{"id":428,"date":"2025-10-31T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.boundless-art.com\/?p=428"},"modified":"2025-10-31T17:19:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T08:19:00","slug":"interview-roaming-through-the-entertainment-capital-behind-the-scenes-of-benten-2-art-night-kabukicho-ryuta-ushiro-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.boundless-art.com\/?p=428","title":{"rendered":"[Interview] Roaming Through the Entertainment Capital: Behind the Scenes of \u201cBENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho\u201d \u2014 Ryuta Ushiro Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The district of Kabukicho \u2014 where light and shadow intertwine. Known as the largest entertainment district in the East, this area will soon host an all-night, roaming-style art event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho,\u201d running for three days from November 1, 2025, marks the second edition following last year\u2019s \u201cBENTEN 2024.\u201d The event is curated by Chim\u2191Pom from Smappa!Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To uncover the real story and ideological underpinnings of the project, BAM conducted an exclusive pre-event interview \u2014 with Ryuta Ushiro, leader of Chim\u2191Pom from Smappa!Group, in Part 1, and Maki Tezuka, chairman of Smappa!Group, in Part 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cSo see you again tomorrow, too?\u201d (2016) \/ Bill Burger A three-story installation composed of office furniture, lighting, and fixtures. Photo: Kenji Morita \/ Courtesy of the artist, ANOMALY and MUJIN-TO Production Held inside a Kabukicho shopping association building slated for demolition, where Mr. Tezuka serves as executive director.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A Rare Ecosystem of Art Emerging in Kabukicho<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Could you start by telling us how this project came to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro: Chim\u2191Pom has always had deep ties with Kabukicho. I\u2019ve collaborated with Mr. Tezuka on various projects \u2014 from organizing art events in the shopping association building, to holding a street wedding, and running something like the \u201cNingen Restaurant.\u201d I also manage an art space called \u201cWHITEHOUSE.\u201d Since the pandemic, many other art and cultural spaces have appeared around Kabukicho. Looking at all of them together, I thought, \u201cA truly rare ecosystem of art is taking shape here.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cBENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho\u201d \u2014 Venue Map<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
When I take international friends in art and music around these venues, they\u2019re always fascinated by the district\u2019s uniqueness. Art projects that gentrify nightlife areas have existed before, but what\u2019s happening here is different \u2014 a bottom-up cultural emergence that\u2019s drawing global attention. Spaces like Decameron, Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage, and Ojo Building all opened during the pandemic. While Kabukicho was criticized as a \u201cnightlife district,\u201d that very stigma drew people and creativity toward it. It\u2019s as if a magnetic field formed \u2014 while other areas froze, people gathered here seeking open spaces, starting new activity.
<\/strong>So that cultural soil naturally led to the idea of \u201cBENTEN.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro: Exactly. We considered a long-term \u201cart festival,\u201d but the scale and labor would be entirely different.<\/strong> And there are no museums here anyway. What defines Kabukicho are theaters, live houses, and street happenings.<\/strong> That\u2019s why we thought something bodily, ephemeral, and nightlife-aligned made sense \u2014 and so the first \u201cBENTEN\u201d was born.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cSo see you again tomorrow, too?\u201d (2016) \/ BLACK OF DEATH 2008 \/ 2016 \/ video Photo: Kenji Morita \/ Courtesy of the artist, ANOMALY and MUJIN-TO Production<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Redevelopment and the Never-Ending Chaos<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The theme for this year is \u201cUrban Rewilding.\u201d What does that mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro: The Ojo Building, Kabukicho Noh Stage, Decameron, and WHITEHOUSE \u2014 all began during redevelopment and the pandemic.<\/strong> Redevelopment is happening all across Tokyo, from Shibuya to other districts, bringing \u201corder.\u201d<\/strong> But in Kabukicho, redevelopment didn\u2019t bring order \u2014 it generated more chaos.<\/strong> Yes, redevelopment drew more people, but Kabukicho being Kabukicho \u2014 it attracted wanderers, runaways, creators \u2014 birthing chaos.<\/strong> “This was a peculiar state of affairs unseen in other cities. I suspect that Kabukicho’s persistent, unchanged nature has a historical underpinning, and that is what I am considering as the theme for this project.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cLOVE IS OVER\u201d (2014) Photo: Kishin Shinoyama \/ Courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The demonstration for “Love is Over” and the project inside the demolished building for “Mata Ashita mo Mite Kureru kana” were certainly impressive initiatives. But what are the distinctive features of “BENTEN”?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro:<\/strong>\u00a0While we have positioned Miwa Yanagi as the main artist for this iteration, we feel that it is crucial for this art event to be much more multilayered and concurrent, rather than focusing on a single point. You won’t know what’s happening at which venue unless you wander through Kabukicho and let your eyes be drawn elsewhere. Not only contemporary art, but also performance, theater, music, club events,\u00a0yokocho<\/em>\u00a0(alleys), bars,\u00a0katsuben<\/em>\u00a0films (silent film narration), miso soup… all genres are intermingled, and the very timetable is a chaos of expression. Through this event, we want people to navigate and explore various parts of the town.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bringing Kabukicho\u2019s Locality to the World<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Your collective is internationally recognized, and recently Kabukicho\u2019s Golden Gai has also seen an increase in inbound tourists. How does that global dynamic connect to the event?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro: From a contemporary art perspective, Tokyo\u2019s presence in Asia has declined in recent years. Hong Kong and Seoul have built ecosystems around international art fairs, with numerous satellite shows and parties. Taipei, amid political tension with China, has pushed artistic freedom further than ever. But importing Western formats wholesale, like in Hong Kong or Seoul, doesn\u2019t suit Tokyo. This city has grown from subcultures and underground creativity, with an artistic lineage stretching back more than a century. \u201cBENTEN\u201d was conceived on that soil \u2014 guerrilla activities, bar-based creativity, underground art. It naturally became an event that emphasizes locality over globalized Western systems of fairs and museums.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The name \u201cBENTEN\u201d comes from Benzaiten, the goddess enshrined in Kabukicho Park, correct?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro: Yes. Benzaiten is a symbolic deity of Shinjuku \u2014 and a perfect icon for exploring the border between art and performance.<\/strong> Kabukicho is steeped in history and cultural hybridity. Rather than adopting Western frameworks, we wanted to showcase what\u2019s already been cultivated here \u2014 and have it recognized as something inherently unique. Over time, I believe \u201cBENTEN\u201d will be internationally acknowledged as something singular \u2014 and I hope to keep experimenting with each edition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cBENTEN 2024\u201d \u00a9Shun Uehara \/ Venue: Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Do you see \u201cBENTEN\u201d as a model or reference point for future projects?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro: Not really. I don\u2019t think it will become a template or influence for other events. It only works because it\u2019s Kabukicho. The methods, atmosphere, and logic are unique to this place.<\/strong> Other cities have entirely different dynamics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
So \u201cBENTEN\u201d is an expression that can only exist here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro: Exactly. I\u2019d like to deepen its \u201cKabukicho-ness\u201d not just in expression but in operation too. That\u2019s how it will become something truly without precedent \u2014 something the world has never seen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Intersection of Art and Entertainment: The Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s lineup includes musicians such as Naruyoshi Kikuchi \u2014 not just visual artists. What is your selection philosophy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ushiro: We\u2019ve been working with Naohiro Ukawa from DOMMUNE since last year. Together with Yuko Yamamoto, he curates and books artists under the theme \u201cUrban Rewilding.\u201dFrom the beginning, I had DOMMUNE in mind. Their FREEDOMMUNE 0\uff1cZERO\uff1e ONE THOUSAND 2013 was a massive, experimental music festival unlike anything else \u2014 deeply niche yet powerfully communal. Likewise, in Japan\u2019s crowded landscape of art festivals, it would be exciting if \u201cBENTEN\u201d occupied a similar countercultural position. Imagine Merzbow performing noise music in the middle of Kabukicho Cine City Square \u2014 that\u2019s the kind of moment we hope to create.<\/strong> Another important aspect is spatial \u2014 the Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage may become a new identity for the district\u2019s cultural activity.<\/strong> Artists like Miwa Yanagi and Chen Tianzhuo (of Asian Dope Boys) are both drawn to the existence of a Noh stage in such an unexpected location.<\/strong> At first glance, a Noh stage in an entertainment district seems strange \u2014 but historically it\u2019s quite natural. Kabuki and other performing arts originated from kawaramono rituals, from \u201cwet\u201d and liminal places like this. Having a Noh stage within a nightlife district \u2014 where deeply thought-out art unfolds \u2014 is crucial to exploring post\u2013Western-centric expression.<\/strong> I hope \u201cBENTEN\u201d continues to evolve while cherishing that intersection of art and entertainment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through the cultural and temporal context of Kabukicho, Chim\u2191Pom from Smappa!Group has created \u201cBENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho\u201d \u2014 an event rooted in place and time. What was once imagined as a \u201cdangerous\u201d or \u201cchaotic\u201d place reveals a completely new silhouette through their art. And that transformation touches both outsiders and those who live and breathe Kabukicho itself.
In the latter half of the article, we will unravel the thoughts of\u00a0Maki Tezuka, who first stepped into this neighborhood as a host in 1997. Since then, as a ‘resident of Kabukicho,’ he has witnessed the true nature of the area\u2014experiencing both the sweet and the bitter\u2014and we will explore the future vision of Kabukicho that he envisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho<\/p><\/div>
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The roaming art event \u201cBENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho\u201d will be held from November 1 to 3, 2025. Under the theme \u201cUrban Rewilding,\u201d it is curated by Chim\u2191Pom from Smappa!Group, following the success of \u201cBENTEN 2024.\u201dAudiences can experience Kabukicho\u2019s cultural pulse by roaming through venues such as the Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage, Ojo Building, Decameron, WHITEHOUSE, and Tokyo Sabaku. Come witness the raw reality of this chaotic, luminous city firsthand.
Hours<\/strong> November 1 (Sat) 15:00\u201305:00 \/ November 2 (Sun) 15:00\u201305:00 \/ November 3 (Mon, holiday) 15:00\u201323:00 *Hours may vary by venue.
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