Classic woodblock prints are animated and paired with perfume for a multi-sensory art experience.

Ukiyo-e, literally “pictures of the floating world”, have been capturing imaginations for centuries with their bold colors, lively scenes, and meticulous details. From roaring waves to elegant courtesans, these woodblock prints offered contemporary appreciators a window into everyday life, travel, and entertainment.

In the latest installment of successful exhibitions, Ukiyoe Immersive Art is opening its doors in Osaka on January 17 until March 14, 2026, and this time it’ll be incorporating a whole new level of immersion.

This latest production by Hitohata, a digital creative company known for its immersive galleries and projection mapping, will feature over 300 works by legendary ukiyo-e artists, including Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, and Kitagawa Utamaro.

Using 3DCG animation and large-scale projection mapping, these iconic images are reimagined across multiple three-dimensional spaces, transforming the originally static images into flowing, dynamic worlds.

Elevating the Osaka exhibition above its previous Tokyo installment is the added layer of scent. In collaboration with the Japanese fragrance brand Hatenko, select exhibition areas blend the visual beauty with carefully crafted perfumes.

In the Beauty space, dedicated to the world of beautiful women, the fragrance Sakigake fills the air, inspired by the refined sensuality of Kitagawa Utamaro’s Woman Holding A Comb. This drifting fragrance, combined with the many beautiful women and vivid flowers, encourages deeper immersion in the artworks.

Over in the Elegance space, the vibrant Edo pop culture visuals and impressive Mount Fuji installation are matched with Hanabi, a scent that takes inspiration from Ando Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo: Ryogoku Fireworks, and evokes the scenery of modern-day Asakusa.

If, on your wanderings through the spaces, you fall in love with one of the fragrances used, a total of five perfumes will be sold at the venue, as well as online and at select shops, museums shops, and bookstores nationwide. Each 50-milliliter (1.76 fluid ounce) bottle costs 17,600 yen (US$110.86), or there is an option for a set of the entire five-bottle range, in five-milliliter (0.18 fluid ounce) bottles for 13,200 yen.

For visitors who want a little more in the way of traditional art, the exhibition also plays host to original Edo-period prints, as well as high quality reproductions, along with extra context on the history, culture, and the artists themselves.

Entry to the exhibition will cost 2,300 yen for adults, although there is a discounted price of 2,000 yen if you book before January 17. Tickets can be bought at the venue or online, through sites like KKDay, as well as at Lawson, Family Mart, and 7-Eleven convenience stores. However, if you don’t manage to snag an advance ticket, as long as you turn up in a kimono, you’ll get 100 yen off your same-day ticket.

The venue will be the Grand Front Osaka shopping mall’s north building, at the Knowledge Capital Event Lab, just a short walk from JR Osaka, Umeda Subway, and Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Stations.

If your schedule doesn’t quite line up for the Osaka exhibition, Hitohata have also announced their next one, which will be held in the north of Japan, in Aomori, from July 11 to August 30, 2026.

Whether you’re a long-time fan of ukiyo-e or someone who has only seen these works in textbooks, Immersive Ukiyoe Art Osaka offers a modern way to experience classic art.

Exhibition information
Ugokidasu Ukiyoe-ten Osaka / 動き出す浮世絵展 OSAKA
Address: Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Kita-ku, Ofuka-cho, 3-1 Grand Front Osaka North Building Knowledge Capital Event Lab. Chika 1-kai
大阪府大阪市北区大深町3-1 グランフロント大阪 北館 ナレッジキャピタル イベントラボ 地下1階
Open: 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. (last entry 7:30 p.m.)
Website

Related: Lawson ticket, 7-Eleven ticket, KKDay ticket, Hatenko perfume online shop
Source and images: PR Times
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