Before and After Superflat - A Short History of Japanese Contemporary Art 1990-2011

Aug 20, 2026

Before and After Superflat traces how Japanese contemporary art evolved from 1990 to 2011 amid Japan’s post-bubble economic, social, and ecological crises. It examines the rise of Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, and the “Superflat” vision, questioning what underlies their image of a childish and decadent society. The narrative follows shifts in art entrepreneurship, markets, museums, festivals, and the post–gold rush landscape, ending with reflections after the 2011 tsunami.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages248

Reading Time10 h 25 min

AccessFree to download

Prologue

Tourists in the Japanese Pavilion

Part One

Little Boys and Tokyo Girls: The Rise of Superflat

Artist in Wonderland: Takashi Murakami

The Little Prince: Yoshitomo Nara

Tokyo Girls Bravo! Kaikai Kiki and Mariko Mori

Utsukushii Kuni: Yokoso Japan!

Part Two

How to be A-Zillionaire: Commerce, Design and Art in the Superflat World

The Art Entrepreneurship Theory

Nara as Businessman

The World is Flat

The Creative Surplus

Part Three

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? The Tokyo Art World in the 1990s

Tokyo 1991-1995: The Birth of the Cool

Ginza Days, Omori Nights: The Birth of a Contemporary Art Scene

Art and Money: The Birth of a Contemporary Art Market

When Will Aida Be Famous? Before and After Zero Japan

Part Four

Art & The City: How Art Replaced God at the Heart of Neo-Tokyo

The Tower of Power: The Mori Story

Yokohama: From Triennial to Debacle

What are Contemporary Art Museums in Japan Really For?

Echigo-Tsumari and Rural Art Festivals: Rise of the Northern River

Part Five

After the Gold Rush: The New Japanese Art Scene in the 2000s

China Mania

The Zero Zero Generation

Aida’s Children

Space for Our Future

Epilogue

After the Tsunami

Sources and Acknowledgements

Yoshitomo Nara, Harmless Kitty (1994) Before and After Superflat Talk of Japanese contemporary art and everyone inevitably thinks of the pop culture fantasies of Takashi Murakami, along with Yoshitomo Nara and others connected to Murakami’s “Superflat”movement. Meanwhile, Japan has stumbled through a series of economic, social and ecological crises since the collapse of its “Bubble” economy in the early 1990s. How did Murakami, Nara and“Superflat” rise to become the dominant artistic vision of Japan today? What lies behind their image of a childish and decadent society unable to face up to reality? Before and After Superflat tells the true story of the Japanese art world since 1990, its struggle to find a voice amidst Japan’s decline and the rise of China, and the responses of other artists, less well known outside, who offer alternative visions of its troubled present and future. Before and After Superflat A Short History of Japanese Contemporary Art 1990-2011 Adrian Favell Adrian Favell is a Professor of Sociology at Sciences Po, Paris. He has also taught at UCLA, Aarhus University and the University of Sussex. In 2007 he was invited to Tokyo as a Japan Foundation Abe Fellow, and has since then been closely involved as an observer, writer and occasional curator on the Japanese contemporary art scene, both home and abroad. He writes a popular blog for the online Japanese magazine ART-iT, as well as catalogue essays, reviews and contributions to magazines such as Art Forum and Art in America. He was born in England and lives in Paris. Adrian Favell Front cover: Makoto Aida, Azemichi (1991) Before and After Superflat A Short History of Japanese Contemporary Art 1990-2011 Adrian Favell Published by Blue Kingfisher Limited 19A Entertainment Building 30 Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong e-mail: [info@timezone8.com](info@timezone8.com) [www.timezone8.com](www.timezone8.com) Copyright © 2011 by Author and Blue Kingfisher Limited All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All works of art copyright the artists, their heirs and assigns. ISBN: 978-988-15064-1-2 Author: Adrian Favell Cover: Makoto Aida, Azemichi [A Path Between Rice Fields](1991) panel, Japanese paper and mineral pigment, acrylic 73 x 52 cm © AIDA Makoto Collection of Toyota Municipal Museum of Art Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery and Toyota Municipal Museum of Art Back Cover: Yoshitomo Nara, Harmless Kitty (1994) acrylic on canvas 150 x 140cm Courtesy of Tomio Koyama Gallery Printed in China. Contents PROLOGUE Tourists in the Japanese Pavilion .......................................................................................... 7 PART ONE Little Boys and Tokyo Girls: The Rise of Superflat Artist in Wonderland: Takashi Murakami ........................................................................... 15 The Little Prince: Yoshitomo Nara ..................................................................................... 23 Tokyo Girls Bravo! Kaikai Kiki and Mariko Mori ............................................................. 31 Utsukushii Kuni: Yokoso Japan!......................................................................................... 41 PART TWO How to be A-Zillionaire: Commerce, Design and Art in the Superflat World The Art Entrepreneurship Theory ....................................................................................... 49 Nara as Businessman .......................................................................................................... 56 The World is Flat................................................................................................................. 63 The Creative Surplus...........................

FAQs

What does Before and After Superflat cover from 1990 to 2011?

It follows the true story of the Japanese art world since 1990, including how “Superflat” rose to dominance and how artists responded to Japan’s decline and changing regional dynamics.

Why are Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara central to the book?

The book links their emergence to the “Superflat” movement and explores what lies behind their portrayal of a childish, decadent society that struggles with reality.

How does the book explain the connection between art, commerce, and markets?

It dedicates a section to superflat-era entrepreneurship, design, and art business, including theories and the growth of contemporary art markets.

Aug 20, 2026

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