Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Japan World Exposition (Osaka Expo), the "Osaka Expo 70ʼ 50th Anniversary Exhibition" will be held in the Tennozu area and Shibuya Parco from February 15th to 24th. The exhibition will feature rare artwork from the time as well as new works by artists influenced by the Osaka Expo.


The Japan World Expo (Osaka Expo), held in 1970 for the first time in Asia, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Seventy-seven countries and regions participated, and over 64 million visitors from Japan and overseas came to the event. The venue, which became a plaza where people from around the world could mingle, has since been redeveloped into a commemorative park surrounded by greenery, while preserving its legacy with the Tower of the Sun and other landmarks. It is beloved by many. This exhibition unravels memories of the time, showcasing precious artworks and documents by Taro Okamoto and others, as well as new works by artists influenced by the Osaka Expo. It attempts to recreate and pass on (i.e., upgrade) the legacy. It also displays over 5,000 items from the extensive archives of the Expo Commemoration Organization. The sound materials, in particular, will be an unprecedentedly valuable exhibit. At T-ART HALL, one of the venues, a Taro Okamoto mask will be on display, along with masks collected by young researchers from 47 countries and regions in the basement of the theme pavilion produced by Taro Okamoto. Also on display will be François Baschet's "Katsuhara Phone" (restored), named after a Japanese artist in gratitude to the assistants, interpreters, and other supporters who provided support at the time. After remaining in storage for a long time following the end of the Expo, the phone was restored in 2017 by the Tokyo University of the Arts Baschet Sound Sculpture Restoration Project and Marti Ruiz.

In addition, Shuta Hasunuma will create music using techniques of composition, performance, instrumental performance, and recording, based on the "sound sculpture" Baschet created during his first visit to Japan for the Osaka Expo. The music will be installed on the Tennozu Riverside and reverberate throughout the city, attempting to intertwine memories of the Expo then and memories of Tennozu today using Baschet's "sound sculpture." Archive footage will also be exhibited in T-PASSAGE.


At Tennozu Ocean Square, Nishino Tatzu will use the power of art to challenge conventional wisdom and invite viewers to reflect on the sensational experiences of the Osaka Expo. Nishino's "reversal" approach surpasses the viewer's common sense and previous experiences, and as the works are temporary, they will disappear without a trace once the exhibition period is over, leaving only the story behind, which is also typical of the Expo.

At the fourth venue, TERRATORIA, a work by Naohiro Ukawa will be on display. The audio archives of the Osaka Expo (speeches and narration) have been edited to be completely breathless, with all pauses and breathing removed from the waveform, and are played in a massage chair with synchronized massage balls. Contemporary music unearthed for each pavilion is then layered on top of this. The entire experience, from start to finish - Ichiyanagi Satoshi's "Environmental Music," Kosugi Takehisa's "Rainbow Music," "Constellation Music," "Plaza Fantasy," and Matsushita Shinichi's "Good Morning Music" - is synchronized with the massage balls and vibrations, giving the audience a full-body massage.


In addition, for the first time, a full picture of the six months of the Expo, which featured a lineup of music stars from around the world, alongside musicians such as Toru Takemitsu, Toshiro Mayuzumi, and Toshi Ichiyanagi, will be revealed. The first night of "EXPO'70_50th/Osaka Expo Anatomy" will be held at SUPER DOMMUNE @ Shibuya Parco from 7 PM on February 7th, titled "Expo Music Encyclopedia" – Encyclopedia of EXPO MUSIC, and the second night, "Expo and Art" – Encyclopedia of EXPO ARTS, will be held at T-LOTUSM Tokyo Tennoz from 2 PM on February 16th. Both events are free for the first 100 people to arrive. Additionally, at the "EXPO70 Archive Satellite," some of the 190,000 Osaka Expo-related documents stored by the Expo '70 Association will be relocated to Tennoz, where a satellite archive room will be opened. At the talk event "PLAYBACK ARCHIVES EXPO70," to be held at TERRATORIA on February 15, experts from various fields will be invited to interpret the archives, each of whom will select a document that interests them and interpret it from a modern perspective.