Junji Ito Exhibition: Enchantment

For fans of horror manga, Junji Ito is perhaps the biggest name of the modern era, with almost four full decades of work under his belt, and a bibliography beloved the world over. Junji Ito has produced multi-volume works of psychological horror manga, shorter stories that stretch the imagination (and all too often the body, in truly gruesome ways), and even comedic comics featuring the truest horror of all – cats so cute you just want to squeeze them and never let go. In case it wasn’t clear yet, some of us on the Japankuru team are fans of Ito and his unique body of work. So when we found out about the Junji Ito Exhibition: Enchantment on display in Tokyo this year at the Setagaya Literary Museum out in western Tokyo, we had to go take a look. This mid-career retrospective features a little of everything Ito has worked on over the years, with huge sections dedicated to longer works, and a generous smattering of shorter creations, including original panels from the publication process, along with more detailed illustrations and paintings used for cover art. Most of the major signs even has English translations, so you can keep up with the themes of each room. If you’ve ever thought that the tiny pages of pocket-sized manga volumes aren’t nearly enough to appreciate the ins and outs of Junji Ito’s hypnotic horror art, then you might want to see what this exhibition is all about.

Junji Ito Exhibition: Enchantment
Dates: April 27 ~ September 1, 2024
Exhibition Details (venue, tickets, etc)

Highlights of the Junji Ito Exhibition

Never been to a manga exhibition before? Can’t quite imagine what this event is all about? Here are a few of our favorite parts of the Junji Ito Exhibition!

Junji Ito Comments Galore

This event is all about the artist’s illustrations, but if that’s not enough to tempt you, then right from the start there’s something else at this exhibition – something you definitely won’t find anywhere else – that big Ito fans won’t want to miss: comments straight from the mouth (or probably keyboard) of Junji Ito himself. Under many of the displays at this exhibition you’ll find little grey comment placards with thoughts from the artist – bits of backstory, thoughts looking back on old work, some unexpected revelations. Some of these are hilarious, whether Ito’s trying to be funny or not. Under one detailed illustration he writes “This was a tough scene. I probably couldn’t draw it now.” Elsewhere, he writes that he was asked to draw a character who looked like a real person, and regretfully adds “I probably should have drawn her cuter.” Oops.

No worries if you can’t read Japanese. These little comments aren’t translated into English like the big signs are, but photography is allowed throughout the exhibition, so you won’t get any funny looks for pulling out your phone to translate for yourself!

A Whole Wall of Uzumaki

This Junji Ito exhibition starts with multiple rooms devoted to Tomie, which is one of Ito’s longer works, and probably his most famous series in Japan. Fortunately for the many foreign Junji Ito fans who found him through the sickly spirals of his other long series, however, there’s a good chunk of the exhibition dedicated to Uzumaki as well. Keep an eye out for horrifying little snail men on the walls, and if you’re a big fan of this work in particular, make sure you don’t miss the original rough sketches from the illustration process.

Manga Panels From Your Obscure Favorite

Over the course of almost 40 years making manga, Junji Ito has drawn a lot more one-volume or one-chapter works than he has long series, and overseas fans of the artist will certainly know the struggle of tracking down all of his work. Of course, that means that when you finally discover one of his many short stories (often in the form of a few fan-translated pages online, sigh), you really treasure such a rare find. When you find an original panel of that very same manga in an exhibition halfway across the globe from where you first read it on your old desktop computer back in middle school, the hit of nostalgia is indescribable. For this member of the Japankuru team, that was The Enigma of Amigara Fault. What will it be for you?

New Stories You’ll Want to Read Next

With only a small portion of Ito’s work translated and distributed overseas, it’s pretty inevitable for all but the most deeply committed fans to find a story or two at the exhibition that’s totally new (to you, at least). Fortunately, here in Tokyo, it’s probably the ideal situation for fans to find new Junji Ito works they might be interested in reading next. Not only do you get a little preview of what to expect (and maybe even a comment or two from Ito himself), but Tokyo is probably the best place to shop for obscure Junji Ito manga. First stop: this exhibition. Next stop: the nearest bookstore.

Junji Ito Experiments and Failures

Junji Ito might make some otherworldly art, but in the end he’s all too human. From the comments that Ito has left under some of the work in the exhibition you can see him growing as an artist and exploring new methods, and also admitting when he thinks something didn’t really turn out like he wanted it. Did you know that in his cover art, Ito sometimes works with oil paints? (Not exactly the most common medium for manga art!) Look carefully at each new work of art to see where he tries new techniques! (There are definitely a few humble brags smattered throughout the comment placards. too.)

KITTIES 🐱

That’s right, cats. If you’ve ever read about the adventures of Yon and Mu (in Junji Ito’s Cat Diary) then you know that Ito is a huge fan of cats, and there’s a whole section of the exhibition devoted to his fantastic felines – plus other cute kitties scattered throughout the exhibition. If you know, you know. That is all.

3D & Interactive Exhibits

Towards the end of the Junji Ito Exhibition, just when your eyes are starting to strain at all the gruesome black-and-white line art, the exhibition treats fans to a little light-hearted entertainment. Make sure you peek through the cracks of that mysterious wooden door. Head into the booth to become one with Uzumaki. And get a good look at the tatami-mat room filled with Ito’s own treasures.

THE Destination for Junji Ito Fans in Tokyo

Junji Ito is a master of the gruesome, a disciple of the Lovecraftian tradition, and a composer of true terrors… but we know that the real horror would be missing this rare Junji Ito exhibition while it’s open in Tokyo this year! Whether you’ve read Uzumaki from start to finish or you’ve just caught a couple of his short stories here and there, fans of Junji Ito and his truly enchanting horror manga will want to get to Tokyo and add this exhibition to the itinerary before the Junji Ito Exhibition comes to an end!

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