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

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

Since ancient times, masterpieces have been created and passed down in various fields. Knowledge, particularly 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 West in the late Middle Ages. Masterpieces that transcended time and space, leaving a strong impact in each era, were produced on the premise of mass production by the printing industry.

This exhibition marks the third collaboration with the Vatican Apostolic Library, following previous exhibitions held in 2002 and 2015. Through masterpieces, it will showcase how the printing industry has powerfully 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.

©TOPPAN Holdings Inc.

Exhibition Outline

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.

*50 yen discount per person for groups of 20 or more.

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

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

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

Cooperation: Meisei University, Cross Philosophies Inc.

Endorsed by: 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 of 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 (letterpress printing and printmaking) in the 15th century, texts and images of the same content were recorded and disseminated more widely, laying the groundwork for the creation of masterpieces.