Discover astounding Japanese carpentry, graphic design, film screenings and more at Japan House London throughout 2025.
Japan House London announces a captivating exhibition and events programme for 2025, offering new perspectives on Japan's diverse cultures. Three exhibitions will explore Japan's celebrated woodworking culture, award-winning graphic design for tourists, and the remarkable craftsmanship of everyday ceramics.
Next year will see the Osaka Kansai Japan Expo 2025, themed 'Designing Future Society for Our Lives'. Japan House London will be celebrating with a selection of activities relating to Osaka and the Kansai region in the exhibitions and the events programme.
Spring Exhibition
The Craft of Carpentry: Drawing Life from Japan's Forests - March – July 2025
With forest covering two-thirds of the Japanese archipelago, Japan's celebrated carpentry culture is rooted in a profound respect for nature and trees. Craft of Carpentry focuses on three core aspects: Dōmiya daiku (temple and shrine carpenters); sukiya daiku (teahouse carpenters); and kigumi (wood joinery). It uncovers more than 1,000 years of the techniques that have enabled temples and shrines to withstand centuries of wind, snow and earthquake. Visitors can see a full-scale teahouse, as well as experience hands-on interaction with kigumi wood joints and smell different native Japanese trees.
Summer Exhibition
Pictograms (title TBC) - July – October 2025
Japanese graphic designers pioneered the creation of a set of symbols to represent each sport in the 1964 Toyko Olympic Games. Building on this legacy, designers from the Nippon Design Center have created an award-winning set of pictograms, a universal visual language to enhance overseas visitors' appreciation of Japan. Winning the Good Design Award in 2021, Experience Japan Pictograms is a masterclass in information design.
Winter Exhibition
Muji 100 designs (title TBC) - December 2025 – April 2026
A collaboration with Atelier MUJI in Tokyo, this exhibition brings together a vast display of everyday items made by more than 100 artist-makers from all over Japan. A wide variety of new craft objects will be displayed, including ceramic, glass, wood, urushi (lacquer), paper, leather, bamboo, iron, copper, and silver works.
Events
The year begins with a series of family workshops held across the Christmas period, with drop-in festive activities for all ages.
Film Screenings
Next year marks the start of Japan House London's Shinkai Makoto season, featuring screenings of both his major and lesser-known animated films from February. The widely acclaimed Your Name (the second-highest grossing Japanese film of all time) will be shown in May, alongside screenings of 5 Centimeters per Second (February) and Weathering With You (June), amongst others.
There are a number of food-related film screenings linked to the current exhibition, Looks Delicious!. In January, there will be two screenings of Tampopo (1985), colloquially known as the first "ramen Western", followed by screenings of Wim Wenders's Tokyo Ga (1985) in February.
The summer season will feature a selection of Japanese documentaries and, later in the year, screenings of Japanese classic cinema will take place.
Further Information: What's On - Page 1 - Japan House London