Art and politics intertwine at Japan's Aichi Triennale

Notes and impressions from one of Asia's largest contemporary art festivals

Installation view of work by Japanese artist Izumi Kato at Aichi Triennale 2025. Operating under the theme "A Time Between Ashes and Roses," this year's event brings together 61 artists from Japan and abroad. (Photo by Kim Kahan)

KIM KAHAN

October 18, 2025 07:40 JST

SETO, Japan -- We remove our shoes as instructed and place them in bags. Ducking under traditional noren curtains, we step into the changing room of Nihon Kosen, a disused sento (public bathhouse) built in Japan's Showa era (1926-89). Three glass-doored lockers -- numbered 26, 18 and 10 -- glow faintly, the room's sole source of light.