





Logo design by Kazuki Takakura
Hyper Museum Hanno

Hyper Museum Hanno Opening Exhibition
Kenji Yanobe
The Secret Island of Space Cats
KENJI YANOBE EXHIBITION
SHIP'S CAT ISLAND
2025Years3Month1Sun [Sat] -8Month31Day [Sun]
Opening hours: 10:17am - 30:XNUMXpm (last entry XNUMX minutes before closing)
Closed: None
Organized by: Hyper Museum Hanno
Sponsored by: FM NACK5 Co., Ltd., Television Saitama Co., Ltd.
* Tickets for the day are available for purchase at the museum ticket booth (sales hours: 10:00-16:30)
Once upon a time, before life had yet been born on Earth, the spaceship LUCA, in the shape of the Tower of the Sun, arrived on Earth from the far reaches of space. On board were the "Space Cats." They may have been the ancestors of "SHIP'S CAT," the guardian deity of navigation. The name "SHIP'S CAT" comes from the "Sailor Cats" that boarded ships from the ancient Orient and traveled around the world during the Age of Exploration. The cats scattered all over the Earth, some of them living hidden in deep forests with lakes. The Space Cats brought the "Seeds of Life" to Earth and spread "Culture"...
Kenji Yanobe, a world-renowned artist who inherited the spirit of Taro Okamoto, is also a storyteller. His work "BIG CAT BANG," exhibited in the atrium of GINZA SIX, asks fundamental questions about the existence of humans in the universe, and his space cat character is loved by many people.
An exhibition that can be considered a sequel to "BIG CAT BANG" will be held as an opening project for the unique contemporary art museum "Hyper Museum Hanno" that will open in metsä in 2025. The "Cat Island" artwork, where space cats rest, will appear on Lake Miyazawa!
1

SHIP'S CAT ISLAND:
Welcome to the secret island of space cats
A huge space cat island appears on Lake Miyazawa, which spreads out in front of the Hyper Museum. The entire "Cat Island" is a new work by Kenji Yanobe. A cat-shaped spaceship? Or maybe a hideout for space cats? Inside, there's even a bathtub and a cat atelier! You can get on a boat and view the Cat Island up close, or even go ashore.
(Boat fees are separate from museum admission fees)
Starting Monday, March 3th, the "Space Cat Island Landing Exploration Tour" will only be available on weekends and holidays. You can still get up close and personal with the island on weekdays by renting a boat.
*Operations may be canceled due to weather conditions, etc.
2

Secrets left on Cat Island:
What the mysterious murals tell us
What is the origin of art? It is said that the Altamira cave paintings are the origin of human painting. However, it was actually a space cat that taught human painting. Inside the cat on Cat Island, you will come face to face with a mysterious mural. When you see it, you may be reminded of the inside of the Tower of the Sun.
3

Space Cat Story:
The story of BIG CAT BANG and hidden art history
Where did space cats come from? What are their roots? And what did they bring to humans? Kenji Yanobe's "BIG CAT BANG," currently on display at GINZA SIX, visualizes the story of the origin of the "life" that was brought to us. The sequel at the Hyper Museum will tell a side story about "another" art history through space cats.
4

Space Cat and Friends:
Ride the lucky dragon
All the original illustrations from the picture books "Torayan's Great Adventure" and "The Story of Lucky Dragon" will be on display. The illustration is of a boat to protect people from a great flood, modeled after the shape of the "Fukuryu Maru No. 2009" that was exposed to radiation during the hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll. In 3, it was made into a work entitled "Lucky Dragon Concept Model." A new space cat will board the three-meter boat that Torayan and his friends ride on.
5

Ventriloquist doll Torayan appears:
Aoimori Cinema warns
"Torayan", one of Yanobe Kenji's important works, appeared in his large-scale solo exhibition "Megalomania" at the National Museum of Art, Osaka in Expo Commemoration Park in 2003. The suit for "Torayan" was a child's version of the work "Atom Suit" that Yanobe created while exploring Chernobyl in 1997, called "Mini Atom Suit", and was born by chance from the idea of Yanobe's father, who was a skilled operator of ventriloquist dolls. Furthermore, "Forest Cinema" also functions as a shelter for surviving a nuclear war.
6

Yanobe Kenji Special Screening:
120 minute program
To understand the world of artist Kenji Yanobe, it is essential to understand the background of how his personal history intersected with the trends of the times, and where his stories originate. This time, we will be screening four videos.
①Taro, the Cat and the Sun (Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum version, 40 min.)
②Torayan's Great Adventure (20 minutes)
③Lucky Dragon's Story (10 minutes)
④The Secret Island of Space Cats (20 mins)
7

Find out the secrets of the space cat:
Stamp Rally and a New Pilgrimage
Hyper Museum Hanno considers the natural forest itself to be a museum, and has prepared a "Hyper Kids Program" full of fun for parents and children to enjoy together. Through a stamp rally where you can frottage "messages from space cats" engraved on stones in metsä forest, you will be invited to continue on the journey of the space cat.
8

NFT art project to return space cats to space:
It's been decided! In the summer of 2025, we will launch into space from Oarai Beach in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Kenji Yanobe started the "SHIP'S CAT" series in 2017. Since then, Yanobe says he had dreamed that "this work would one day ride on a spaceship." "BIG CAT BANG" is the story of a space cat that came to Earth on a spaceship a long time ago. Yanobe's desire to complete the fantasy story of cats that could not return to space by returning them to space in reality became the art project. His dream is to watch the scene where the space cats fly beyond the stratosphere and look down on the Earth. He is also planning to exhibit the cats that have returned from space.

HYPER KIDS PROGRAM
Hyper Kids Program
Hyper Museum Hanno is a new development-type museum. We will be creating exhibitions in collaboration with artists. What kind of artists will appear in future exhibitions, and what are they planning?
Hyper Museum Hanno will continue to hold workshops with artists on the theme of "Playing with Children". We hope to develop art programs that parents and children can experience together. The future of art lies in "playing with children". The first workshop will be "Find the Space Cat! Let's make Fukuwarai Art" by Kenji Yanobe. Let's frottage the eyes and mouths of the space cats carved into the stones scattered around the park to complete their faces!

METSA ART PROJECT 2025
metsä art project 2025
"Metsä" means "forest" in Finnish. Hyper Museum Hanno will be launching an art project with the theme of "nature and digital." The evolution of technology is increasingly removing the barriers between real and virtual, and new types of artists are emerging. They will turn not only the museum, but the entire forest into a museum.
For the first session, we will be producing "Let's go to the forest. Let's play with the Kotodama of plants, insects, and fish" by artist Keita Kojima, who has attracted worldwide attention for his AR works.

Hyper Museum Director Interview:
The first Kenji Yanobe x Shigeo Goto
In this special interview series, Shigeo Goto, director of Hyper Museum, reveals the secrets of artists in the spotlight. The first in the series is Kenji Yanobe!
COMING SOON ...