A show built around a heartwarming TV commercial series is coming to Kansai bookstores. Exhibitions of “Family, Love and Merit”, the animated CM series for the hair-care brand merit, will open at Ogaki Shoten in Kobe on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and in Kyoto on Wednesday, November 25. Admission is free.
A popular series about everyday family love
“Family, Love and Merit” (Kazoku to Ai to Merit) is an animated CM series about the love found in ordinary family life. Running since 2024 in TV commercials and transit ads, it has drawn attention on social media for its illustrations, words that stay with you, and music. The first exhibition, held in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo in summer 2025, is said to have welcomed about 14,000 visitors.
The second round comes to Kansai, home base of illustrator Tadashi Nishiwaki, who draws the series. To mark the release of the book *Saishukai wa Kizukanai Uchi ni Owatte Iku*, which collects the creative work of the series, it is held at Ogaki Shoten, a bookstore chain centered on Kansai. The concept is a “read-it exhibition” in which you take your time with the words and pictures.
Six works in Kobe, ten in Kyoto
The exhibition selects popular works from past commercials and transit ads, along with new and seasonal pieces: six in Kobe and ten in Kyoto. An object of a father and daughter, drawn especially for the show, greets visitors. It depicts a daughter who runs off happily after spotting something, and a father swept along behind her — a warm slice of parent-and-child life.
Because it is inside a bookstore, it is easy to drop in, then browse the shelves or pick up a book.
Limited stickers and novelties
Visitors to the exhibition receive an event-only sticker featuring Tadashi Nishiwaki’s illustrations. Those who buy the book in store get a store-exclusive novelty: a clear file at the Kobe store and a drawstring pouch at the Kyoto main store. Both are in limited quantity, while supplies last.
Everyone who shops at the store during the exhibition also receives a limited-design collaboration shopping bag. The method of distribution may change during the run.
Signing event with Tadashi Nishiwaki in Kyoto on December 5
On Saturday, December 5, 2026, 14:00–16:00, Tadashi Nishiwaki holds a signing event at the Kyoto venue. It is open to buyers of the book, including those who bought it somewhere other than Ogaki Shoten. Numbered tickets are handed out first come, first served from 10:00 that day in the exhibition area of the Kyoto main store, until the limit is reached. Bring the book and your ticket.
Nishiwaki comments: “I am happy that an exhibition is being held again, following last year’s in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo.”
Exhibition details
- Kobe: Wednesday, November 11 – Tuesday, November 24, 2026, 10:00–20:00
- Venue: Ogaki Shoten Kobe Harborland umie store (umie NORTH MALL 5F, 1-7-2 Higashikawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe)
- Access: about 5 minutes on foot from JR Kobe Station; about 5 minutes from Harborland Station (Kobe Municipal Subway); about 10 minutes from Kosoku Kobe Station (Kobe Rapid Railway)
- Kyoto: Wednesday, November 25 – Monday, December 7, 2026, 10:00–22:00 (opens at 15:00 on November 25)
- Venue: Ogaki Shoten Kyoto main store (SUINA Muromachi 1F, 78 Kankoboko-cho, Shijo-dori Muromachi-higashi-iru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto)
- Access: north ticket gate of Shijo Station (Karasuma Line); Exit 26 of Karasuma Station (Hankyu Kyoto Line)
- Admission: free
- Signing event: Saturday, December 5, 2026, 14:00–16:00 at Ogaki Shoten Kyoto main store. Book buyers only, first come, first served
