Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale

Tokamachi & Tsunanmachi

A festival representing Japan and celebrating regional art.

These days, art festivals are held all across Japan, such as in Yokohama and the Seto Inland Sea, but one pioneering art festival is the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, which is held in the towns of Tokamachi and Tsunan in Niigata Prefecture. It was first held in 2000. The concept is an art tour around a sprawling mountain village area (which would comfortably contain all of Tokyo's 23 wards), giving visitors the opportunity to encounter art in local regions. Nearly 380 art works are exhibited across 200 or so settlements! When taken outside the sterile white cube, these art works are all the more impressive.

rice field in Hoshi Toge
The Rice Field
Reverse City
Reverse City

World-class artists including Cai Guo-Qiang, Yayoi Kusama, and James Turrell

Although premised on the theme of re-energizing the region, the Art Triennale has gathered together absolutely first-class art works. The Triennale is curated by Fram Kitagawa, who has directed several prominent art festivals, and it features top stars of the art world, including Cai Guo-Qiang, Yayoi Kusama, and James Turrell. Their work is exhibited in diverse locations, including a shut-down elementary school and the terraced rice fields that Tokamachi is known for. Following the concept of "an art festival of the earth", the integration of art and nature spreads across the landscape.

Christian Boltanski+Jean Kalman_The Last Class Photo by H. Kuratani
Shedding House
Shedding House Photo by Kazue kawase
Shedding House
Shedding House
Shedding House
Kyota Takahashi Gift for Frozen Village 2012
Kyota Takahashi Gift for Frozen Village 2012
Kyota Takahashi Gift for Frozen Village 2012

A substantial permanent exhibition, so you can enjoy visiting outside the exhibition period

The Triennale is held every three years, but some of the works can be viewed any time as a permanent exhibition. For example, when you get off the local Hokuhoku line at Matsudai Station, you will see a huge sculpture (Tsumari in Bloom) by Yayoi Kusama in front of the station. Works are also exhibited at a nearby facility, where you can enjoy an excellent meal made with local ingredients. In addition, the Kawanishi area is a permanent home to James Turrell’s House of Light, where guests can stay overnight. The area has plenty of hot springs, gourmet spots, and scenic woodlands to enjoy, so consider a leisurely visit outside the exhibition period.