Exhibiting Japan: Displays and Narratives of Japanese Graphic Design in Paris and Bologna

Abstract

In Europe, between 2025 and 2026, the exhibitions Manga. Tout un art! De la tradition japonaise à la pop culture at the Musée Guimet in Paris and Graphic Japan: From Hokusai to Manga at the Museo Civico Archeologico in Bologna celebrated Japanese culture through the valorization of its long and prestigious graphic tradition, retracing the impact and influences that nearly three hundred years of history have had on numerous contemporary artistic productions that have enjoyed extraordinary international success. Through the analysis and comparison of the museographic and museological aspects of these two exhibitions, this article aims to examine the contemporary relevance of their curatorial features, narrative choices, and the exhibition challenges these display projects are called upon to address. In particular, it seeks to highlight how the intersection of different perspectives, media, techniques, and materials now lies at the core of an exhibition storytelling approach that strives to clearly weave a dense and complex network of connections between art and fashion, myth and history, economy and culture, and East and West.