Leiji Matsumoto Retrospective March 20 to June 7

Nagoya City Art Museum Hosts a Major Leiji Matsumoto Retrospective

If you spent any time in Japan in the late ’70s through the ’80s — or if you’re a parent whose kids discovered anime through YouTube rabbit holes — you know Leiji Matsumoto’s work even if you don’t know his name. Galaxy Express 999. Space Pirate Captain Harlock. The lanky, sad-eyed heroes. The mysterious women with hair that defies gravity. Space trains. Existential melancholy wrapped in adventure.

Matsumoto died in February 2023 at 85, and this March Nagoya City Art Museum is hosting his first major posthumous retrospective — seven decades of manga, anime, and what the curators are calling his “creative cosmos.” The exhibition ran in Tokyo last summer at Roppongi Hills, and now it’s coming to Shirakawa Park from March 20 through June 7, 2026.

This isn’t a pop-up fan event. It’s not a touring show scaled down for a regional stop. Nagoya gets the full treatment: more than 300 original works and materials spanning from before Matsumoto’s professional debut in 1954 through his final projects. That includes original manuscripts from 999 and Harlock, early teenage works, newly discovered studio pieces, and the tools he used — pens, reference books, even the battered cap he wore while working.

The exhibition traces how Matsumoto built what fans call the “Leijiverse”: an interconnected web where space pirates, time-traveling trains, and doomed romantics all exist in the same melancholy universe. If you’ve ever wondered why Japanese sci-fi often feels more philosophical than action-driven — why memory, loss, and the passage of time loom so large — Matsumoto played a major role in shaping that sensibility.

For those coming in cold, Matsumoto’s most famous work, Galaxy Express 999, follows a boy named Tetsurō who rides a steam locomotive through space in search of a mechanical body that promises immortality. The series has been adapted into anime, films, and live-action productions, influencing generations of creators across genres. This year marks its 50th anniversary, which helps explain the timing and scale of the retrospective.

View His Creative Workspace!
One detail worth noting: this is not just a Galaxy Express show. The curators frame Matsumoto as a working artist whose career stretched across manga and anime for more than 70 years.

You’ll see how his visual language developed — the distinctive linework, the use of deep-space blues, and recurring motifs of trains, ships, and clocks. There’s also a recreated version of his creative workspace, which will either feel intimate or slightly voyeuristic, depending on how you feel about artists’ studios.

Nagoya’s version includes an exhibition-exclusive photo spot and limited-run merchandise, both designed to tempt completists. Standing in front of original 999 manuscripts in a quiet museum still beats scrolling through AI-generated anime commentary at 2 a.m.

Whether you’re coming for nostalgia, bringing kids who need context for the cultural DNA behind their favorite shows, or simply curious about why Matsumoto mattered, three months is a solid run.

The Details

Galaxy Express 999
50th Anniversary Project
Leiji Matsumoto Exhibition

Dates:
Mar. 20 – Jun. 7, 2026

Venue: Nagoya City Art Museum
(In Shirakawa Park)

Hours:
9:30–17:00
(Fridays until 20:00)

Closed:
Mondays (open May 4, closed May 7)

Tickets:
¥2,200 advance / ¥2,400 door (adults)
Official site: https://leiji-m-exh.jp/

Access

The exhibition is at Nagoya City Art Museum in Shirakawa Park, next to the Nagoya City Science Museum.

The nearest stations are Fushimi Station (H09 / T07) on the Higashiyama and Tsurumai lines, about 8 minutes on foot from Exit 5; or Osu Kannon Station (T08) on the Tsurumai Line, about 7 minutes on foot from Exit 2.

From Fushimi, leave via Exit 5 and walk south to Shirakawa Park.
From Osu Kannon, leave via Exit 2 and walk north to the park and museum.

Nagoya Subway Map

Check out our handy guide to using the Nagoya Subway

MAP