[2026] Projection Mapping and Immersive Exhibition Production Companies in Japan: Key Firms and Their Work

Which companies make projection mapping and immersive exhibitions? This article covers events and venues in Japan in 2025–2026—from shows projected onto the walls of castles, temples, shrines and government buildings to touring exhibitions, permanent venues and theaters on cruise ships—for which the names of the planning and production companies could be confirmed in official announcements by organizers, companies or local governments, and groups them by the type of project. It also summarizes the budgets set out in local governments’ calls for proposals and the permits needed to project outdoors.

On the commissioning side are local governments and tourism organizations promoting nighttime tourism and the use of cultural properties, as well as temples, shrines and venue operators. Year-round screenings have continued at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building since February 2024, while the City of Osaka, Miyagi Prefecture, Yatsushiro City in Kumamoto Prefecture and others have selected production companies through open calls. Each company’s role is based on the announcements reported in our individual articles. Only events covered on this site are included; this is not an exhaustive list.

Quick guide by company: key events covered in this article

Companies with Latin-alphabet names come first, in alphabetical order, followed by companies with Japanese names in Japanese syllabary order. Role titles follow the wording of each announcement.

• Culturespaces STUDIO: planning of Rêve des Lumières (Ariake, Tokyo) (our venue guide)

• d’strict: planning and production of Arte Museum Nagoya (Chita, Aichi) (our article on the opening)

• ICHICO Inc.: illumination of the Tagajo Ruins (selected as the prospective contractor in Miyagi Prefecture’s open call)

• KARMACHINA: production of the video content for “Ukiyo-e RE:BORN” at the Kadokawa Culture Museum

• TMONET: production of “Impressionist Monet and Ukiyo-e” at THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA (our article on the exhibition)

• ULTRA PLANET Inc.: planning and production of the Tokyo International Projection Mapping Award (PMA TOKYO) (our article on Vol. 11)

• VIE Inc.: organizer of ZEN NIGHT TOKYO (the garden of the Tokyo National Museum) and ZEN NIGHT KAMAKURA (Kencho-ji Temple) (our article on the Tokyo edition)

• teamLab: permanent venues in Japan made up of its own works, plus limited-time exhibitions such as the Light Festival at the Fukuoka Castle Ruins (our venue guide)

• Dentsu Inc.: planning of “SINFONIA,” the projection mapping on the Osaka Castle Main Tower

• Tokyo Dome Corporation: overall direction of the evening opening of Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens (our article on autumn-leaf illuminations in Tokyo and the Kanto region)

• NAKED, INC.: planning, direction and production of NAKED meets Nijo-jo, the autumn night visit at Zuiganji Temple and NAKED GARDEN NIGHTS (Higashi Honganji’s Shoseien Garden); direction and production of “SINFONIA” at the Osaka Castle Main Tower (our article on Nijo-jo Castle)

• Nexyz Wonderwall Inc.: light direction for WONDER NIGHT JINGU – Gekka – (Heian Jingu Shrine) (our article on the event)

• Ranhansha Inc.: projection mapping in front of Yatsushiro Station (selected as the prospective contractor in the open call by Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture)

What production companies do: planning, visuals, technology and operations

In projection events, the organizer and the producer are often separate. Organizers are local governments, executive committees, temples and shrines, or venue operators, while production companies handle proposing the concept, producing the visuals, installing the equipment and projecting, and running the event during its run. The Osaka City Central Public Hall contract put out to tender by the City of Osaka covers the “production, projection, and installation and removal” of projection mapping on the east wall and elsewhere. Osaka Prefecture’s Midosuji Illumination contract spans everything from design proposals through basic design, field trials and detailed design to quality control during the illumination period.

The role titles that appear in announcements vary, too. NAKED handled “planning, direction and production” at Nijo-jo Castle and Zuiganji, while for “SINFONIA” at the Osaka Castle Main Tower, Dentsu took charge of planning and NAKED of direction and production. At the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, TOKYO Night & Light has a different creator for each work.

The projection equipment can also be traced through manufacturers’ case studies. Projector and sound setups are covered in our article on equipment for immersive exhibitions, and the workflow from 3D measurement to projection and synchronization with sound in our explainer on how projection mapping works.

Projections on castles, temples, shrines and gardens: Nijo-jo Castle, Zuiganji, Heian Jingu and more

Events that illuminate historic buildings and gardens are often held in combination with evening visits and tourism. Below are key examples for autumn and winter 2026, with their organizers and planning and production companies.

• NAKED meets Nijo-jo 2026 (Former Imperial Villa Nijo-jo Castle, Kyoto; October 23 – December 5): planning, direction and production by NAKED, INC. (our article on Nijo-jo Castle)

• NAKED Matsushima: Autumn Night Visit to the National Treasure Zuiganji Temple (Matsushima, Miyagi; October 30 – November 23): organized by Zuiganji, with planning, direction and production by NAKED, INC. (our article on Zuiganji)

• NAKED GARDEN NIGHTS Higashi Honganji Shoseien Garden (Kyoto; October 31 – December 6): planned, directed and produced by NAKED and co-organized by the City of Kyoto (our article on evening temple visits in Kyoto)

• WONDER NIGHT JINGU – Gekka – (Heian Jingu Shrine, Kyoto; November 2–29): organized by three companies—NEXYZ.Group Corporation, Nexyz Wonderwall Inc. and Brangista Inc.—with light direction by Nexyz Wonderwall (our article on Heian Jingu)

• teamLab: Digitized Fukuoka Castle Ruins 2026-2027 (Maizuru Park, Fukuoka; October 30, 2026 – January 11, 2027): teamLab works spread across the stone walls and steps of the castle ruins. Organized by an executive committee (our article on the Fukuoka Castle Ruins)

• ZEN NIGHT TOKYO (Tokyo National Museum garden; October 14 – December 6) and ZEN NIGHT KAMAKURA (Kencho-ji; October 29 – December 6): VIE Inc. and Nikkei Inc. are listed among the organizers of both (our article on the Kamakura edition)

• Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens “Enjoy the Light-Lit Leaves of the Deep Mountains” (Bunkyo, Tokyo; November 13–24): organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association, with Tokyo Dome Corporation as co-organizer and overall director (our article on autumn-leaf illuminations)

Considerations when projecting onto cultural properties, and the national and Tokyo guidelines, are covered in our article on projection mapping at cultural properties, and the background to the recent wave of such events in our article on trends in cultural-property illuminations.

Projections on government and public buildings: the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and Tokyo Big Sight

• TOKYO Night & Light (Tokyo Metropolitan Government No. 1 Building; year-round since February 2024): works are screened on the east wall throughout the year, with a different creator for each work. The official website cites Guinness World Records certification as a permanent projection mapping installation (our article on the screenings at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building)

• PMA TOKYO Vol. 11 (Tokyo Big Sight; November 14): a competition in which works are projected onto the inverted-pyramid exterior of the Conference Tower (94 m wide × 30 m high). Organized by the PMA TOKYO Executive Committee, with the competition planned and produced by ULTRA PLANET Inc. (our article on PMA TOKYO)

Competitions in Japan and abroad are compiled in our article on contests and awards, and the Projection Mapping Tokyo Award, which honors works staged in Tokyo, in our article on the Tokyo award.

Immersive exhibitions at museums and permanent venues

Exhibitions inside museums and more

• Ukiyo-e RE:BORN (Kadokawa Culture Museum; April 26, 2025 – March 16, 2026): video content produced by KARMACHINA (introduced in our article on immersive exhibitions at museums)

• “Impressionist Monet and Ukiyo-e” at THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA (from October 24): organized by the Toyota Group and produced by TMONET (our article on the exhibition)

Permanent and long-term venues

• teamLab: 11 venues in Japan in total—nine mainly permanent and two limited-time (as of October 19). teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills passed 4 million visitors on July 31, 2026 (our venue guide)

• Rêve des Lumières (Ariake, Tokyo; opened June 12, 2026): the 10th venue in the “Lumières” series run by France’s Culturespaces. Organized by TV Asahi and PIA, and planned by Culturespaces STUDIO (our venue guide)

• Arte Museum Nagoya (Chita, Aichi; scheduled to open November 18, 2026): the first Japanese outpost of Arte Museum, which South Korea’s d’strict operates around the world; planned and produced by d’strict (our article on the opening)

• null²ⁿ (Yokohama Landmark Plaza; opened October 14, 2026): a permanent theater that carries on from the “null²” pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Announced by Sustainable Pavilion 2025 Inc. (our article on the opening)

Venue openings and closures are traced in our timeline of immersive venues in Japan, and published attendance figures in our article on visitor numbers. Immersive Fort Tokyo in Odaiba closed in 2026.

Immersive theater

Developments in Japan in immersive theater, in which audiences step into the world of the story, are introduced in our article on immersive theater.

Local government calls for proposals and cost benchmarks: contract ceilings from ¥9.5 million to ¥265 million

When local governments choose a production company, they often use an open proposal competition in which concept proposals are evaluated. The contract ceilings for the seven calls (fiscal 2025–2026) whose guidelines we have summarized on this site are as follows (all including consumption tax and other taxes).

• Station-front illumination in Shimada City (fiscal 2026): ¥9.5 million

• Projection mapping at the Osaka City Central Public Hall (fiscal 2026): ¥18.7 million; three bidders submitted proposals

• Projection mapping in front of Yatsushiro Station (Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture; fiscal 2025): ¥23,666,000 (including the cost of fitting out a projection room and other items); five bidders submitted proposals, and Ranhansha Inc. was selected as the prospective contractor

• Projection mapping at Matsumoto Castle (fiscal 2026): ¥36 million

• Illumination of the Tagajo Ruins (Miyagi Prefecture; fiscal 2026): ¥58.3 million; ICHICO Inc. was selected as the prospective contractor

• Midosuji Illumination (fiscal 2026): ¥246.22 million; two bidders submitted proposals, and the Midosuji Luminous Joint Venture was selected as the top-ranked proposer

• Projection Mapping International Award TOKYO (Tokyo Metropolitan Government; fiscal 2025): up to ¥265 million

Among the six calls whose schedules could be confirmed, the time from the start of the call to the proposal deadline ranged from 21 to 39 days. The five projects culminating in November or December all opened their calls between April and June, leaving five to eight months between the month of the call and the month of the event. Evaluation centers on the content of the direction and concept: the City of Osaka allocated 65 of 100 points to the production content. Details of guidelines, evaluation and eligibility are in our article on local government calls for proposals.

Permits and subsidies for outdoor projection

Depending on the conditions, images projected onto buildings can be regulated by ordinance as outdoor advertisements. On March 30, 2018, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) drew up its Projected Advertisement Ordinance Guidelines for local governments, setting out its thinking on matters such as how to treat projections that serve the public interest and run for a limited period. Through an ordinance amendment that took effect on July 1, 2020, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government created “projection mapping utilization districts” and set out the requirements for exempting public-interest events from the permit process. Other permits and notifications involved in events, such as road use, are summarized in our article on outdoor advertising rules.

Public subsidies also cover part of the costs. ASAKUSA CULTURE & LIGHTS 2026 at Senso-ji uses the Projection Mapping Promotion Support Grant from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and “PRISON BY NIGHT” at the Nara Prison Museum uses a fiscal 2026 subsidy from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The eligibility criteria and subsidy rates of each program are summarized in our article on subsidies.

Data sources and methodology

• Scope: events and venues in Japan held in 2025–2026, or scheduled to be held or to open, that have been covered in articles on this site and for which the names of the planning, production or other companies could be confirmed in official announcements by organizers, companies or local governments. This is not an exhaustive list.

• Role titles (planning and production; producing and production; planning, direction and production; overall direction; light direction, etc.) follow the wording of each announcement.

• Attendance figures and awards are based on announcements by the organizers or the winning companies. Some figures come without an explanation of how they were counted.

• Contract ceilings and selection results are based on each local government’s call guidelines and published selection results (as summarized in our article on calls for proposals).

• Event dates and opening dates are based on official announcements as of October 23, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to produce projection mapping?

It varies with the scale, the duration, the size of the projection surface and the number of devices. In the local government calls covered in this article, the contract ceilings for the seven projects ranged from ¥9.5 million to ¥265 million. The ceilings may include work such as running the event and installing and removing equipment.

How are production companies chosen?

For local government projects, open proposal competitions—in which companies submit concept proposals, cost estimates and other documents and are selected through evaluation—are common. Evaluations often give heavy weight to the content of the direction and concept, and only three of the seven calls could be confirmed to have included price in the scoring.

Do you need a permit to project outdoors?

Depending on the conditions, images projected onto buildings can be regulated by ordinance as outdoor advertisements. Through a 2020 ordinance amendment, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government set out requirements for exempting public-interest events and the like from the permit process. Check the specific procedures with the local government office for the place where you plan to project.

Which companies make immersive exhibitions?

Within the scope of this article, TMONET handles the exhibition at THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA, d’strict handles Arte Museum and Culturespaces STUDIO handles Rêve des Lumières, in planning or production roles. teamLab builds its venues from its own works.

Articles organized by each stage of planning are gathered in our guide for those planning projection mapping and light events.

*Information as of October 23, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

HITOHATA, INC.’s company profile, history and awards are summarized in our profile of HITOHATA, INC..

Terms such as lumens, throw ratio and edge blending are briefly explained in our projection mapping glossary.

The roles involved in projection mapping and HITOHATA, INC.’s open positions (including staff for “Ukiyoe Immersive Art Museum GINZA”) are introduced in our article on jobs and team structure in projection mapping.

*Top image: Record photo of the projection mapping on the wall of the Osaka City Central Public Hall at OSAKA Hikari no Renaissance 2025 in December 2025 (from HITOHATA, INC.’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on official announcements by each organizer, company and local government (as of October 23, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team

A note from the publisher

*Disclosure: Among the production companies introduced in this article, HITOHATA, INC. is an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE (About us).

HITOHATA, INC.: planning and production of the Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition and the Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition; production of the Ukiyoe Immersive Art Museum GINZA; projections at Senso-ji, Tsuruga-jo Castle, the Aichi Prefectural Government Office and Nagoya City Hall, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (“Edo, City of Water: The Outer Moat”); the projection on the Osaka City Central Public Hall (top-ranked proposer in the open call); Gifu Light Story; theater works aboard the cruise ship Asuka III (our article on the history of the Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition)

HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE, plans, directs, produces and operates projection mapping at National Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, World Heritage Sites and urban landmarks, as well as immersive exhibitions. Inquiries, including those at the stage before a budget is set, are accepted through HITOHATA, INC.’s contact form (which has an option for local government and public projects). The company’s past work is introduced on HITOHATA, INC.’s project portfolio page.