Image: Kurita Museum, Ashikaga
Kurita Museum in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, will hold a special talk event on Sept. 26, 2026, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s private visit to the museum. The program is timed to the exact date Mercury came to the museum in 1986, after Queen’s Magic Tour had ended, and will bring together two people who accompanied him on that trip: his former bodyguard and his interpreter.
According to the announcement, the event is being organized at the museum itself, with the talk scheduled for the museum’s Ceramic Hall. It will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., with doors opening at 1:30 p.m. Admission to the event is limited to 80 people, with all seats reserved and assigned numbered entry. Tickets will go on sale at noon on Aug. 18 through LivePocket.
The featured speakers are Hisao Itami, who served as Mercury’s bodyguard during Queen’s visits to Japan, and Shiomi Watanabe, who worked as Mercury’s interpreter during the band’s Japan trips in the 1980s. The event will be moderated by Satoshi Yoshida, identified by MUSIC LIFE CLUB as a Queen concierge. The museum and event notice say the discussion will focus on memories, anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories from Mercury’s visit.
The museum’s announcement says Mercury visited Kurita Museum on Sept. 26, 1986, during a private trip to Japan. The source material notes that he reportedly spent nearly half a day touring the collection and showed strong interest in Imari and Nabeshima ceramics. The talk event is intended to revisit that visit through the recollections of the two people who accompanied him.
Kurita Museum is in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, and the event notice lists the venue as the museum’s Ceramic Hall, with the museum address given as 1542 Komaba-cho, Ashikaga City. Separate from the talk ticket, standard museum admission remains applicable: 1,250 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary, junior high and high school students. The museum’s opening hours are listed as 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The announcement also says that no special Queen-themed exhibition or other special display will be held in connection with the event. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.
