2026 Exhibition I “Tori Mania” will be held Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. Press Release: October 1, 2025 To Members of the Media 2026 Exhibition I “Bird Mania” will be held The Itsuo Museum, run by the Hankyu Foundation, opened in 1957 (moved to its current location in 2009) and named after the pen name “Itsuo” of Ichizo Kobayashi (1873-1957), the founder of the current Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Its collection includes 5,500 art and craft items and approximately 22,000 kabuki-related materials, including actor portraits. The museum hosts several special exhibitions each year, showcasing the collection. Since ancient times, the beautiful forms of a wide variety of birds have been popular subjects for art, and flower and bird paintings have established themselves as a major subject. Many paintings depict birds soaring through the sky, standing by watersides or fields, or perched on trees. Birds are also often featured in waka and haiku poems, and many crafts feature birds as their motif. Birds are considered symbols of good fortune,
representing longevity and prosperity, and also represent the changing of the seasons. On New Year’s Day in 1957, Ichizo wrote the following poem: “The first day of the year breaks the rooster’s crow and returns seven times.” The “seven times” in this poem refer to the seven cycles of the zodiac, and refers to Ichizo himself, who turned 84. Born in the Year of the Rooster, birds were one of Ichizo’s most intriguing motifs, and he has collected many bird-related works. This exhibition will feature bird-related works from the collection, allowing visitors to see a wide variety of birds. Many works are rarely exhibited, so please come and enjoy some bird watching in the exhibition room. In addition, as related events, we will be holding a lecture and a tea ceremony in the Sokushinan, a chair-style tea room located within the building. Details are below. We hope you will come along. [Period] Saturday, January 24, 2026 – Sunday, March 29, 2026 [Closed] Every Monday (However, if Monday is a national holiday or substitute holiday, the following weekday will be closed.) *Open on February 23rd, Closed on February 24th [Opening Hours] 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Last entry at 4:30 PM) [Venue] Itsuoh Museum of Art, 12-27 Sakaehonmachi, Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture (10-minute walk from Ikeda Station on the Hankyu Takarazuka Line) [Admission Fee] Adults: ¥700
(Discounts/Groups: ¥500) Students (high school students and above): ¥500 (Discounts/Groups: ¥400) Junior high school students and under: Free
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/5179/2401/5179-2401-27e05dd1d0783e796841268d0dab4eab-797×1200.jpg ■Talk event “Attracted by the Birds: The Dazzling World of Wild Birds” [Instructor] Hajime Tobita (Manga Artist/Illustrator) Bird watching essays published in the web comic magazine COMIC Polaris Currently serializing “Mainichi Toribiyori” (published by Flex Comics) https://kirapo.jp/polaris/titles/toribiyori His works, woven with solid artistic skill and observational powers, have many fans. In addition to manga, he also works on book covers and promotional booklets for tourist associations. [Interviewer] Miyai Shoka (Curator in charge of this exhibition) [Date and Time] Saturday, March 7, 2026, 2:00 PM [Venue] Magnolia Hall, Itsuoh Museum of Art [Capacity] 100 people (first come, first served, priority slots available for Hankyu Cultural Foundation Friends) [Admission Fee] Free *Same-day exhibition ticket required
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/5179/2401/5179-2401-095027510004a3888efae069babc7f60-256×403.jpg [How to Apply] Please apply via the web form on the exhibition introduction page of the Hankyu Foundation website. Even if the exhibition is fully booked, we will reopen the application process if there are cancellations.
https://www.hankyu-bunka.or.jp/itsuo-museum/exhibition/20260124/
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/5179/2401/5179-2401-b164c1ada27e79e1e38b6161518a9a0c-179×178.jpg ■About the Tea House “Sokushinan” and Tea Ceremony The tea room “Sokuan” at Gazoku Sanso (Kobayashi Ichizo Memorial Museum), which was personally designed by Kobayashi Ichizo, has been recreated as “Sokushinan” within the Itsuo Museum of Art. This space beautifully blends tradition and modern life, allowing you to casually enjoy tea in the surrounding chairs of a three-tatami room. On Sundays during the exhibition, we will host a tea ceremony featuring thin tea and Japanese sweets prepared by masters from the Osaka branch of the Omotesenke Domonkai. Enjoy a tranquil moment with matcha from Miokaen and sweets from Fukusukedo. [Opening Days] Sundays during “Tori Mania” January 25th / February 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd / March 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th [Starting time] (1) 10:50, (2) 11:30, (3) 12:10, (4) 13:10, (5) 13:50, (6) 14:30 [Capacity] (1) to (6) 10 people per seat [Price] 500 yen per session (tax included) [How to Purchase] Tickets for seats (1) through (6) will be sold at the museum reception desk starting at 10:00 AM each day (first come, first served). *Please note that reservations cannot be made over the phone. Hankyu Cultural
Foundation, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation
https://www.hankyu-bunka.or.jp/ Release
https://www.hankyu-hanshin.co.jp/release/docs/ca84cafedc4dcd071159ea8d55b73a637b4dfdcd.pdf : Hankyu Hanshin Holdings 1-16-1 Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka