[FELISSIMO Co., Ltd.] Three special exhibitions that touch on the dreams and hopes that chocolate conveys will open at the Felissimo Chocolate Museum on Saturday, October 11th! Also featuring works by Sebastian Masuda
FELISSIMO Co., Ltd. Press release: September 17, 2025 To Members of the Press Three special exhibitions that touch on the hopes and dreams that chocolate delivers will open at the Felissimo Chocolate Museum on Saturday, October 11th! Works by Sebastian Masuda will also be featured. Now, in the midst of the cocoa crisis, these three special exhibitions will bring back the excitement you felt when you ate that chocolate. There will also be an exhibition of digital original image sketches from the musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Felissimo’s “Felissimo Chocolate Museum [Felissimo Chocolate The “Chocolate Museum” (Kobe City) will be holding three new special exhibitions from Saturday, October 11, 2025 to Sunday, April 6, 2026. With concerns of a “Chocolate Shock” in which cacao harvests will plummet and prices will soar from spring 2024 onwards, chocolate culture is now at a crossroads. It is precisely because the reality surrounding chocolate is so harsh that the museum is now exhibiting art that sheds light on the dreams that chocolate and cacao embodi. Special Exhibition 1, “Masuda Sebastian’s KAWAII Chocolate Magic,” features installation art using candy packaging that holds special memories for artist Masuda Sebastian, as well as original digital image sketches for the musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” for which Masuda provided art direction. Special Exhibition 2, “Kitty Parade: Cats on Chocolate Packages,” introduces approximately 100 pieces of cat-themed packaging, a motif that is somehow common in chocolate. Special Exhibition 3, “Enjoying Sweets with Your Eyes and Senses: Marimo, a Patisserie that Colors Everyday Life,” features a participatory art exhibit in which artist Yoshida Marimo immerses herself in a fictional patisserie. Through these three special exhibitions, visitors will come to understand that chocolate and cacao are not simply food, but also have a mysterious and rich power to inspire artistic expression and design, as well as to stimulate people’s imagination and creativity.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12759/4052/12759-4052-c38f239361a857fb492e2e7bdbc5ed19-2099×1400.jpg This exhibition explores the creative inspiration of artist Sebastian Masuda through his long-held passion for chocolate and candy box collection. The exhibition will feature a wall featuring candy-themed artwork, appearing for the first time in an exhibition, as well as installation art using Masuda’s collection, which is filled with memories as a candy box collector. The exhibition will also feature precious digital production sketches from the Japanese version of the musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” for which Masuda served as art director, candy packaging created through past collaborations, and art pieces featuring candy and chocolate motifs. Through this stimulating exhibition, you will be able to feel Masuda’s message that “fantasy is a door to reality,” awakening your imagination and rekindling the pure heart and imagination that often gets forgotten amidst material wealth. Starting with the motif of sweets and chocolate, this special exhibition will inspire fun images, as if your imagination is bringing new excitement to the future.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12759/4052/12759-4052-a5ea878071aad833f42092c76cc27aa3-1796×2700.jpg Masuda Sebastian Born in 1970, he lives in New York. He has been involved in theater and contemporary art since the early 1990s, and in 1995 opened the shop “6%DOKIDOKI” as a space for expression. His consistent and unique sense of color has led him to create works that transcend the boundaries of art, fashion, and entertainment. He has helped raise awareness of Kawaii culture around the world, including through his work on the art for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s “PONPONPON” music video and producing KAWAII MONSTER CAFE. He continues to create using all the phenomena that exist in the world as materials. In 2017, he was awarded the Agency for Cultural Affairs Cultural Exchange Award, in 2018 he was a research fellow at New York University, and in 2019 he was named one of Newsweek Japan’s 100 Most Respected Japanese People in the World. Website＞＞ https://sebastianmasuda.com/ ◆Special Exhibition 2 / “Cat Parade – Cats on Chocolate Packages” (creative walk)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12759/4052/12759-4052-8d4749fc7ea57b6b398a374c98dfe8ec-2025×2700.jpg Approximately 100 cat-designed packages from the vast packaging collection held by the Felissimo Chocolate Museum will be on display. Packaging adorns the chocolates created by chocolatiers. The Chocolate Museum’s collection features a variety of animal motifs, but cat packaging is particularly numerous. Among the packages featured in this exhibition, cats appear in a variety of designs, sometimes cute, sometimes cool, and sometimes a little scary. Why do cats appear on so many chocolate packages, and why are chocolate lovers so drawn to them? Not only will you be soothed by the charm of cats throughout the exhibition, but you may discover something new by considering the answers to these questions as you look at the packages. ◆Special Exhibition 3 / “Enjoy Sweets with Your Eyes and Senses – Marimo Patisserie, Brightening Your Everyday Life” (art square)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12759/4052/12759-4052-240d9e185d92aef166bdf2160820c5fd-2100×1400.jpg photo by Natsuko Ishikawa This is a participatory art exhibition by artist Marimo Yoshida, who creates interactive 3D works. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in a fictional patisserie and express chocolates and sweets as artwork. These pop, cute, and sometimes eccentric sweets are individually decorated with Marimo Yoshida’s memories in mind. Visitors can participate in the artwork in a variety of ways, including opening the sweet boxes to peek inside, touching, climbing, and taking photos. Through these interactions, visitors will have the opportunity to discover their own precious memories within the sweets.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12759/4052/12759-4052-7e3e812af1720b6ce8ba57bbc6a25a67-2049×2700.jpg photo by Natsuko Ishikawa Marimo Yoshida Graduated from the Department of Environmental Design at Kyoto College of Art. Since her university days, she has been creating interactive art that can be played with outdoors. After working at a display production company and a planning and design company, she went freelance in 2006. Her design work focuses on public art, hospital art, and branding and merchandise design for welfare facilities. In recent years, she has directed an event to paint playground equipment in collaboration with Kyoto City and a local high school, and has also worked as a lecturer at welfare facilities, conveying the joy of art and design. Website＞＞
https://www.marimo-net.jp/ ◆felissimo chocolate museum This museum, where Felissimo collects and compiles information on the history and culture of chocolate and cacao from around the world, as well as its connections to fashion and art, promotes the diversity and
possibilities of chocolate through the lens of “happiness.” The museum opened on October 22, 2021, within “Stage Felissimo,” the Felissimo headquarters office. For approximately 29 years since 1996, Felissimo has been introducing rare chocolates from around the world to Japan under the name “Chocolate of Happiness(R).” Felissimo Chocolate Museum is taking on a new challenge: working with chocolate lovers to create “the museum with the world’s largest collection of chocolate packaging.” The museum’s main collection, consisting of chocolate packaging from around the world, is made up entirely of donations. The current collection consists of approximately 25,000 pieces. Donations of packaging are always accepted from both corporations and
individuals. (Please mail to Felissimo or bring directly to the museum’s donation box.) Donation Address >>
https://feli.jp/s/pr250917/2/ ・Opening Hours: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM *Last admission 30 minutes before closing – Closed twice a year, during the spring and fall exhibit changeover period. (This fall’s planned closing dates: October 6th (Mon) – October 10th (Fri), 2025)) – Advance reservations and ticket purchases >>
https://feli.jp/s/pr250917/3/ ・Location/7-1 Shinkocho, Chuo-ku, Kobe (Stage Felissimo 2F) ・Website＞＞ https://feli.jp/s/pr250917/4/ Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12759/4052/12759-4052-d8c920530ce25f6c5b10cffe6d20aea3-1600×723.jpg ◆FELISSIMO: Happiness for All:Founded in May 1965, FELISSIMO is a direct marketing company that sells its own products, primarily fashion and miscellaneous goods, through catalogs, websites, and other proprietary media. We also promote projects in collaboration with various regions, such as the operation of Kobe Port Tower, and are committed to contributing to regional revitalization. Everyone can be a creator and giver of happiness. Everyone can receive happiness. Aiming for such a society, we conduct business activities with the core value of “happiness for all” as we strive to simultaneously achieve “commercial viability, originality, and social
responsibility.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12759/4052/12759-4052-c9e703abc235b3b63998b1499daab5e8-1150×300.jpg FELISSIMO celebrated its 60th anniversary on May 8, 2025. ― Company Overview ― Company Name: FELISSIMO Co., Ltd. Headquarters: 7-1 Shinko-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0041, Japan Representative: Kazuhiko Yazaki, President and CEO Established: May 1965 Stock Code: TSE Standard 3396 Business Description: Direct marketing business selling in-house developed products to consumers nationwide through catalogs and websites. ◆Website >> https://feli.jp/s/pr240301/1/ ◆What is the “FELISSIMO Subscription Service”?・How to enjoy >>
https://feli.jp/s/pr240301/2/ ◆X＞＞ https://twitter.com/FELISSIMO_SANTA ◆Instagram＞＞ https://www.instagram.com/felissimo_official/
◆Felissimo’s Social Activities >> https://feli.jp/s/pr240301/4/ ◆Fundraising Activities Aiming for a Happy Society Together with You >> https://feli.jp/s/pr240301/5/