“Learning from Hojoki” at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Until January 11; Architects and Others Envision Huts of About 9 Square Meters

The exhibition “Learning from Hojoki: Small Architecture That Reweaves Living” is on view at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in Roppongi, Tokyo, until Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday). Its starting point is the “hojo hut” in “Hojoki,” the essay Kamo no Chomei wrote in the early 13th century. Taking the scale of one jo square (about 9 square meters) as a clue, architects, designers, artists and companies have each envisioned their own hut. The exhibition director is architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, and the venue presents research on the nature and ways of life depicted in “Hojoki” alongside several huts.

Why “Hojoki” and small architecture now?

According to 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, “Hojoki” is an essay about how people live in the face of an impermanent world, and because it questions the essence of dwelling it has also been called “a true book of architecture.” The hut where Chomei lived no longer exists, but his words have inspired many practices across the ages. Rather than explaining the text, the exhibition focuses on the ways of living that emerge between “Hojoki” and us today.

In his director’s message, Tsukamoto points out that a series of major earthquakes, typhoons and great fires has revealed the fragility of urban society. While safety and security are emphasized, everyday management and surveillance have intensified, and he also expresses concern about lives that depend entirely on services for food and energy. Behind Chomei’s decision to spend the latter half of his life in a hojo hut on Mt. Hino were disasters, famine and the relocation of the capital, which he says have much in common with today.

On that basis, the exhibition is positioned as an attempt to look to small architecture for opportunities to reweave, by ourselves, lives that have been woven into industries and systems. Tsukamoto is an architect born in Kanagawa in 1965 who began working as Atelier Bow-Wow with Momoyo Kaijima in 1992. The exhibition is organized by 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT and The Miyake Issey Foundation, with support from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Minato City Board of Education.

On Sunday, October 25, a talk, “Learning from Hojoki,” will be held by anatomist Takeshi Yoro, Tsukamoto and Taku Satoh, director of 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT. According to the venue, Yoro’s view of “Hojoki” as a text through which one can think about life across the ages via disaster, the city and daily living was what prompted the exhibition. Admission is free, but reservations, allocated by lottery, have already closed.

What can be seen? Eight participants and research displays

Gallery 1 presents displays based on research by Tomoki Shoda and 6lines studio (Ryo Oyama and Yukako Masui). In addition to a spatial installation that reconstructs Kamo no Chomei’s hut in an investigative way, drawing on elements described in “Hojoki,” it traces how “Hojoki” has been handed down through manuscripts and commentaries and translations. It also introduces the ideas entrusted to the “hojo” through “huts” made by people of various eras and backgrounds. At the entrance stands “Rotating Landscape” by art director and graphic designer Mina Tabei.

Gallery 2 presents contemporary “hojo huts” envisioned by five participants. Some can actually be entered and experienced, while others convey their worldviews through viewing.

• Shin Egashira, “London Hojoki – Atlas / Afterimage”: an architect and artist who researches and reconstructs urban and post-industrial landscapes

• Yusuke Omuro + Kawacho-gumi, “Storage Shed Relocation Plan”: architect Omuro and Kawacho-gumi study a plan to rebuild the storage shed of novelist Chotaro Kawasaki

• Yusuke Obuchi + Jun Nakamura, “Walking Hojo”: by Obuchi, who researches computational design and digital fabrication, and architect Nakamura

• 2m26, “living with”: a Kyoto architecture and construction studio that makes architecture as “tools for living together”

• Akira Yamaguchi, “Tsubian,” “Hut Plan 1,” “Hut Plan 3” and “Hut Plan 5”: an artist who paints in the styles of traditional Japanese painting in oils

In the sunken court stands the hut “Mino-an Maun-tei” by Tomoki Shoda + Takenaka Corporation + veig. Artist Yoshihiro Suda’s “Morning Glory” is placed in an unexpected spot in the venue. Since 1993, Suda has made installations in which he carves plants from wood, paints them and places them in space.

A 48-page, paperback-sized handout is distributed at the venue. It contains the participants’ backgrounds and concepts, sketches, drawings, models and research materials. The gallery shop “21_21 NANJA MONJA” sells books on architecture, housing and daily life, as well as writings by people featured in the exhibition.

Tickets, prices and opening hours

Admission is 1,700 yen for adults, 800 yen for university students and 500 yen for high school students; junior high school students and younger are free. Holders of a disability certificate and one companion are also admitted free. Students of junior high school age and above should show a student ID; high school students and older without one pay the adult price.

Opening hours are 10:00 to 19:00 (last entry 18:30). In line with Roppongi Art Night 2026, there is a special opening from 10:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:30) on Saturday, October 31. The venue is closed on Tuesdays (open on November 3), from November 21 to 23 and over the New Year period from December 27 to January 3.

Access

The venue is in Midtown Garden at Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo. It is a 5-minute walk from Roppongi Station on the Toei Oedo Line and Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line and from Nogizaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line. There is no car or bicycle parking at the venue; use the facilities at Tokyo Midtown. At the Suntory Museum of Art, also in Tokyo Midtown, “Itsuo Art Museum Collection: Masterpieces of Buson, Goshun and the Tea Ceremony” was on view until November 8.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a reservation?

No reservation is needed; pay the admission fee at the reception desk. Online tickets can also be bought in advance through ArtSticker (account registration required; no refunds after purchase).

Can I take photos?

The venue asks visitors to refrain from taking photos except in permitted areas. Flash, tripods and selfie sticks cannot be used.

Which closure days should I watch out for?

In addition to Tuesdays, the venue is closed from Saturday, November 21 to Monday, November 23 (national holiday) because of a building-wide power outage at Tokyo Midtown. It is also closed over the New Year period from December 27 to January 3.

Editor’s perspective

The dimension of one jo square works as a common rule for the exhibition. Participants with different standpoints, including architects, artists, designers and companies, think about materials, structures and tools using the same scale as a clue. Some huts can be entered, and what distinguishes it as an architecture exhibition is that visitors can experience as space the director’s concerns about disaster and control. Architecture and design exhibitions this autumn and winter are compiled in our guide to design, craft and architecture exhibitions. For an exhibition in which young architects create spaces, “InSitu2 – Ibasho” is on view at Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo in Omotesando until November 27 (free admission).

Overview

Name: Learning from Hojoki: Small Architecture That Reweaves Living
Dates: Friday, August 28, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Hours: 10:00–19:00 (last entry 18:30). Until 22:00 on Saturday, October 31 (last entry 21:30)
Closed: Tuesdays (open on November 3), November 21–23, December 27 – January 3
Venue: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Gallery 1 & 2
Address: Tokyo Midtown, Midtown Garden, 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Access: 5-minute walk from Roppongi Station (Toei Oedo Line, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line) and Nogizaka Station (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
Admission: Adults 1,700 yen, university students 800 yen, high school students 500 yen, free for junior high school students and younger
Organizers: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, The Miyake Issey Foundation
Exhibition director: Yoshiharu Tsukamoto
Inquiries: 03-3475-2121
Official website: https://www.2121designsight.jp/program/hojoki/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, October 2008 (photo: Wiiii, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT official website (as of October 19, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team