TOPPAN Holdings Printing Museum to Host Special Exhibition "Birth of Masterpieces: Vatican Apostolic Library III+"

The Printing Museum, operated by TOPPAN Holdings Inc. (Head Office: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & President CEO: Hidenori Maro; hereinafter "TOPPAN Holdings"), will host the special exhibition "Birth of Masterpieces: Vatican Apostolic Library III+" starting Saturday, April 25th.

Since ancient times, masterpieces have been born and passed down in various fields. Knowledge, especially in philosophy and religion, was regarded as words spoken by wise individuals, and the teachings of masters, recorded by their disciples, were eventually transmitted as handwritten manuscripts. This act of knowledge transmission was dramatically transformed by printing technology, which emerged in the late Middle Ages in the West. Masterpieces that transcended time and space, leaving a strong impact in each era, were created on the premise of mass production by the printing industry.

This exhibition marks the third installment of a special exhibition series held in collaboration with the Vatican Apostolic Library, following previous editions in 2002 and 2015. Through masterpieces, it will showcase how the printing industry has strongly supported the development of culture and society and continuously posed the question of what it means to be human. This will be presented with 66 exhibits, centered around 8 medieval manuscripts and early printed books from the Vatican Apostolic Library's collection, which are being shown to the public for the first time worldwide.

Exhibition Overview

Period: Saturday, April 25, 2026 – Monday (National Holiday), July 20, 2026

Venue: Printing Museum

TOPPAN Koishikawa Head Office Building, 1-3-3 Suido, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

Opening Hours: 10:00–18:00 (Last admission at 17:30)

Closed: Every Monday (Open on May 4 and July 20), Thursday, May 7

Admission Fee: General 1,000 yen, University/College Students 500 yen, High School Students 300 yen

*Free for junior high school students and younger, and for those aged 70 and above.

*Free for visitors with a disability certificate (including app) and one accompanying person.

*Groups of 20 or more receive a 50 yen discount per person.

*Free on Children's Day, Tuesday (National Holiday), May 5, 2026.

Website: https://www.printing-museum.org/collection/exhibition/t20260425.php

Organizers: TOPPAN Holdings Inc. Printing Museum, Vatican Apostolic Library

Cooperation: Meisei University, Cross Philosophies Inc.

Support: Japan Bible Society, Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan, Catholic Archdiocese of Tokyo

Exhibition Content

Part 1: Masterpieces of Origin – From Dialogue to Text

In the 5th to 6th centuries BC, knowledge emerged from the words spoken by wise individuals. This was an act of questioning what it means to be human through dialogue. The teachings of masters were orally transmitted and transcribed by disciples, eventually becoming established as texts in manuscripts and letters. With the advent of reproduction techniques (movable type printing and printmaking) in the 15th century, texts and images of the same content were recorded and disseminated more widely, creating the fertile ground for the birth of masterpieces.