We are pleased to announce the opening of Tenjin, Mume, Nusa, an exhibition featuring the work of the artist duo Nerhol. The duo of Iida Ryuta and Tanaka Yoshihisa has been active both in Japan and abroad since its founding in 2007.
The dialogue between these two artists—a sculptor and a graphic designer—serves as the starting point for their work, which springs forth from the stories created by their chance encounters with people and places. While moving freely across all boundaries, the resulting pieces show us the depth of art.
The duo, who pay particular attention to the passage of time and the weaving of memory, has in recent years found a common interest in notions surrounding the flow of time at Dazaifu Tenmangu.
Furthermore, for these artists who use paper as the support for their pieces, noticing the origin of paper in hemp (nusa) became the basis for this exhibition. Indispensable objects for everyday rituals at the shrine such as haraigushi wands and tamagushi offerings are tied with string made from hemp and are associated with purification and cleansing.
Named after Sugawara Michizane (Tenjin), who is enshrined at Dazaifu Tenmangu, the plum blossoms (mume) that Tenjin cherished, and hemp, this exhibition also includes a selection of cultural properties from the shrine’s collection chosen by Nerhol.
The duo’s several stays in Dazaifu, where they walked around the grounds and conversed with their photographic subjects, have culminated in the act of “carving” the layered memories of the nature, people, things, and buildings that the shrine has carefully preserved over its more than 1,100-year history. Please take a moment to enjoy the scenery the duo has arrived at by relying on these memories from the past.

Exhibition Period: May 11 (Sat) to August 4 (Sun), 2024. Closed on Mondays excluding July 15(Mon).
Opening Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM (Admission until 4:00PM)
Venue: Dazaifu Tenmangu Museum Exhibition room 2 and Special Exhibition Room,
Dazaifu Tenmangu, 4-7-1 Saifu, Dazaifu City, Fukuoka Prefecture 818-0117
Admission Fee:
General 500 (400) yen,
High School and University Students 200 (100) yen,
Elementary and Junior High School Students 100 (50) yen.
* The price in () indicates a group rate for more than 30 people. individuals presenting a disability certificate, as well as up to one accompanying person, are kindly admitted at half the regular rate.
Organized by Dazaifu Tenmangu with the support of Yutaka Kikutake Gallery

Artists’ profile