Contemporary Art Led to Architectural Presentation, Musee Ginza Kawasaki Collection Exhibition
Musee Ginza_Kawasaki Band Design
Until Aug 31
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Architecture is not just a structure or a hardware element; it is deeply related to people’s lives and etched in the memory of the city.
The Tokyo Architecture Festival 2025 will be held under the slogan “Experience and enjoy Tokyo’s diverse architecture. The Tokyo Architecture Festival 2025 will be held under the concept of “experiencing and enjoying the diverse architecture of Tokyo, and experiencing the various thoughts of those who create, use, and preserve it, bringing architecture closer to the people. The festival will focus on the people who live and breathe in the modern age, and will allow visitors to discover Tokyo, a city overflowing with world-famous architectural masterpieces.
MUSEE GINZA has decided to participate in the festival as in the previous one, as it agrees with the concept and social significance of the festival. Last year’s festival was a great success, attracting 1,662 visitors over the two days. Riding on the momentum of the festival, the building was selected as a registered tangible cultural property in March 2025, which was our long-cherished wish. It was also a year of upheaval, as it was discovered that Toshiko Miyawaki, who had owned the building for many years before we acquired it, was in fact a top star of the Hanayagi world, the Shinbashi geisha “Kohina” (1926-1999).
This year, we at MUSEEGINZA will exhibit the contemporary art collection that led to the preservation of the building, tracing the history of our company’s involvement with architecture for over 100 years in four generations. In particular, the previous generation was a construction company based in Oita that was involved in the construction of various architectural and civil engineering projects in various areas of Kyushu. Although architectural preservation is a conflict of interest for a general contractor, we have always voiced our aesthetics and advocated for the preservation of valuable buildings that can be used permanently for future generations.
・Red Brick Building (former head office of the 23rd National Bank) Kingo Tatsuno, Yasushi Kataoka
A young, third-generation member of our firm voiced his opposition to a regional bank’s initiative to reconstruct the building into a glass-paneled office building at the bank’s general shareholders’ meeting.In 1993, we designed and constructed a major addition to the building, and received the BELCA Award for its longstanding renovation.
・Oita City Art Museum Art Plaza (former Oita Prefectural Library) Arata Isozaki
In the 1990s, the building was scheduled for demolition due to aging, and there was a private-sector campaign to preserve it.The third generation of our company made a final push for its conversion to an art museum in 1998 by making a direct appeal to then Prefectural Governor Morihiko Hiramatsu.
・Former Miyawaki Building (Kawasaki Brand Design Building), designer unknown
Completed in 1932 as a reconstruction building after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Formerly occupied by the offices of Yutaka Shoten, the building was acquired by MHI in 2013, and the project to build a new high-rise building designed by Sousuke Fujimoto was suspended.In 2013, MUSEE GINZA decided to preserve the building and opened MUSEE GINZA GALLERY.In March 2025, it was selected as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.
What led to the preservation of these buildings was based on the interaction with leading contemporary artists: the legendary avant-garde art group “Neo Dada” (Neo Dadaism Organizers ). The Neo-Dada group includes Takumi Kazakura (1936-2007), one of the founding members of the Neo-Dada group; Yoshio Shinohara (1932-), who is still creating a stir with his boxing paintings; Masunobu Yoshimura (1932-2011), who provided his studio for the group; Shin Isozaki (1931-2022), an architect who served as observer and brain of the Neo-Dada group; and Utsuroiroi (Utsuroi), an artist who was involved in the Neo-Dada group’s activities. -2022), and Aiko Miyawaki (1929-2014), internationally active with her “Utsuroi” sculptures. Christian Ava (1978-), who also works in Germany to solve social problems, and Reki Yamaguchi (1984-), who moved to the U.S. and has rapidly become one of Japan’s leading artists as a master of brush strokes.
We hope you will enjoy this competition between these front-runners, who have supported MUSEE Ginza’s architectural preservation with their profound education and quiet, dynamic styles, and who cannot be ignored when discussing contemporary art.
The Tokyo Architecture Festival 2025 will be held under the slogan “Experience and enjoy Tokyo’s diverse architecture. The Tokyo Architecture Festival 2025 will be held under the concept of “experiencing and enjoying the diverse architecture of Tokyo, and experiencing the various thoughts of those who create, use, and preserve it, bringing architecture closer to the people. The festival will focus on the people who live and breathe in the modern age, and will allow visitors to discover Tokyo, a city overflowing with world-famous architectural masterpieces.
MUSEE GINZA has decided to participate in the festival as in the previous one, as it agrees with the concept and social significance of the festival. Last year’s festival was a great success, attracting 1,662 visitors over the two days. Riding on the momentum of the festival, the building was selected as a registered tangible cultural property in March 2025, which was our long-cherished wish. It was also a year of upheaval, as it was discovered that Toshiko Miyawaki, who had owned the building for many years before we acquired it, was in fact a top star of the Hanayagi world, the Shinbashi geisha “Kohina” (1926-1999).
This year, we at MUSEEGINZA will exhibit the contemporary art collection that led to the preservation of the building, tracing the history of our company’s involvement with architecture for over 100 years in four generations. In particular, the previous generation was a construction company based in Oita that was involved in the construction of various architectural and civil engineering projects in various areas of Kyushu. Although architectural preservation is a conflict of interest for a general contractor, we have always voiced our aesthetics and advocated for the preservation of valuable buildings that can be used permanently for future generations.
・Red Brick Building (former head office of the 23rd National Bank) Kingo Tatsuno, Yasushi Kataoka
A young, third-generation member of our firm voiced his opposition to a regional bank’s initiative to reconstruct the building into a glass-paneled office building at the bank’s general shareholders’ meeting.In 1993, we designed and constructed a major addition to the building, and received the BELCA Award for its longstanding renovation.
・Oita City Art Museum Art Plaza (former Oita Prefectural Library) Arata Isozaki
In the 1990s, the building was scheduled for demolition due to aging, and there was a private-sector campaign to preserve it.The third generation of our company made a final push for its conversion to an art museum in 1998 by making a direct appeal to then Prefectural Governor Morihiko Hiramatsu.
・Former Miyawaki Building (Kawasaki Brand Design Building), designer unknown
Completed in 1932 as a reconstruction building after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Formerly occupied by the offices of Yutaka Shoten, the building was acquired by MHI in 2013, and the project to build a new high-rise building designed by Sousuke Fujimoto was suspended.In 2013, MUSEE GINZA decided to preserve the building and opened MUSEE GINZA GALLERY.In March 2025, it was selected as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.
What led to the preservation of these buildings was based on the interaction with leading contemporary artists: the legendary avant-garde art group “Neo Dada” (Neo Dadaism Organizers ). The Neo-Dada group includes Takumi Kazakura (1936-2007), one of the founding members of the Neo-Dada group; Yoshio Shinohara (1932-), who is still creating a stir with his boxing paintings; Masunobu Yoshimura (1932-2011), who provided his studio for the group; Shin Isozaki (1931-2022), an architect who served as observer and brain of the Neo-Dada group; and Utsuroiroi (Utsuroi), an artist who was involved in the Neo-Dada group’s activities. -2022), and Aiko Miyawaki (1929-2014), internationally active with her “Utsuroi” sculptures. Christian Ava (1978-), who also works in Germany to solve social problems, and Reki Yamaguchi (1984-), who moved to the U.S. and has rapidly become one of Japan’s leading artists as a master of brush strokes.
We hope you will enjoy this competition between these front-runners, who have supported MUSEE Ginza’s architectural preservation with their profound education and quiet, dynamic styles, and who cannot be ignored when discussing contemporary art.
Schedule Now in session | May 24 (Sat) 2025-Aug 31 (Sun) 2025 69 days left Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Venue | Musee Ginza_Kawasaki Band Design http://kawasaki-brand-design.com/  | ||||
| Location | Kawasaki Brand Design Bldg., 1-20-17 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 | ||||
| Access | 3 minute walk from exit 10 at Ginza-itchome Station on the Yurakucho line, 4 minute walk from exit 2 at Kyobashi Station on the Ginza line, 3 minute walk from exit A1 at Takaracho Station on the Toei Asakusa line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-6228-6694 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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