Co-Events 2025

In honour of 425 years of relations between the Netherlands and Japan, the Japan Festival is organising a series of special events this year in collaboration with various neighbouring organisations. These partnerships strengthen the bond between Japan and the local community and offer a broad audience the opportunity to explore the richness of Japanese culture.

Stay tuned to this page for an up-to-date overview of the planned activities.

Museum Cobra

Kishio Suga – Where Both Sides Meet

Kishio Suga, In the State of Equal Dimension, 1973, C-print. © Courtesy of the artist and BLUM Los Angeles, Tokyo, New York.

Saturday 28 June – Sunday 26 October
10:00-17:00

Museum Cobra proudly presents the first solo exhibition in the Netherlands of influential Japanese artist Kishio Suga (b. 1944). As a key figure in the minimalist Mono-ha movement, Suga’s groundbreaking work explores the dynamic relationships between material, space, and environment. His installations – often created in direct response to the site – challenge conventional boundaries and invite new ways of seeing.

From 28 June to 26 October 2025, Suga’s radical and poetic installations will take over the entire top floor of Museum Cobra. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience his unique approach to art-making and to engage with one of the most important voices in post-war Japanese art.

Alongside his iconic large-scale works, the exhibition includes wall-based assemblages, photographs, notebooks, and video documentation of Suga’s performative ‘activations’. Together, these elements create an immersive and contemplative experience, encouraging visitors to reflect on the interconnectedness of all things—and to reconsider their own relationship with the material world.

Ainu Woodcarving Workshop

Saturday 28 June
12:00-13:30

Experience the ancient traditions of the Ainu during the woodcarving workshop at Museum Cobra. Guided by artisans from the Nibutani Craft Cooperative Association, you will learn step by step how to carve authentic Ainu patterns into a wooden coaster, which you will take home afterwards.

Ainu patterns tell stories inspired by nature, such as the thorn pattern (ayus-noka) and the eye pattern (sik-noka). During the workshop, you will discover the history of these symbols and learn traditional techniques.

The workshop is suitable for everyone aged 12 and up, children accompanied by an adult.

Ainu Embroidery Workshop 

Satuday 28 June
14:00-15:30

Discover the unique patterns of the Ainu, a rich tradition passed down from parent to child for generations. Under the guidance of craftswomen Nomoto Keiko and Okada Minako, you will learn the basics of Ainu designs and embroidery techniques.

During the workshop, you will embroider two patches of traditional Ainu patterns. One patch you will take home; the other will travel to Shiraoi, Hokkaido (Japan) to be part of a large patchwork project. This collaborative artwork will be displayed there as a symbol of multicultural coexistence.


de Bibliotheek Amstelland

Japan Festival – Unveiling the Japan Collection at the Library

Sunday 29 June
13:00-13:30

On Sunday 29 June, the annual Japan Festival will be held at the Stadsplein. This year we celebrate the 425th anniversary of exchange between Japan and the Netherlands. To underline this bond, the Japanese ambassador will hand over a collection of books on Japanese language, culture and society to our library.

Origami workshop – Create a beautiful Kimono

Sunday 29 June
12:30-15:00

During the Japan Festival, the Origami Society of the Netherlands (OSN) will be giving an origami workshop. Come and fold a beautiful card with a colorful kimono on it.


Cinema Amstelveen

Totto-Chan (The Little Girl in the Window) / Japan Festival X Cinema Amstelveen

Sunday 6 July
16:15-18:20

Discover the heartwarming Japanese animated film Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window at Cinema Amstelveen. This Japanese animation is based on the autobiographical novel by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. The story follows a spirited young girl who is given a new chance at a unique elementary school during World War II.