TOKYO -- Japanese art lovers are shelling out more money for the chance to see works from the likes of the Louvre and New York's Met close to home, as rising costs and falling attendance drive museums to raise ticket prices and bring the business model of such shows into question.
"Art & Power: From Pharaohs to Daimyos," an exhibition on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, finally opened at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in July after a delay of more than two years. General-admission tickets cost 2,000 yen ($13.50) -- a jump from the original price of 1,600 yen, or $11 at current rates.
