The grand art festival "Dogo Onsenato 2018," which pre-opened in September 2017 at Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, will hold its grand opening on April 14th.

Since the Meiji era, the Dogo Onsen Main Building has been beloved for its stately appearance as a pioneer of modern hot spring resorts. "Dogo Onsenato 2014," held to commemorate the 120th anniversary of its reconstruction, combined the local resources of hot springs, Matsuyama City's warm climate, and the convenience of being densely concentrated in a small area with the new appeal of "art," attracting many tourists and local residents.

This year's large-scale art festival, the first in four years, is based on the theme of "Get Hot in Art - Hot Spring Art Entertainment" and the keyword "Homage." Works by approximately 20 artists will decorate the town of Dogo, including inns and hotels.

The grand opening on April 14th will feature an art performance by Shinji Ohmaki using countless soap bubbles. Other exhibits include a camellia flower sculpture by Ohmaki, a giant bronze bear and installation space by Atsuhiko Misawa, a series of self-portraits by Masashi Asada inspired by the many stories that remain at the hot spring, original photographs of baseball players from the local Dogo Junior High School by Kayo Ume, paintings by Shichiho Ishii and Konomi Tani, a monumental piece by Taku Hisamura, mud paintings by Yusuke Asai, and towels with words by Hiroko Ichihara.


This highly acclaimed hotel project, which began at Dogo Onsenart in 2014, will feature Akira Uno, Ellie Omiya, and Shin Sobue, who have been featured since the pre-opening, as well as Yasuhiro Suzuki and Chie Matsui. The yukata project, an essential part of hot spring resorts, is also underway. BEAMS produced yukatas for the Dogo Onsen Annex Asuka no Yusen, and in collaboration with Isetan Mitsukoshi, artist Mutsumi Kagoshima will be introducing yukatas with newly designed designs.


Mika Ninagawa will be exhibiting a large-scale installation at the Dogo Onsen Main Building. The artwork, which uses 34 photos of fireworks excerpted from the photo book "Light of" on shoji screens and glass, changes appearance between day and night, and can be viewed until May 31st.

In addition, in order to preserve and utilize its cultural heritage value, Dogo Onsen Main Building will undergo preservation and repair work while remaining open from January 2019.