The online exhibition "Edo Tokyo Rethink," directed by Noritaka Tatehana, will begin on March 1st. This online exhibition is organized by the "Edo Tokyo Kirari Project," which aims to refine the historic traditional industries of Edo-Tokyo from a new perspective and share them with the modern world. The exhibition will feature not only works created through collaboration between Noritaka Tatehana and traditional industry professionals, which were recently unveiled, but also valuable historical documents owned by the traditional industry professionals. Filming took place at Wakeijuku (the former residence of Marquis Hosokawa), a tangible cultural property designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Noritaka Tatehana's exhibition direction, utilizing the style and atmosphere of each room, brings out the appeal of the works and historical documents.
An online exhibition that redefines the historic value of traditional industries for the modern age
The exhibition is designed to make use of the style of each room of Wakeijuku (the former residence of Marquis Hosokawa), a tangible cultural property designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government that is normally closed to the public. As you tour the building, you can appreciate the exhibited artworks and historical documents through the perspective of exhibition director Noritaka Tatehana, creating an experience-based experience.
In addition to exhibiting artworks and historical documents, this time we will also be releasing interviews with the exhibiting traditional industry business operators, introducing their historical background, and a video by Noritaka Tatehana sharing his thoughts on the traditional industries that led to the creation of this exhibition and collaborative works.
Online exhibition site
▼Work selection screen: You can choose from the works exhibited in each room
▼Exhibition view: Directed and photographed by Tatehana, you can enjoy each work from Tatehana's perspective
Tatehana Noritaka had the following to say about the exhibition:
While an exhibition is typically thought of as something that requires people to visit a venue, rather than comparing offline and online, the purpose of this exhibition is to focus on "the past and future of traditional industries," which can be seen by sharing my perspective as exhibition director with viewers. This is the true meaning of my creative activity concept, "Rethink," and the most important message of this exhibition. The experience of viewing the works online will further encourage this awareness.
About the new works in collaboration with traditional industries
Noritaka Tatehana has created works in collaboration with three traditional industry businesses: Tokyo Kumihimo Ryukobo, Komachibeni Isehan Honten, and Cutlery Ubukeya.
In collaboration with Tokyo Kumihimo Ryukobo, he utilized braided cords to create his signature heelless shoes. For this work, two-color silk threads dyed in tones selected from Tatehana's usual color palette decorate the front and back of the braided cords. Another notable feature is the use of knots as accents, inspired by knotting samples Tatehana saw during a visit to Ryukobo.
In collaboration with Komachibeni Isehan Honten, he created heelless shoes dyed in a beautiful iridescent crimson color and three-dimensional works from the "Descending Layer" series, a spinoff of Tatehana's signature painting series, "Descending Painting." The iridescent color that emerges from crimson is said to be extremely difficult to bring out, but after about a year of research, he succeeded in dyeing leather with a beautiful iridescent color. In collaboration with Ubukeya Cutlery, he used floral scissors in the "Void Sculpture" series, which is formed by carving out a block of acrylic. The motif emerges in three dimensions as the shape of the cavity carved out of the acrylic itself becomes visible.
Photos of some of the new collaborative products
▼Noritaka Tatehana x Ryukobo
Noritaka Tatehana
Heel-less Shoes
▼Noritaka Tatehana x Isehan Honten
Noritaka Tatehana
Heel-less Shoes
▼Noritaka Tatehana x Isehan Honten
Noritaka Tatehana
Descending Layer
▼Noritaka Tatehana x Ubukeya
Noritaka Tatehana
Void Sculpture
Interviews with Noritaka Tatehana and traditional industry operators will be released sequentially
In parallel with the "Edo Tokyo Rethink" exhibition, the organizers of the exhibition, the "Edo Tokyo Kirari Project," will be publishing on their website footage of the actual exhibition at the venue and an interview article tracing the background of Tatehana Noritaka's work. Additionally, details of the exhibition presentations and interviews with traditional industry businesses who participated in the exhibition will also be made public.
Outline of the "Edo Tokyo Rethink" Online Exhibition
[Release Date and Time] Monday, March 1, 2021 -
[Website URL] https://edotokyorethink.metro.tokyo.lg.jp
[Organizer] Tokyo Metropolitan Government
[Exhibitors]
Tokyo Kumihimo Ryu Kobo Edo Komon Hirose Dyeing Factory Edo Kiriko Hanashyo Cutlery Ubukeya
Crest Ude-e Kyogen Komachibeni Isehan Honten Edo Woodblock Print Takahashi Kobo Noren Nakamura
What is the Edo Tokyo Kirari Project?
This initiative shines a light on the techniques and products rooted in the traditions of Edo-Tokyo as Tokyo's "treasures," selects excellent and ambitious initiatives from among these as model businesses, polishes them from a new perspective to increase their value, and then spreads them to the world through more effective promotion. Furthermore, through efforts to refine and promote the model business, we aim to establish the Tokyo brand, revive Tokyo as the home of manufacturing, enhance the appeal of traditional industries, and pass on skills.
https://edotokyokirari.jp/
■Tatehana Noritaka Profile
Born in Tokyo in 1985. Born into a family that runs a public bathhouse called Kabuki-yu in Kabukicho, and raised in Kamakura. Influenced by his mother, a doll maker based on the Waldorf education system, he learned to make things by hand from an early age. In 2010, he graduated from the Department of Crafts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, majoring in dyeing and weaving. In addition to his cultural research on courtesans, he creates kimonos and geta sandals using Yuzen dyeing. His works have been exhibited in various locations around the world, including New York, Paris, and the Netherlands, and have been featured in exhibitions such as "Image Makers" (21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, 2014), "Future Beauty" (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and international tour, 2012), "The Aesthetics of Magical Power" (Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum, 2016), "It's always the others who die" (POLA Museum Annex, 2019), and "NORITAKA TATEHANA: Refashioning Beauty" (Portland Japanese Garden, 2019). His wide-ranging activities include a Bunraku performance at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris in March 2016. His works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, among others.
Photo by GION
■Wakeijuku: Former Marquis Hosokawa Residence
The venue, Wakeijuku: Former Marquis Hosokawa Residence, is a representative aristocratic residence built in the early Showa period (1936), and is currently registered as a Tangible Cultural Property designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. This exhibition will provide a rare opportunity to see an exhibit layout that makes use of the style of each room.
https://www.wakei.org/honkan/
Tokyo Metropolitan Government press release: https://www.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/tosei/hodohappyo/press/2021/02/01/03.html
Click here for company press release details
An online exhibition that redefines the historic value of traditional industries for the modern age
The exhibition is designed to make use of the style of each room of Wakeijuku (the former residence of Marquis Hosokawa), a tangible cultural property designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government that is normally closed to the public. As you tour the building, you can appreciate the exhibited artworks and historical documents through the perspective of exhibition director Noritaka Tatehana, creating an experience-based experience.
In addition to exhibiting artworks and historical documents, this time we will also be releasing interviews with the exhibiting traditional industry business operators, introducing their historical background, and a video by Noritaka Tatehana sharing his thoughts on the traditional industries that led to the creation of this exhibition and collaborative works.
Online exhibition site
▼Work selection screen: You can choose from the works exhibited in each room
▼Exhibition view: Directed and photographed by Tatehana, you can enjoy each work from Tatehana's perspective
Tatehana Noritaka had the following to say about the exhibition:
While an exhibition is typically thought of as something that requires people to visit a venue, rather than comparing offline and online, the purpose of this exhibition is to focus on "the past and future of traditional industries," which can be seen by sharing my perspective as exhibition director with viewers. This is the true meaning of my creative activity concept, "Rethink," and the most important message of this exhibition. The experience of viewing the works online will further encourage this awareness.
About the new works in collaboration with traditional industries
Noritaka Tatehana has created works in collaboration with three traditional industry businesses: Tokyo Kumihimo Ryukobo, Komachibeni Isehan Honten, and Cutlery Ubukeya.
In collaboration with Tokyo Kumihimo Ryukobo, he utilized braided cords to create his signature heelless shoes. For this work, two-color silk threads dyed in tones selected from Tatehana's usual color palette decorate the front and back of the braided cords. Another notable feature is the use of knots as accents, inspired by knotting samples Tatehana saw during a visit to Ryukobo.
In collaboration with Komachibeni Isehan Honten, he created heelless shoes dyed in a beautiful iridescent crimson color and three-dimensional works from the "Descending Layer" series, a spinoff of Tatehana's signature painting series, "Descending Painting." The iridescent color that emerges from crimson is said to be extremely difficult to bring out, but after about a year of research, he succeeded in dyeing leather with a beautiful iridescent color. In collaboration with Ubukeya Cutlery, he used floral scissors in the "Void Sculpture" series, which is formed by carving out a block of acrylic. The motif emerges in three dimensions as the shape of the cavity carved out of the acrylic itself becomes visible.
Photos of some of the new collaborative products
▼Noritaka Tatehana x Ryukobo
Noritaka Tatehana
Heel-less Shoes
▼Noritaka Tatehana x Isehan Honten
Noritaka Tatehana
Heel-less Shoes
▼Noritaka Tatehana x Isehan Honten
Noritaka Tatehana
Descending Layer
▼Noritaka Tatehana x Ubukeya
Noritaka Tatehana
Void Sculpture
Interviews with Noritaka Tatehana and traditional industry operators will be released sequentially
In parallel with the "Edo Tokyo Rethink" exhibition, the organizers of the exhibition, the "Edo Tokyo Kirari Project," will be publishing on their website footage of the actual exhibition at the venue and an interview article tracing the background of Tatehana Noritaka's work. Additionally, details of the exhibition presentations and interviews with traditional industry businesses who participated in the exhibition will also be made public.
Outline of the "Edo Tokyo Rethink" Online Exhibition
[Release Date and Time] Monday, March 1, 2021 -
[Website URL] https://edotokyorethink.metro.tokyo.lg.jp
[Organizer] Tokyo Metropolitan Government
[Exhibitors]
Tokyo Kumihimo Ryu Kobo Edo Komon Hirose Dyeing Factory Edo Kiriko Hanashyo Cutlery Ubukeya
Crest Ude-e Kyogen Komachibeni Isehan Honten Edo Woodblock Print Takahashi Kobo Noren Nakamura
What is the Edo Tokyo Kirari Project?
This initiative shines a light on the techniques and products rooted in the traditions of Edo-Tokyo as Tokyo's "treasures," selects excellent and ambitious initiatives from among these as model businesses, polishes them from a new perspective to increase their value, and then spreads them to the world through more effective promotion. Furthermore, through efforts to refine and promote the model business, we aim to establish the Tokyo brand, revive Tokyo as the home of manufacturing, enhance the appeal of traditional industries, and pass on skills.
https://edotokyokirari.jp/
■Tatehana Noritaka Profile
Born in Tokyo in 1985. Born into a family that runs a public bathhouse called Kabuki-yu in Kabukicho, and raised in Kamakura. Influenced by his mother, a doll maker based on the Waldorf education system, he learned to make things by hand from an early age. In 2010, he graduated from the Department of Crafts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, majoring in dyeing and weaving. In addition to his cultural research on courtesans, he creates kimonos and geta sandals using Yuzen dyeing. His works have been exhibited in various locations around the world, including New York, Paris, and the Netherlands, and have been featured in exhibitions such as "Image Makers" (21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, 2014), "Future Beauty" (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and international tour, 2012), "The Aesthetics of Magical Power" (Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum, 2016), "It's always the others who die" (POLA Museum Annex, 2019), and "NORITAKA TATEHANA: Refashioning Beauty" (Portland Japanese Garden, 2019). His wide-ranging activities include a Bunraku performance at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris in March 2016. His works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, among others.
Photo by GION■Wakeijuku: Former Marquis Hosokawa Residence
The venue, Wakeijuku: Former Marquis Hosokawa Residence, is a representative aristocratic residence built in the early Showa period (1936), and is currently registered as a Tangible Cultural Property designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. This exhibition will provide a rare opportunity to see an exhibit layout that makes use of the style of each room.
https://www.wakei.org/honkan/
Tokyo Metropolitan Government press release: https://www.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/tosei/hodohappyo/press/2021/02/01/03.html
Click here for company press release details
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