Tokyo University of the Arts, admired by aspiring artists, is where people who trust their sensibilities and break free from convention come together, I can truly feel their passion for art up close.
Tokyo University of the Arts — commonly known as Geidai — is a dream school for aspiring artists and musicians. Many people spend years applying repeatedly just to get in. Some enroll temporarily at other universities while taking the Geidai entrance exam each year. Others return to try again even after becoming working adults. All are driven by a strong desire to study here.
So, what kind of place is Geidai, really?
There is a book that gives a straightforward answer to this very question.
The Last Sacred Place: The Chaotic Daily Lives of Geniuses at Tokyo University of the Arts
The students in this book are free spirits who refuse convention and follow their own sensibilities. They value creative passion over money or career. They pursue their art with eccentric ideas and uncompromising dedication. The book portrays them as deeply human—brilliant yet unpredictable, pure yet unstable—embodying both genius and chaos.
So, how can one experience what’s described in this book? The quickest ways would probably be the following two.
1) Visit the campus of Tokyo University of the Arts.
2) Visit the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts.
However, these alone don’t allow for a deep understanding, since there is no real interaction with the students themselves. In 1), you might get a glimpse of the student atmosphere, but only superficially. And 2) doesn’t always feature works by Geidai students, so that too offers only a partial experience.
Therefore, here I will write about the annual “Tokyo University of the Arts Graduation and Completion Exhibition” held at the university.
Tokyo University of the Arts holds the “Graduation and Master’s Works Exhibition” annually from late January to February, lasting about a week. It displays the graduation works of both undergraduate and graduate students. The exhibition uses not only the University Art Museum but also classrooms across the campus. For graduate (master’s) students, each has a designated room—likely their studio—so visitors see the works in the very spaces where students created them.
The exhibition covers departments such as Japanese Painting, Oil Painting, Sculpture, Crafts, Design, Architecture, and Emerging Creative Expression. Oil Painting attracts the most attention. On campus, an eight-story building called the “Painting Building” houses the works on its upper floors.
A distinctive feature of this exhibition is that each room or space displays only one work, and the student who created it stays there. In many rooms, students sit on chairs, and in the corridors, students who made the works move about. Visitors can talk with them if they wish. This interaction is perhaps the true appeal of the exhibition.
Each room is a typical school classroom, but it accommodates large works such as big canvases or sculptures. The rooms measure roughly 15 m by 8 m, with ceilings about 6 m high. Each room also has a sink. One can easily imagine students spending long hours fully immersed in their creative work in these spaces.
Most works are oil paintings, so the focus naturally falls on painting. Some students create more sculptural or object-like pieces. The paintings vary widely in size, from works that cover an entire wall to those just a few dozen centimeters across. Students face no strict conditions or limitations when creating these works.
As I walk through the rooms, I often see explanations next to the works. Reading them shows that the students are no ordinary individuals. Many leave business cards, and some list achievements, such as holding solo exhibitions. These students already act as emerging artists with promising careers.
Personal taste affects how one views the works, so it is hard to generalize. Many pieces could fit easily in a regular gallery. Some even suit a museum exhibition, along with the space where students created them.
I have visited the “Graduation and Completion Exhibition” three times. On some visits, I saw students passionately talking about their works in the rooms. Listening to them, I felt once again how wonderful it is to have something that ignites such passion.
When I visited in 2025, I checked the list of works at the “Painting Hall” and saw 42 of 62 works listed. One notable feature was the names of international students. While touring the rooms, I also noticed a few people who were clearly not Japanese. Judging by names alone might be presumptuous, but the list suggests around ten such students. Students coming to Geidai from abroad reflects the university’s global reputation and excellence.
I highly recommend visiting the exhibition to see the works being created firsthand and to better understand what Geidai represents. For reference, I placed this article in the “Art Festivals” category.
Visited in 2022, 2024, and 2025.
Basic Information
■ Name : Tokyo University of the Arts: Graduation and Master’s Works Exhibition
■ Address : 12-8 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan
■ Homepage：https://www.geidai.ac.jp/english/
