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Over 100 illustrators, designers, and animators / wataboku
Illustrator's Work Exhibition 2026 / wataboku solo exhibition “Unfinished”
Illustrator's Work Exhibition 2026
Illustrators are an essential part of Japan's iconic pop culture, from games, manga, anime, and VTubers. Their work extends beyond pop culture to encompass a wide range of fields, including music, TV commercials, and events, making them an essential part of contemporary Japanese culture and content. This exhibition will focus on illustrators and their work.
As a successor to the 2025 "ILLUSTRATORS EXPO / ILLUST.POSTER EXPO", this exhibition will be divided into six fields.
■ILLUSTRATORS FIELD : An exhibition of illustrations by over 60 illustrators currently active in Japan, based on existing works or on the themes of "stories."
■ILLUST. POSTER FIELD : An exhibition of posters created in collaboration with 10 illustrators and designers, with the theme of "future bestsellers."
■LOOP ANIME FIELD : Looped animations of approximately 15 seconds each will be played on monitors throughout the venue.
■POPUP FIELD : An exhibition where you can enjoy each artist's unique worldview.
■DRAWING FIELD : An exhibition of hand-drawn colored paper works.
■EVENT FIELD : Autograph signing session and live painting.
TOP image:1. Yu Kushima (illustration) and Tsuyoshi Kusano (design) "Illustrator's Work Exhibition KV" 2. Madoka Morikura "The Season of Falling Cherry Blossoms" 3. Shoko Hirose "awake"n"
wataboku solo exhibition “Unfinished”
wataboku continues to expand their global fanbase by sharing works centered around "SAI," an original character of a girl in a school uniform, on social media.
Marking the 10th anniversary since their very first solo exhibition, this debut solo show at Hanshin Umeda Main Store is a "return to roots." Drawing on a decade of experience, the collection follows the trajectory of past works while emphasizing wataboku’s distinct identity as an artist.
While the solo exhibition at the art gallery will primarily feature hand-drawn original pieces, wataboku is also participating with digital works in the comprehensive event "The Work of Illustrators 2026" (Illustrator no Shigoto-ten 2026), held on the same floor. During this period of Osaka Art & Design (OAD), visitors will have the opportunity to experience wataboku's world through two distinct perspectives.
En Morikura
Illustrator. She has worked on character designs for Virtual Being's KizunaAI, the live streamer idol group vα-liv from PROJECT IM@S, the plastic model series Sousai Shojo Teien, and illustrations for Hatsune Miku, Hololive, Pokémon cards, and more.
Hirose Syoko
Hirose graduated from the Department of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, majoring in oil painting, in 2018. After working as a designer for a game company, he is now an artist active in the fields of art and illustration. Based on the concept of "an approach to painting that is possible in this modern age, where the boundaries between digital and physical existence are becoming blurred," she creates paintings by printing digitally created data and then adding touches to it with painting materials, as well as using various other printing techniques. She also works as an illustrator under the name "Hirose," and has created illustrations for games and light novels both in Japan and overseas, as well as popular works such as "Hatsune Miku."
ILLUSTRATOR'S WORKS 2026：Exhibitors
- APO+
- OSHIOSHIO
- Gagaimo
- KUSHIMA Yu
- KEIGO INOUE
- Toshiaki Takayama×eins
- cherico
- Terada Tera
- tororotororo
- Hirose Syoko
- Fuzichoco
- Ryo Fujiwara×GraphersRock
- popman3580
- En Morikura
- Yukoring
- Ryota-H×Kaoru Miyazaki
- wataboku
And approximately 100 others.
※Please visit the official event website for a full list of exhibitors.
wataboku
Japanese artist.
Since the release of his first art book “感0(KANZERO)” from Pony Canyon in 2016, he has held solo exhibitions in several cities in Asia, in addition to exhibitions in various locations in Japan. In recent years, he has expanded his activities as a contemporary artist.
His representative works include a collaboration with “yohji yamamoto,” a music video for “Mela!” by Ryokuoushokusyakai, and a book cover for “Jyuninin no shinitai kodomotachi” (Bunshunbunko), Artist image visual for tuki. and the jacket visual of her debut song “Bansanka” , etc.
Hanshin Umeda Main Store
Since its founding in 1933 under the name "Hanshin Mart," Hanshin Department Store has long been beloved by the people of the Kansai region. It boasts one of the largest selections in Japan, particularly in the food category. As a "department store that brings happiness to every day," the store offers a wide selection of lifestyle items perfect for everyday life, and hosts a variety of interactive events in the event spaces on each floor.
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1-13-13 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka City
