Pokémon X Kogei Expo (Kanazawa ‘23)

I’ve been a gamer since I could hold my first NES controller and a fan of Pokemon since its release in 1998 (Blue and Bulbasaur if you’re wondering). Imagine my surprise and absolute delight when I discovered that the National Museum of Arts and Crafts in Kanazawa, Japan was having an expo displaying Pokemon art created using traditional Japanese craftsmanship. To say I was like a kid in a candy store is an understatement. The other thing that made me appreciate it all the more, was seeing people of all walks of life just as excited to see it as I was. From elderly couples, to young children, businessman in suits, to the “cool” kids from high school and everyone in between—they all loved seeing this melding of “popular” culture and traditional Japanese craft. Pokémon holds an important place in Japanese culture, and this expo was a perfect blend of displaying the beloved pocket monsters using absolutely stunning and meticulous Japanese art techniques.