On July 14, 2015, the Mizuta Museum of Art Gallery launched a special exhibition to commemorate the publication of the poetry collection Sabbath in Tokyo by Josai University Educational Corporation Chancellor and poet Noriko Mizuta. The exhibition features illustrations and hand carvings by artist Yoko Mori, accompanied by Ms. Mizuta’s poetry. This exhibit is also part of Josai’s 50th anniversary festivities and will run through August 2.

Sabbath in Tokyo is the third installment in Ms. Mizuta’s poetry series, which also includes Summer Holidays in Santa Barbara and A Wedding in Amsterdam. Spanning several generations, the series depicts a family living in multiple international locations with a dynamic narrative touch. This is the first poetry collection since Ms. Mizuta was awarded the Cikada Prize―which recognizes East Asian poets whose work captures the majesty of life―from the Swedish government in December 2013. This exhibition collects Mori’s original illustrations from both the aforementioned poetry series, as well as the collection, Sea of Blue Algae, displaying 45 illustrations and 50 works in all. The pencil sketches and photography collages create images that evoke a complex overlapping of memories that touch on issues of childhood imagination, life and death, time and memory that resonate with Ms. Mizuta’s poetry.

At the exhibit’s opening ceremony, Chancellor Mizuta addressed the audience by saying, “Adding Ms. Mori’s illustrations to my poetry collection opens up a whole new world. For me, this association has continued to inform the creation and construction of new works of poetry. Please take this opportunity today to enjoy these illustrations in their original form. “ Ms. Mori then came to the podium and added, “Poetry is a medium that is rendered complete by language alone, so to add images to them is a bit of a challenge. I had no idea how the illustrations would turn out until I did them, but I had the luxury of complete freedom in their creation.”
　 This was followed by a reading of selections from Sea of Blue Algae and Sabbath in Tokyo by students from the Josai International University Faculty of Media Studies and international graduate students participating in the Japan-China Joint Doctoral Program from Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Tianjin Foreign Studies University, and other institutions.
　 There was also a performance of the recently published lyrical score Unwritten Love Letters with musical accompaniment from the composer Shigemi Yoshioka and translations into nine different languages, giving Josai the feel of a truly multilingual campus.