Nihon Sun » Taro Okamoto http://www.nihonsun.com Japan's Online Travel & Culture Magazine Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:55:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Myth of Tomorrow in Shibuya http://www.nihonsun.com/2008/11/13/myth-of-tomorrow-in-shibuya/ http://www.nihonsun.com/2008/11/13/myth-of-tomorrow-in-shibuya/#comments Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:00:13 +0000 Shane Sakata http://www.nihonsun.com/?p=284 Taro Okamoto (1911-1996) was a citizen of the world whose much lauded abstract mural “Asu no Shinwa” (Myth of tomorrow) mural depicting the horror and destruction of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be unveiled to the public in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward on November 17th 2008.

This massive work was Okamoto’s largest, measuring 30 meters in length and 5.5 meters high, and was originally commissioned in 1967 by a Mexican property developer.  The piece was displayed in the lobby of a luxury hotel until the developer had financial troubles and was forced to sell the hotel in 1969.  Myth of tomorrow subsequently went missing and was not found until 2003.

Taro Okamoto Myth of Tomorrow

After being returned to Japan, Myth of Tomorrow was displayed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo from April 27, 2007 to April 13, 2008.  The piece was then dismantled and moved to a corridor linking the Shibuya stations of the JR and Keio Inokashira lines where it will remain on permanent public display starting on November 17th, 2008.

To see more of Okamoto’s work and learn more about him visit “Hands of Taro Okamoto” Exhibition at the Taro Okamoto Memorial museum in Ometesando until November 30th or visit the Taro Okamoto Museum in Kawasaki.

Photo Credit: Flickr, Okamoto Taro

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