A Cultural Crossover Between Netherlands and Japan

The ‘girl with the pearl earring’ by #Vermeer will come to #Osaka in August during the renovation of the #Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. Judging from the press-conference, she is very popular in #Japan. Maybe this is her last tour, since she is ‘advancing in age’ like all of us pic.twitter.com/I862Y1XUNi

— Dutch ambassador to Japan (@GillesBP) May 27, 2026

For the first time in a decade, Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece Girl With a Pearl Earring is traveling outside of Netherlands. The artwork will go on display at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka in August. To announce the exhibit, the museum held an event attended by a life-size version of a rabbit character called Miffy, dressed as the subject of the painting. The event went viral. 

Miffy, who is hugely popular in Japan, is also a Netherlands export. She was created by Dutch artist Dick Bruna, who later sued Hello Kitty company Sanrio over their suspiciously similar rabbit character named Cathy. Using Miffy as a "spokesrabbit" for the Vermeer loan appears to have many layers. 

Girl With a Pearl Earring normally resides at the Mauritshuis in the Hague, which is closed for renovations. But you can order a crocheted Miffy doll in the Pearl costume through their online shop. Both the costumed character and the doll have a pearl earring, but strangely it is not attached to the rabbit ears.   -via Everlasting Blort