Past exhibitions

Final days! Discover a fascinating world in an exhibition like no other, featuring over 180 wildly imaginative works by Japanese artists past and present.

Step into the shadows and come face-to-face with an astonishing array of phenomenal beings in Japan supernatural, where ghosts, goblins and mischievous shapeshifters inhabit a spirit realm. See Japan’s folklore brought to life in magnificent paintings, large-scale installations, miniature carvings and humorous illustrations, and explore the vibrant ukiyo-e woodblock prints that define the tradition of the supernatural in Japanese art.

Centred on a monumental installation of painting and sculpture by Takashi Murakami, the exhibition features some of the greatest Japanese artists of the past, including Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, alongside contemporary artists such as Chiho Aoshima, Fuyuko Matsui and Miwa Yanagi, who continue the compelling creative lineage of visualising the unseen.

Don’t miss this unique Art Gallery of New South Wales curated exhibition: an experience unlike anything in this world.

Presented in collaboration with the Sydney International Art Series.

Make the most of your visit with a range of offerings to enhance your experience

Our events program celebrates Japanese arts and culture with dynamic performances, talks and lectures, workshops for all ages, guided tours in English and Japanese, accessible programs and a series of films from Japan and around the world. We also offer dining packages at Chiswick at the Gallery and indulgent hotel stays from our hotel partner, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.

Note: This display includes works that are protected under the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013. More information

A selection of light-sensitive works of art will be rotated during the exhibition.

From 9 January 2020 Hokusai’s rare woodblock prints The ghost of Kohada Koheiji and The ghost of Oiwa (Oiwa-san) from the series One hundred ghost stories (Hyaku monogatari) will be replaced with The mansion of plates (Sarayashiki) and Memorial anniversary (Shūnen) from the same series.

Image details: Takashi Murakami Japan Supernatural: Vertiginous After Staring at the Empty World Too Intensely, I Found Myself Trapped in the Realm of Lurking Ghosts and Monsters 2019, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Foundation purchase 2019 © Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: courtesy Kaikai Kiki. Takashi Murakami In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow 2014, The Broad Art Foundation, Los Angeles © 2014 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: courtesy Kaikai Kiki. Chiho Aoshima Off to a Memorial Service 2009 ©︎ 2009 Chiho Aoshima/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: courtesy Kaikai Kiki. Utagawa Kuniyoshi Mitsukuni defies the skeleton spectre conjured up by Princess Takiyasha 1845–46, British Museum, donated by American Friends of the British Museum from the collection of Prof Arthur R Miller 2008. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum. Kawanabe Kyōsai School for Spooks ('Bakebake gakko’) No. 3, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Yasuko Myer Bequest Fund 2018. Hiroharu Itaya Night procession of the one hundred demons (Hyakki yagyô) c1860, Art Gallery of New South Wales. Asian Collection Benefactors’ Fund 1995. Fuyuko Matsui Regeneration of a breached thought 2012 single-channel projection; 2:58 min variable (still) © Rolex (Japan) Limited. Photo: courtesy the artist