THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA uses light and sound to create spaces where visitors can immerse themselves in the art of fin-de-siècle Vienna. Ahead of the event's public opening, the press was given a special preview.
A new art experience has arrived at Yamashita Pier Shed No. 4 in the Port of Yokohama.
The Toyota Group has transformed this building into THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA, an immersive art facility open to visitors until March 31, 2026.
Two days before the December 20 public launch, the press were given a special preview. It featured a talk session discussing THE MOVEUM’s significance, as well as Toyota’s connection to Yokohama.
THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA
Immersive art is a new way to experience artworks, combining wall and floor projections of famous paintings with light, sound, and video displays to create entire spaces where visitors can inhabit the artist’s world. Compared to traditional viewing, this approach offers a deeper appreciation of works and their historical context.
The immersive exhibition at THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA comprises some 280 works, including The Kiss, a renowned painting by late 19th-century Viennese artist Gustav Klimt, and Death and the Maiden by his protégé Egon Schiele.
Klimt is known for his use of gold leaf and other ornate decoration techniques, while Schiele’s work stands as a visual expression of his inner torment. The exhibition, entitled The Golden Age of Beauty, reconstructs pieces from these two artists who lived through the turbulent turn of the century in Vienna, accompanied by music and other cultural elements from the period.
Running alongside the Viennese exhibition is LISTEN. ONE MOMENT, produced by actress Tomoko Yamaguchi. As part of the LISTEN. project, Yamaguchi and her team spent ten years exploring music cultures around the world, compiling their travels into a film library. ONE MOMENT is their first large-scale show in Japan, and the project’s first foray into immersive art.
Why Toyota turns to art
The preview on December 18 featured a talk session with Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka, Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Shunichi Tokura, Tomoko Yamaguchi, Ambassador of Austria to Japan Sigrid Berka, and Chairman Akio Toyoda representing the Toyota Group. Yuta Tomikawa, the host of Toyota Times News, led the discussion.
While people may associate Toyota mostly with cars, the company is also dedicated to promoting culture and the arts. For over 40 years, the carmaker has been working with dealerships to support local amateur orchestras through Toyota Community Concerts; it also organizes the Toyota Master Players, Wien (TOMAS) concert tours, featuring members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
This time, the focus is on fine art. Chairman Toyoda outlined the intention behind this project.
Chairman Toyoda
I used to think that good deeds (such as social contribution activities) would gradually spread throughout the world, but I can’t help feeling that those who do good deserve to be better rewarded.
I want them to be able to reach a wider audience, not just a select few. To do that, they need something to serve as a vessel for their work, as Koshien does for high school baseball.
Commissioner Tokura emphasized that “people and places are essential” for cultivating culture and art. While Japan has no shortage of individuals with creative talent, they still lack platforms for sharing their work with the world.
Yokohama City, which provided one such venue by leasing the Yamashita Pier facility, hopes the Toyota Group will continue using the spot to showcase art.
THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA will carry these hopes and expectations. And as it happens, the Port of Yokohama that provides the event’s backdrop has a deep connection to Toyota.
Connections run deep
Over more than 160 years, dating back to 1859, the Port of Yokohama has played a vital role as a gateway for international trade.
The port was also there at crucial junctures in Toyota’s history, as the company ventured out into the world.
In 1910, as Sakichi Toyoda struggled to balance business interests with the invention of his automatic loom, he set out from Yokohama to Seattle in the United States to gain a global perspective.
Later, when his son Kiichiro embarked on his own tour of Europe and the United States, including a stopover in San Francisco that convinced him of the importance of automobiles, he likewise departed from the Port of Yokohama.
The port also sent Japan’s first genuine passenger car, the Toyopet Crown, on its way to the U.S. market.
“I feel as though our path to the world began from this spot,” remarked Chairman Toyoda. “Some force seemed to draw us here to get to know Yokohama.”
“The connection really runs deep…” echoed Mayor Yamanaka.
Having supported Japan’s postwar recovery and the period of rapid economic growth that followed, the Yamashita Pier has completed its service as an industrial facility. Moving forward, the site will be redeveloped for use by the city’s residents.
Speaking about this storied location, now home to THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA, Mayor Yamanaka described it as “a place where history and the future converge.” “It’s thrilling to see something new being created,” responded Yamaguchi.
As fate would have it, in “Leaders,” the 2014 TV drama based on Kiichiro’s life, the protagonist’s wife was portrayed by none other than Tomoko Yamaguchi. Seated beside Chairman Toyoda, she smiled as she recounted this “strange connection.”
