Chasing Kaguya: Moon Myths to Missions invites visitors to explore Japan’s otherworldly fascination with the Moon, from Heian era folklore to the new frontier of space exploration. The exhibition brings together celestial poetry, spacecraft, and visions for the future.

Through works such as The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter 竹取物語, Yoshitoshi Tsukioka’s One Hundred Aspects of the Moon 月百姿, and moon-themed verses from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu 小倉百人一首 (One Hundred People, One Poem Each), the exhibit traces how the Moon has guided seasonal traditions, inspired festivals, and illuminated stories passed down through generations.

Today, that same curiosity fuels a new era of lunar exploration. Through the U.S.-led Artemis program, international partners such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are laying the groundwork for humanity’s return to the Moon and eventual voyages beyond. Alongside these governmental efforts, Japan’s corporate innovators—renowned engineering leaders such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toyota, as well as pioneering private companies such as ispace—are expanding on what is possible in the growing commercial space sector. This exhibition bridges myth and mission, inviting you to rediscover the Moon as both a cultural muse and a place where imagination and future habitation meet.