Mononoke Kyoto

Mononoke Kyoto (もののけ 京都) draws on the concept of mononoke — spirits or supernatural presences that inhabit objects and places in Japanese folk belief and literary tradition, most famously in The Tale of Genji. Presented as a mixed-media installation, the work situates Murakami's Superflat vocabulary within Kyoto's historically dense cultural landscape, engaging with a city that served as the imperial capital and center of classical Japanese arts for over a millennium. The installation format allows Murakami to address physical space directly, contrasting the flat, screen-derived imagery of his painting practice with three-dimensional occupation of a charged site. The title's parallel Japanese and romaji presentation signals the work's movement between vernacular tradition and international contemporary art discourse.