai and other artists. The museum presents the show as a chance to revisit that long history of reception through paintings, prints, ceramics and related objects.
The museum has also built a set of related programming and display elements around the exhibition. A display of costumes from the drama series 'Kokoro Takeru Water Margin' is included, along with an audio guide led by actor Kazuya Kamenashi, who plays Lin Chong in the series. The email announcement also mentions a collaboration with the Sanrio character Bad Badtz-Maru, with merchandise available in a special shop at the venue.
Admission details listed on the museum website give general entry at 2,000 yen, with reduced prices for university and high school students at 1,400 yen and for elementary and junior high school students at 500 yen. Opening hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:30 p.m. The museum says the exhibition is organized by Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Yomiuri Shimbun and WOWOW, with support from several companies and backing from the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau. The same site notes that a related series of upcoming exhibitions includes 'The Energetic Ming Dynasty Calligraphy: Treasures from the Taipei He Chuang-shih Collection', scheduled for October 9 to December 20, 2026.
