[Held Tuesday, October 1–Sunday, December 1] Art de Furatto Kurashiki 2024 ～ A new way to enjoy art by viewing and eating it. Sweets inspired by famous paintings make their debut.

The heat has eased, and the season when it’s easy to go out has arrived. Autumn is the season for food, art, and sports. You may find yourself with all sorts of things you want to do. It’s a great time to make up for what you couldn’t do in summer.

This autumn, Kurashiki City is hosting “Art de Furatto Kurashiki 2024” for two months. It offers something to satisfy both your appetite and your appreciation of art. Head out and enjoy an event packed with Kurashiki’s unique character.

About Art de Furatto Kurashiki

“Art de Furatto Kurashiki” began in 2019. Although it was canceled in some years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it reached its fifth edition in 2024.

Kurashiki City is home to many art facilities, including the Ohara Museum of Art, as well as galleries. It is also rich in fruits such as grapes and peaches, and colorful sweets are offered at a variety of shops.

Art de Furatto Kurashiki was created as a new tourism model by treating sweets as “art you can eat” and combining art and sweets.

The event pamphlet introduces art facilities and sweets in Kurashiki City. A stamp rally is also being held, and participants who collect stamps from participating shops can win prizes in a drawing.

There are as many as 20 art facilities featured. Isn’t this proof that Kurashiki has a deep-rooted artistic history?

There are many kinds of art, including paintings by artists, ceramic works, and collections of Showa-era antiques. Experiencing art in its many forms is sure to enrich your sensibilities.

Fifteen shops are featured in the sweets category. Participating shops offer original sweets inspired by famous paintings in the Ohara Museum of Art collection. Imagine a painting entering the three-dimensional world and becoming something you can eat! The paintings that inspired the sweets are displayed in the shops, so you can enjoy the event even more by viewing them as you eat. Take in the makers’ rich imagination with your eyes and taste buds.

Make it even more fun by joining the stamp rally

To fully enjoy Art de Furatto Kurashiki, it’s a good idea to join the stamp rally. There are three steps to participate.

1. Get a pamphlet
2. Visit a participating facility and have your pamphlet’s stamp sheet stamped
3. Choose a prize and enter the drawing

Please note that the number of stamps you can earn varies by facility.

• Admission to a paid art facility…2 points
• Admission to a free art facility…1 point
• Purchase of sweets…1 point

You must visit at least one art facility and one sweets shop.

The prizes are impressive, with items related to art on offer.

• Prize A: A pair of overnight-stay vouchers for Kurashiki Ivy Square (including admission to the Ohara Museum of Art)…1 winner
• Prize B: An invitation for two to Hachiken-gura’s “Kura and Masterpieces Course”…2 winners
• Prize C: Set of five Ohara Museum of Art postcards…30 winners
• Prize D: Tatami-edge coasters…50 winners

There are also gifts available separately from the stamp rally when you visit an art facility: a set of three original art coasters. Quantities are limited, so it’s best to visit early if you want one.

At paid art facilities, you can get an original coaster by paying the admission fee; at free art facilities, you can get one by spending at least 500 yen.

Attend the unveiling event

Ahead of Art de Furatto Kurashiki, an unveiling event for members of the press was held on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, and I attended.

After the event coordinator explained the event, we sampled sweets. Five of the 15 Kurashiki sweets shops were represented. The shop owners were also present, so I asked them about their inspiration and ideas.

Bunkindo

A Japanese confectionery shop is among the participants. Bunkindo, popular for its Japanese sweets and daifuku inspired by Okayama’s history, offered a vivid, eye-catching treat. The painting it was based on is Belgian Girl in a Kimono by the artist Kojima Torajiro. They said they chose it because its use of many colors made it well suited to being expressed as a Japanese confection.

The purple-based kimono, with a red lining, was recreated in nerikiri, wrapped around homemade smooth red bean paste. The heart on top was intended to evoke the girl’s youthful character.

The painting of a Belgian girl wearing a kimono brings together Western and Japanese styles. To express that in the flavor as well, they mix chopped Belgian chocolate into the smooth red bean paste. A technique unique to a Japanese confectionery shop.

cafe “Niwa to Bungaku”

The old-house cafe cafe “Niwa to Bungaku,” which also has private rooms, offers an éclair named “A Gift for Someone You Love.” It was apparently inspired by the painter Amedeo Modigliani’s Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne.

Modigliani is said to have painted many portraits of his wife throughout his life. The shop owner imagined that he kept painting her because he loved her. The éclair was created with the idea of something to give for the little everyday moments shared by a married couple.

Since it is a gift for his wife, an adult woman, the chestnuts are soaked in brandy for a rich flavor. Chestnut cream is layered over custard cream, with whipped cream piped between the chestnuts.

It’s lovely not only to enjoy one yourself, but also to give one to someone special.

PÂTISSERIE Oxalis

PÂTISSERIE Oxalis takes its name from the plant oxalis. It relocated from Chuo, Kurashiki City, to Urata, Kurashiki City, and reopened in October 2022.

For Art de Furatto Kurashiki, the shop is offering a cake inspired by The Apple Pickers by painter Camille Pissarro. The painting was chosen because it resonated with the shop’s sensibilities and inspired them with its autumn ingredient, apples.

Inside the chocolate sponge cake are compote and jelly made with Kurenai no Yume, an apple variety with red flesh. Apple compote is also served on top, so you can savor apple from the first bite to the last.

The autumn ingredient sweet potato is featured in a Mont Blanc. “Sweet potato goes well with milk chocolate. We hope you’ll enjoy the food pairing, too,” says a member of the shop’s staff. It’s a cake that lets you enjoy the combination of flavors, including milk chocolate and the cinnamon in the cinnamon cookies.

ROJAN BŌRO

ROJAN BŌRO opened in Kojima in June 2022. The shop also operates a café that can be reserved exclusively for one group per day.

The painting that inspired the cake is The Sleeping Young Model by painter Kojima Torajiro. The white dress worn by the model inspired the cake’s silhouette.

On top is Crystal Pomme, something like a cross between a candy apple and dried fruit. It is said to represent the curtain depicted in the painting. When light shines on it, it looks translucent.

In contrast to its simple appearance on the outside, the inside is vibrant, with strawberry jelly and pistachio cream.

This cake was made with the thought, “What would we serve Kojima Torajiro?” Surely Kojima Torajiro would have liked it, too.

Pâtisserie PIAGET

Pâtisserie PIAGET in Kojima, Kurashiki City, is offering a cake called “The Annunciation.” As the name suggests, the painting that inspired it is The Annunciation by painter El Greco.

The red of the cake represents the Virgin Mary, and the yellow represents the robe of the angel Gabriel. Its glossy surface comes from a glaze coating that adds shine and prevents it from drying out. This is a technique PIAGET specializes in.

The balance of red and yellow varied from cake to cake. On top are the angel wings of Gabriel. The overall dark color scheme also comes from the painting that inspired it.

Inside the cake, a brownie base is topped with raspberry mousse and mango mousse, creating a warm color palette.

From the Writer

Kurashiki City is brimming with art. Art de Furatto Kurashiki may have come about precisely because the city has collected and carefully preserved world-renowned masterpieces. I was once again amazed by the number of facilities.

Even for people whose lives have little connection to art, the sweets make this event feel more approachable. Why not take this opportunity to enjoy the art with your eyes and savor it with your taste buds? Be sure to visit the participating spots and enter the stamp rally.

Art de Furatto Kurashiki Information

Name	Art de Furatto Kurashiki
Dates	Held from October 1 (Tue) to December 1 (Sun), 2024
Location	Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture
Admission (tax included)	Varies according to facility admission fees
Website	Art de Furatto Kurashiki 2024

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