NEO-JAPONISM | SAMURAI AND BEYOND: Exploring Tradition Through Technology

In 2025, Japan’s public media entity, NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation), is marking the 100th anniversary of broadcasting in Japan. To commemorate this milestone, NHK is developing multifaceted events and exhibitions, under the banner of NEO-JAPONISM, in conjunction with their most unique and popular programming and the cutting-edge visualization technologies they develop and employ to promote a deeper understanding of Japanese culture.

In conjunction with these initiatives, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles is presenting NEO-JAPONISM | SAMURAI AND BEYOND: Exploring Tradition Through Technology, an exhibition that introduces visitors to the innovative technologies NHK utilizes in its most popular “Taiga” historical dramas to present historical settings. NHK’s “Taiga” dramas are annual year-long historical drama series which often depict samurai, warlords, noblewomen, and court ladies from the pre-modern period. The exhibition is also a showcase for NHK’s recent interactive technological collaborations with Japan’s important museums that allow greater access to Japanese cultural treasures.

Building on the growing global popularity of Japanese samurai era culture – as witnessed in media such as FX’s “Shōgun” and Sony’s “Rise of the Ronin” video game – the exhibition focuses in part on the samurai era, including video and interactive representations of historical Japanese objects from this time. The exhibition also reveals how NHK employs its deep knowledge of real-world Japanese locations to create fictional backdrops for its historical dramas, through the presentation of a 3DCG castle which is used in its “Taiga” dramas, as well as recreations of the historical objects and apparel used in the production of these dramas.

In recent years, NHK and its subsidiary NHK Enterprises (NEP) have also used three-dimensional computer graphic (3DCG) technology to create high resolution 3D scans to build a library of Japanese cultural artifacts. These objects were previously only accessible by visiting a museum where they would be displayed behind glass. However, when realized as 3DCG objects, they vividly come to life; in this exhibition, they can be explored as interactive video experiences – in great detail from close up, viewed from typically inaccessible angles, and augmented with audio and graphical annotations – providing deeper understanding of these objects. Visualization technology becomes a lens through which historical objects can be viewed, and through which historical settings can be recreated.

Beyond samurai-related objects, the exhibition extends to hi-tech presentations of iconic art from the Edo period and antiquities such as Jōmon period dogū figures, and environmental 3DCG renderings of the Golden Hall (Konjikidō) at Chūson-ji Temple in the northeastern region of Japan.

The highlighted works span the spectrum of Japanese craft incorporating clay and ceramic, woodblock printing and painting, metal work and textiles, architecture and media arts, inviting visitors to engage with and explore Japanese cultural aesthetics and characteristics that collectively contribute to what NHK presents as “NEO-JAPONISM” – an intangible but consistent Japanese-ness that underpins Japan’s historical cultural output and represents Japan’s relevance and contribution to present and future global culture and entertainment.

Explore the Exhibition

1. NEO-JAPONISM and NHK
2. The World of the Samurai
3. Art Icons of the Edo Period
4. Cultural Artifacts and Architecture
    
    

NEO-JAPONISM and NHK

This section introduces NHK, its 100th Anniversary, and the NEO-JAPONISM project. A behind-the-scenes video features insight into the process of 3D scanning, photography, and CG modeling, showcasing the innovative technology that has made the exhibition’s remarkable 3DCG artwork reproductions possible.

The World of the Samurai

The world of Japan’s medieval samurai is presented through a combination of ultra-high-definition video 3DCG content of historical artifacts and an expansive projection of simulated castle architecture developed for NHK’s “Taiga” drama, “What Will You Do, Ieyasu?” intermixed with rare behind the scenes footage of the virtual production techniques used in filming. Actual objects and costumes from the drama series Awaiting Kirin, recreated using historical data by Kurosawa Kazuko – daughter of legendary filmmaker Kurosawa Akira – offer a new perspective on clothing from the era. Interactive artworks include 3DCD presentations of 15th century samurai armor (“Dōmaru”), an 800-year-old tea bowl prized by the samurai, and a dazzling 17th-century screen painting featuring scenes from Kyoto 400 years ago.

Art Icons of the Edo Period

This zone features work from two prominent figures in Edo-period culture, Ito Jakuchū and Tsutaya Jūzaburō. Ito Jakuchū (1716–1800) was a Kyoto painter celebrated for his vibrant and often highly detailed portrayals of birds, fish, and flowers. Here, visitors can view a 3DCG realization of his work, Hyakka no zu (One Hundred Flowers), a series of wall paintings which adorn the upper room of the Oku-shoin at Kotohira Shrine in Kagawa prefecture. The publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō (1750–1797) popularized art and literature in Edo by publishing ukiyo-e woodblock prints and printed books designed by artists who often became famous through this exposure. Tsutaya’s legacy is represented through large-format projections of several of his most popular ukiyo-e by Utamaro and Sharaku and interactive 3DCG scans of these works.

Cultural Artifacts and Architecture

© Chūson-ji Temple / NHK / Tokyo National Museum / The National Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties

The exhibition culminates in interactive experiences with two important pieces of cultural heritage from the northeastern part of Japan. The first is an example of 12th century architecture. The beauty of Iwate prefecture’s 900-year-old Golden Hall of Chūson-ji Temple is presented through both an interactive application and wide screen motion graphics projected using detailed digital data both painstakingly reproduced with 3DCG.

© NHK / Tokyo National Museum / The National Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties

The cultural artifact is a Shakōki Dogū, a clay figure from the late Jōmon-period (1,000-400 BCE) unearthed in Aomori prefecture. Visitors can manipulate the final 3D application to view the piece from all angles, even into the interior of the hollow figure. As a special addition to the exhibition, the presentation of a 3D-printed replica – identical down to the exact size and weight – offers an opportunity to discover other secrets of the Shakōki Dogū including original color and the “Jōmon” rolled surface patterns. Though centuries apart, together, the Shakōki Dogū and the Golden Hall of Chūson-ji Temple provide a window into the foundations of Japanese culture rich in artistry, ritual, and spiritual expression.

Note: Japanese names in this exhibition are written in the traditional Japanese order, with the family name first and personal name last. However, if an artist has come to be known by a single name, (e.g., Utamaro) that name will be used for subsequent mentions. 

Exhibition Credits