Tadanori Yokoo was an influential leader of youth culture when he drew illustrations for the historical serial story, Genka, by Harumi Setouchi (presently, Jakucho Setouchi) that appeared in the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper between 1974 and 1975. This was a story of the decline of the Muromachi shogunate (1336–1573)  told from the perspective of a female individual. Letting his imagination fly in a succession of experimental approaches, Yokoo created a series of astonishingly skillful illustrations. Few knew of the existence of the entire series of originals until they were exhibited at the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art in Hyogo Prefecture in December 2015. It was then that these original illustrations, released from their 40-year seclusion, emanated a new vitality as they powerfully expressed the atmosphere and energy of the mid-1970s when Yokoo at the forefront of his field deepened his interest in Eastern philosophy.

Incorporating the title “The Complete Drawings for Genka” as named by Yokoo himself, the current exhibition presents from a new perspective all 371 original illustrations in Tokyo through the generous cooperation of the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition examines the source of the energy emanating from these small 8 cm by 14 cm illustrations while focusing on the social situation of the time when Yokoo was about to turn 40 years old. In creating his illustrations, Yokoo at times quoted from the Heart Sutra, conveyed continuity through small changes in the scene as in an animated film, abruptly added motifs unrelated to the story, inserted images of the author Setouchi herself, and completed illustrations ahead of the story. Visitors can experience the true worth of Yokoo’s illustrations and drawings through the small world condensing the best of Yokoo’s graphic work.