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About the Lecture

On April 13 2025, Osaka opens its third (and Japan’s sixth) international exhibition. City and country have been hosting such expos since 1970, having first appeared at them in the 1860s. Its modern enthusiasm for them, however, has been sustained by both the state and by sub-national actors, who have been responsible for the vast majority of the over 1,000 expos staged in Japan since the late 19th century. This exhibitionism, in turn, was rooted in a pre-existing exhibition culture, which thrived in the early modern cities of the archipelago. This talk will draw on a recently published book to sketch this history and to suggest how it might inform our study of and stories about international exhibitions, which perhaps remain overly preoccupied by their history in the West. The Japanese experience and use of expos has provided in turn a model for other cities and countries in Asia, the Near and Middle East, and beyond, who are ensuring the continuing viability of the form. Two months of its latest iteration may also provide some suggestions as to where it might go next.

Angus Lockyer was educated in Dorset, Cambridge, Seattle, California, and Tokyo, and has taught Japanese, East Asian, and global history in North Carolina and London. Exhibitionist Japan: The Spectacle of Modern Development, was published by Cambridge University Press earlier this year. Japan: A History in Objects, based on the collection of the British Museum, will come out in 2026. He currently lives in Rhode Island and teaches at RISD.