Contemporary art is difficult. Who in the world is it and how is it valued?
If you have ever tried to learn about contemporary art, you may have had such a puzzling experience.
Read the "100 People for Understanding Contemporary Art" series to get a comprehensive overview of the major domestic and international players in the art world.

9. Kenjiro Hosaka

Kenjiro Hosaka is a curator, formerly curator at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and currently director of the Museum of Art, Shiga.
He has curated exhibitions outside Japan, including the House Constructive Art Museum, and his representative projects include "Francis Bacon Exhibition" (2013), "Seinoma: Whole Body Poet, Gozo Yoshimasu Exhibition" (2016), "Logical Emotion: Contemporary Art from Japan" (2014), etc. He is also the author of several books.
He is also the author of several books, including "Art Brut Art Japan" (co-authored and supervised by Heibonsha).

10. arata hasegawa

Arata Hasegawa is a curator born in 1988.
He graduated from Kyoto University, Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, majoring in cultural anthropology.
He served as chief curator for the exhibition "Kitakagaya Crossing 2013 MOBILIS IN MOBILI - Intersecting Present -" held in Osaka, Tokyo, and Kanazawa from 2013 to 2014.
Major projects include "On a Deserted Island - Sculpture/Sculpture/Installation of the '80s" (2014), "Palais de Choate / The Sound of Reality" (2015), "Chronicle, Chronicle!" (2016-2017), and "Impurity and Immunity" (2017-2018).

11. Shihoko Iida.

As an independent curator, Shihoko Iida has been involved in various international art festivals and exhibitions.
She was co-curator of "Aichi Triennale 2013: Shaking the Earth: Place, Memory, and Resurrection" and associate curator of "Sapporo International Art Festival 2014," which deployed artworks in more than 10 venues. He also served as associate curator for the Sapporo International Art Festival 2014, which deployed artworks in more than 10 venues.
After graduating from university, he was involved with the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery from its inception. She is also one of Japan's leading curators, having served as the official participating curator of the Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2012 in Japan.

12. Michiko Kasahara

Michiko Kasahara is a curator whose main field of work is photography and gender theory.
She is also recognized for her many international achievements, including her work as commissioner of the Japanese Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale of Fine Arts, where she organized the exhibition "Miyako Ishiuchi: Mothers 2000-2005, Imprint of the Future" (2015).
As a leading figure who pioneered the field of gender photography theory, she is actively involved in exhibition planning and writing.

13. mika kuraya

Mika Kuraya was a curator at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo from 1993 to 2020, where she worked in various capacities as one of the museum's leading curators.
Since 2020, she has served as director of the Yokohama Museum of Art. He is a long-time professional in museum management who has significantly updated the relationship between Japanese museums and their collections and how they are presented.
He also served as the curator of the Japan Pavilion (artist: Koki Tanaka) at the 55th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, and was the first Japanese pavilion to be selected for a special award.

14. Tsutomu Mizusawa

With a keen interest in modern and contemporary art in Japan and German-speaking countries, Mizusawa has introduced many artists and writings from the end of the Viennese century to Japan.
He has also participated in many international exhibitions, including the Bangladesh-Asia Art Biennial in 1993 and 1997 as commissioner, and the 26th Sao Paulo Biennial in 2004 as commissioner.
He also served as the artistic director of the 3rd Yokohama Triennale "Time Crevasse" in 2008.
He is one of the leading curators in Japan.

15. tomoko yabumae

Tomoko Yabumae has curated many high-profile exhibitions as a curator at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
She has introduced important artists who have had a major impact on the art world, including "Shinro Ohtake: Zen-kei 1955-2006" (2006), "Eiko Ishioka: Can Blood, Sweat, and Tears Be Designed" (2020), and "Christian Marclay: Translating" (2021).
She also participated in the Sapporo International Art Festival 2017 as an international exhibition and helped organize "Omnilogue: Your Voice is Mine" (2013, National University Art Museum, Singapore).

16. eriko aisaka

Eriko Osaka has been the current director of the National Art Center, Tokyo since 2019, and has been involved in many so-called blockbuster exhibitions that are co-sponsored by newspapers and TV stations and aim to attract large crowds with large budgets.
Unlike the Yokohama Museum of Art and Art Tower Mito, where he had previously served, he has planned many exhibitions that attract a general audience.
We have also organized exhibitions such as "Damien Hirst: Cherry Blossoms," which attracted many young people, and "500 Years of Western Paintings," an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
He has also held key positions in international exhibitions, including co-curator of the Japanese section of the 3rd Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (1998) and commissioner of the Japanese Pavilion at the 49th Venice Biennale (2001).