Togo Murano: Thought Form Practice.

The Institute of Art History is hosting a symposium and exhibition on the work of Togo Murano (1891–1984), a pioneer of modern architecture in Japan.

Symposium: Friday, 06.11.2026
(9 am – 6 pm, Rm 102)

Exhibition: October 26, 2026 – November 20, 2026
(Monday to Friday, 9 am – 6 pm, first floor entrance hall)

Murano was one of the most celebrated and prolific architects of the 20th century in Japan, with a career spanning some seven decades. While committed from the very beginning to the idea of modern architecture, he nevertheless took a highly independent path that set him apart from the standard histories and genealogies of modernism in Japan, with a special sensitivity to the psychology of form, symbol, and ornament in the pursuit of a practice that was both humanist in aspiration and responsive to pragmatic and economic needs, above all in the commercial, institutional, and religious spheres in which he largely worked.

In reflection of its rich and multifaceted nature, the symposium will address Murano’s work in an interdisciplinary manner through a number of different vantage points, ranging from architectural history and practice to social and economic perspectives.

The exhibition will feature reproductions of some 50 construction drawings from the Museum and Archives at the Kyoto Institute of Technology and also include materials from the Historisches Archiv Krupp and Stadtarchiv Münster.

Program:
9:30–9:50
Opening (Jens Niebaum) and introduction (Maki Iisaka)

9:50–10:50
Christian Tagsold, "Landscapes of Japan’s International Hotel Culture: Two Case Studies of Togo Murano"

10:50–11:50
Rika Fujioka, "The Role of Togo Murano in the Development of Japanese Department Stores"

11:50–2:00
Lunch and exhibition tour (1:30–1:50)

2:00–3:00
Bapam Baticam, "The Presentist Togo Murano"

3:00–3:30
Coffee break

3:30–4:30
Hans H. Hanke, "Gifts for Peace. Some Reflections on Art and Politics in the World Peace Church"

4:30–5:30
Hubertus Adam, TBA

6:30
Symposium Dinner (please register. place to be announced)

The events are funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) 533082497.

For more information, please visit www.iisaka.de/Murano or contact Maki Iisaka: miisakauni-muenster.de

https://www.uni-muenster.de/Kunstgeschichte/index.html