Senso-ji Projection Wins an Excellence Award at the Projection Mapping Tokyo Award and MUSE Gold; 2026 Edition from October 30

A work projected onto Senso-ji Temple’s Hozomon Gate, its Five-Story Pagoda and the Nitenmon Gate, an Important Cultural Property, has received an Excellence Award at the Projection Mapping Tokyo Award, presented by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau. The projection was part of ASAKUSA CULTURE & LIGHTS 2025, held from Wednesday, December 3 to Sunday, December 7, 2025, and according to its planner and producer, HITOHATA, INC., it drew about 150,000 visitors. The same work also won Gold at the MUSE Creative Awards 2026, organized by the US-based awards body IAA. In 2026, the projection moves to the Main Hall and Hozomon Gate from Friday, October 30 to Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday).

This article outlines the awards, what the 2025 event involved and the plans for 2026. It also rounds up other awards and events from the same period by HITOHATA, INC., the event’s planner and producer, including its 2025–2026 projections on the Osaka City Central Public Hall and the Good Design Award for the Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition.

*Disclosure: The Senso-ji projection mapping covered in this article, as well as the awards and events introduced alongside it, were planned and produced by HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE (About us).

Excellence Award at the Projection Mapping Tokyo Award: three works chosen from 45 entries

The Projection Mapping Tokyo Award is presented by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau to recognize projection mapping staged in the capital. Works carried out in Tokyo between April 1, 2023 and December 31, 2025 were eligible, and 45 entries were received. Three works were selected: “Elder Shibusawa’s Banquet” for the top prize, and “Nakano Sunplaza Projection Mapping -To be continued-” and “Senso-ji Hozomon Gate / Five-Story Pagoda / Important Cultural Property Nitenmon Gate Projection Mapping” for Excellence Awards.

The winning organizations each announced their awards in March 2026. In its March 24 announcement, HITOHATA, INC. reported the Excellence Award for ASAKUSA CULTURE & LIGHTS 2025 and explained that it had been the first projection mapping ever held at Senso-ji. The aims of the award and the other winning works are covered in our article on the Projection Mapping Tokyo Award.

The 2025 projection on the Hozomon Gate, Five-Story Pagoda and Nitenmon Gate, featuring the Golden Dragon and the gods of wind and thunder

The 2025 event ran from Wednesday, December 3 to Sunday, December 7, 2025, from 17:30 to 21:30. Digital animation inspired by Senso-ji’s 1,400 years of history and culture was projected onto the temple’s Hozomon Gate, Five-Story Pagoda and the Nitenmon Gate, an Important Cultural Property. According to HITOHATA, INC.’s award announcement, the show drew on themes such as the Golden Dragon Dance, the Nio guardian statues and the gods of wind and thunder, Fujin and Raijin, and set in motion a number of the temple’s large votive paintings (ema) that are not normally on public view. Viewing was free, and no advance registration was required.

The event was organized by the Asakusa Culture & Lights Executive Committee and planned and produced by HITOHATA, INC., with special cooperation from JTB Corp. and TV Aichi. According to HITOHATA, INC.’s press materials, the event drew on the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ fiscal 2025 Cultural Resource Utilization Subsidy (Program to Promote the Use of Attractive Cultural Properties Nationwide).

During the same period, special viewings were also held of the Denboin Garden, a designated Place of Scenic Beauty that is normally closed to the public, and of the Emado votive-plaque hall. According to HITOHATA, INC., it was the first chance to see them in seven years: about 2,000 people attended the daytime special viewing (¥5,000, advance booking required) and about 3,000 the evening special viewing (¥3,000, advance booking required). For attendance at the projection itself, the press materials give figures of both “more than 150,000” and “about 150,000.”

Gold at the MUSE Creative Awards 2026: four HITOHATA, INC. works among the winners

The MUSE Creative Awards are an international competition founded in 2015 by IAA (International Awards Associate), a US-based awards organization. According to the official website, entries are judged blind by an international jury, and awards are decided by score: 85–100 points earns Platinum, 75–84 Gold and 65–74 Silver. The Senso-ji projection won Gold in the Experiential & Immersive - Interactive Outdoor Event category, which HITOHATA, INC. announced on May 18, 2026.

The four HITOHATA, INC. works that won in 2026 are as follows.

• ASAKUSA CULTURE & LIGHTS 2025 (the Senso-ji projection): Gold, Experiential & Immersive - Interactive Outdoor Event category

• Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition: Gold, Experiential & Immersive - Exhibition Experience category (our article on the MUSE Gold awards)

• Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition: Gold, Experiential & Immersive - Exhibition Experience category

• “KAGUYA” and “MYSTERIO” aboard the cruise ship Asuka III: Platinum, Experiential & Immersive - Hologram / Projection category (our article on the Platinum award)

Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition wins a 2026 Good Design Award

The Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition: imagination of japan received a 2026 Good Design Award from the Japan Institute of Design Promotion. The award number is 26G171224; the recipient company is HITOHATA, INC., and the project is run by HITOHATA, INC. and TV Aichi. The immersive exhibition presents more than 300 yokai drawn by Edo- and Meiji-period artists through video and three-dimensional sculpture, and its three venues—Nagoya (over 120,000 visitors), Tokyo (over 110,000) and Kagoshima (over 80,000)—have drawn a cumulative total of more than 300,000.

For fiscal 2026, 5,111 entries were screened and 1,484 received the award. The G Exhibition: 2026 Good Design Award Winners Exhibition, showing all the winning designs, will be held at Tokyo Midtown from Saturday, October 31 to Wednesday, November 4 (our article on the Yokai exhibition’s award; our article on the Good Design Award).

In Osaka, a second straight year at the Central Public Hall: OSAKA Hikari no Renaissance

In Osaka, a projection on the Osaka City Central Public Hall was held from Sunday, December 14 to Thursday, December 25, 2025, as the centerpiece of OSAKA Hikari no Renaissance 2025, the core program of the Osaka Festival of the Lights 2025. It was produced and created by HITOHATA, INC.. On the east facade of the Central Public Hall, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, the show projected the colors of stained glass and crystal light shimmering like the surface of water, under the theme “Shining Osaka Nights.” According to the press materials, a roughly 10-minute show was scheduled to run every 12 minutes, and viewing was free.

The organizer was the Osaka Festival of the Lights Executive Committee, made up of Osaka Prefecture, the City of Osaka, the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau, business organizations and others. According to Osaka Prefecture, total attendance for the Osaka Festival of the Lights 2025, held from April 9, 2025 to January 31, 2026, was calculated at a cumulative figure of about 45 million, based on pedestrian-traffic surveys and other data.

For the 2026 Central Public Hall projection (December 11–25), three companies submitted proposals in an open proposal competition held by the City of Osaka, and HITOHATA, INC. was selected as the top-ranked proposer (prospective contractor). The contract ceiling was ¥18.7 million (our article on the Osaka Festival of the Lights 2026; our article on public calls for proposals by local governments).

Senso-ji in 2026: the Main Hall and Hozomon Gate, October 30–November 3

ASAKUSA CULTURE & LIGHTS 2026 will project onto the south sides of Senso-ji’s Main Hall and Hozomon Gate from Friday, October 30 to Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday), 18:00–21:30. Viewing is free, and no advance registration is required. The event is organized by the Asakusa Culture & Lights Executive Committee and planned and produced by HITOHATA, INC., with support from the Projection Mapping Promotion Support Grant of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (our article on the 2026 Senso-ji projection).

Over the same five days, special viewings of the Denboin Garden, a Place of Scenic Beauty, and the Emado hall will also be held, with the original of the temple treasure the Senso-ji Kanbun Engi Emaki (an illustrated handscroll of the temple’s origins from the Kanbun era) on display (our article on the Kanbun Engi Emaki; our article on the special viewing). The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ list of fiscal 2026 subsidy recipients includes a project by HITOHATA, INC.’s Tokyo branch to create the “Senso-ji Place of Scenic Beauty Denboin Garden and Emado Special Viewing & Evening Special Viewing ‘Kinryu Yakai’ (Golden Dragon Night Gathering).”

Companies in Japan that produce projection mapping and immersive exhibitions, along with examples of their work, are summarized in our article on production companies.

Data sources and methodology

• Projection Mapping Tokyo Award: announcement by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (December 18, 2025) and the award’s special website; HITOHATA, INC.’s press materials (March 24, 2026).

• The 2025 Senso-ji event: HITOHATA, INC.’s press materials (October 3 and December 11, 2025, and March 24, 2026). Attendance figures are as announced by the organizer side, with no explanation of how they were counted.

• MUSE Creative Awards 2026: HITOHATA, INC.’s press materials (May 14, 15 and 18, and September 24, 2026) and the organizer’s official website.

• Good Design Award: HITOHATA, INC.’s press materials (October 15, 2026) and the Japan Institute of Design Promotion’s announcement.

• Osaka: HITOHATA, INC.’s press materials (October 14, 2025 and March 2, 2026), Osaka Prefecture’s announcement (March 27, 2026), and the City of Osaka’s call for proposals and selection results.

Frequently asked questions

When can I see the Senso-ji projection mapping?

In 2026 it runs from Friday, October 30 to Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday), 18:00–21:30, projected onto the south sides of the Main Hall and Hozomon Gate. Viewing is free, and no advance registration is required.

What is the Projection Mapping Tokyo Award?

It is an award from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau that recognizes projection mapping staged in Tokyo. Works from April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025 were eligible; there were 45 entries, and one top-prize work and two Excellence Award works were selected.

How are the MUSE Creative Awards decided?

According to the official website, an international jury scores entries in blind judging: 85–100 points earns Platinum, 75–84 Gold and 65–74 Silver.

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

*Top image: Projection mapping on Senso-ji’s Hozomon Gate and Five-Story Pagoda at ASAKUSA CULTURE & LIGHTS 2025 (from HITOHATA, INC.’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on announcements by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, Osaka Prefecture and the City of Osaka, and on HITOHATA, INC.’s press materials (as of October 23, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team

A note from the publisher

*Disclosure: The Senso-ji projection mapping covered in this article, as well as the awards and events introduced alongside it, were planned and produced by HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE (About us).

The latest information on events produced by HITOHATA, INC. is available at HITOHATA, INC.’s event information. Inquiries about planning projection mapping on cultural properties, government buildings and city architecture are accepted through the company’s contact form.