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Leaving the\u00a0Ojo Building\u00a0(one of the venues), I headed toward the\u00a0“Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage.”\u00a0In a recent interview<\/a>, Ryuta Ushiro of Chim\u2191Pom from Smappa!Group remarked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I believe this place will become the identity for future cultural activities in Kabukicho.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Having a Noh stage in an entertainment district might look peculiar at first glance, but contextually, it is legitimate and natural.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The\u00a0Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage\u00a0is located in a corner of a building surrounded by love hotels. After entering a recessed doorway and climbing to the second floor, a door finally appears. It certainly isn’t “normal.” Amidst this history, the\u00a0“Nakajima Shinjuku Noh Stage”\u00a0was born in 1941. In 2022, it was renamed the\u00a0“Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage”\u00a0after the facility was purchased by\u00a0Smappa!Group, which primarily operates host clubs. The chairman,\u00a0Maki Tezuka, serves as a standing director of the Kabukicho Shopping Center Promotion Association and is dedicated to the current cultural development of Kabukicho. (His thoughts are detailed in the previous article<\/a>:\u00a0[Interview] Roaming Through the Entertainment Capital: Behind the Scenes of \u201cBENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho\u201d \u2014 Maki Tezuka Edition<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding the name “Kabukicho” to the “Nakajima Shinjuku Noh Stage” may be a manifestation of his resolve to “inherit the will of Kihei Suzuki.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside the Noh stage, I spoke with a woman working in the food and beverage industry who happened to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I learned about the Ojo Building through the ‘Narakky’<\/a> event held previously. I don’t usually come to Kabukicho much, but the performance by Karagumi on the 2nd floor and the Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage were amazing.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n It may take time to fully realize the future city image Kihei Suzuki envisioned. However, this was a moment where I felt a steady dynamism born from the soil of the city and the flow of history, even within this district of love hotels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, I headed to\u00a0“THE FOUR-EYED,”<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>a select shop serving as one of the venues. Here, artist\u00a0Bokunou\u00a0was holding the\u00a0“Pho Heng Black Market”\u00a0.<\/p>\n\n\n What kind of initiative is the “Pho Heng Black Market”?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bokunou:<\/strong>\u00a0Looking at the recent surge in prices on flea market apps and vintage clothing, I feel something close to a “black market.” Originally, I think black markets were born because people couldn’t get the necessities of life. So, I\u2019m thinking in the context of taking things that have turned into a black market\u2014flowing into the digital world like flea market apps\u2014and daring to bring them back to the physical world. I\u2019m focusing on experiences and concepts, and there are even menu items that “money can’t buy.” I think there is meaning in doing this right next to a glamorous select shop.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have a personal highlight item?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bokunou:\u00a0I rented one coin locker located somewhere in the streets of Kabukicho and put an exhibit inside it. Kabukicho has quite a lot of lockers, but the exhibit is in just one of them. You get the key, but you also have to hunt for\u00a0which<\/em>\u00a0locker the key belongs to.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounds a bit like an illicit deal. Could you give a comment to the participants?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bokunou:<\/strong>\u00a0Of course, it’s fine to just come and see the “art” in the normal sense. But, like the experience I just mentioned, or going for a walk together, this event has many forms of “doing something together.” So, there isn’t a single “spectator” here; everyone who came is a participant. Please actively drink, buy, experience, and enjoy walking through the city!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My next destination was\u00a0“Decameron.”\u00a0Opened in 2020, this art space exhibits works on the second floor, while the first floor houses a bar designed to spark dialogue after viewing the art. Tonight, artist\u00a0Yuta Geshi\u00a0is holding the\u00a0“Living Party feat. Miso Preparation”\u00a0here. Apparently, the “miso” prepared tonight will be stored at room temperature with low humidity and will be ready to eat in about a year. What exactly is a miso-making site where a DJ plays music?<\/p>\n\n\n “Making miso while dancing to music” right in the middle of an entertainment district. I think this was quite a unique attempt, but how did it go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yuta Geshi:<\/strong>\u00a0I didn’t expect the gals from the “Gal Bar” at Decameron to enjoy the miso soup this much. I was really happy about that.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have any specific thoughts regarding holding this event?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yuta Geshi:\u00a0Domestic labor and acts done for the sake of living are hard to tie to “monetary value,” aren’t they? I thought the gap of doing something like that in “Kabukicho” would be interesting. However, I\u2019ve actually been doing this miso making for three years now, preparing 20 kilos of miso every year. It\u2019s quite hard work, and it started from the thought, “It would be nice to have music at times like this.” Rather than trying to make a statement through this activity, it\u2019s more about my own desires or personal feelings.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, I asked for a comment from\u00a0Ryotaro Sakaguchi, a performer who happened to be there experiencing the “miso making.”<\/p>\n\n\n Could you give us a quick thought on experiencing the miso making?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakaguchi:\u00a0I\u2019m Ryotaro Sakaguchi, a performer. The miso I prepared while dancing in Kabukicho will be ready around this time next year. I want to come back to this place then to tell you how it tastes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Held at\u00a0“WHITEHOUSE”\u00a0is the exhibition\u00a0Lived Shinjuku “Parallax city”<\/em>\u00a0by the architectural collective\u00a0GROUP. It features over 2,000 photographs of Shinjuku left by critic Koji Taki. From his gaze upon Shinjuku folded within these images, the exhibition looks toward a 2025 Shinjuku without him, and eventually, to the city 100 years from now. I spoke with\u00a0Naoki Saito, a member of the architectural collective GROUP and a Project Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Future Initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What kind of exhibition is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saito:<\/strong>\u00a0As GROUP, we are creating videos, installations, and group portraits based on works that were exhibited in “Shinjuku: The Phenomenal City” held at MoMA. The point where these many elements combine might share something with the chaotic nature of the current city of Shinjuku.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In “BENTEN,” various things are happening simultaneously all over Kabukicho. What do you think you can do specifically because you are an urban researcher?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saito:<\/strong>\u00a0There are many art works themed around the “city,” and while I resonate with them, I also feel we are approaching a saturation point where anything can pass as art if you just say “city.” As a researcher of urban space, I hope to present an artwork that stands up\u00a0after<\/em>\u00a0researching the city. That isn\u2019t the only theme, but I think I can present a different aspect in that regard.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Through events like this, how do you predict Kabukicho will change? Also, is there a wish for how you want it to change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saito:\u00a0Fifty years ago, Koji Taki said, “Shinjuku has no monuments. There is no visible structure; Shinjuku is built by the activities of people.” But now, 50 years later, that “Shinjuku image” Taki spoke of has been packaged and can be seen anywhere in Tokyo. Even so, I think Taki was actually quite sharp. I made my way back to the\u00a0“Ohjo Building.”\u00a0 What brought you to this event?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attendee:<\/strong>\u00a0I found out about it through an Instagram ad! I also know artist friends active in Shinjuku and Koenji, so it was a topic of conversation even before it started. I’ve been to art events at the Ohjo Building a few times before.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve walked around various parts of Kabukicho through “BENTEN.” Has your impression of Kabukicho changed, or did you make any new discoveries?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attendee:\u00a0I had no idea there was a Noh stage. I was quite surprised that such a place existed, tucked away in the gaps between buildings.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n How was the miso making?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attendee:\u00a0There were flyers at the reception of the Ohjo Building, so we went, and it was really fun. Apparently, you take it home, store it, and after about a year, you remove the mold and can eat it. The moisture from the soybeans seeps out and rises to the top, which can be used as soy sauce. I also learned that the taste changes slightly depending on the bacteria on the maker’s hands. It was fun to learn all that.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I thanked the two of them for taking the time to contact me. On this day, the\u00a0“Tokyo Art Community Center”was being revived for the first time in 13 years. When I arrived at\u00a0“Tokyo Sabaku,”\u00a0it was already packed with people. Not only were the chairs taken, but people overflowed into the aisles, happily sharing drinks and conversation. Since it was a bit too crowded and I didn’t want to spoil the mood, I decided to just take some photos. Then, I climbed the stairs to the next floor up, a room like an attic.<\/p>\n\n\n The walls were covered in graffiti\u2014words and drawings written freely with pens\u2014extending even onto the tatami mats. It was a scene of total intoxication, resembling a “home drinking” session but with much higher freedom. I heard later that people were drawing whatever they wanted right next to drawings by Makoto Aida. It\u2019s that kind of place. People of all ages and generations were there. From this space, where everyone was likely quite drunk, I could hear words like “Takashi Murakami” and “My favorite XX literature…” Come to think of it, I ran into a certain film director earlier who had come to “BENTEN” looking for Makoto Aida. He was lost, saying, “I heard he’s at the Ohjo Building!”, so I guided him there… But Makoto Aida, whom I was also looking for, was sleeping right here…!<\/p>\n\n\n “BENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho”\u00a0closed its curtains as a three-day all-night event set in the “No. 1 Entertainment District in the East,” Kabukicho. Various events erupted simultaneously all over the city.\u00a0 “BENTEN 2 Art Night Kabukicho”\u00a0Event has ended<\/em><\/p><\/div> A migratory art event held from November 1 to November 3, 2025. With the theme of “Rewilding the City,” it was curated by\u00a0Chim\u2191Pom from Smappa!Group, following last year’s “BENTEN 2024.” Dates:<\/strong> Nov 1, 2025 (Sat) 15:00-5:00 Nov 2, 2025 (Sun) 15:00-5:00 Nov 3, 2025 (Mon\/Holiday) 15:00-23:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n HP : <\/strong>https:\/\/www.benten-kabukicho.com\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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However, the history of this location dates back to 1941. At that time, the area was known as “Yodobashi-ku Tsunohazu 1-chome Kitamachi.” During the war, most of the town was burned down. As part of the reconstruction efforts to revitalize the town,\u00a0Kihei Suzuki, the neighborhood association chairman at the time, envisioned a “Cultural City” centered around a theater performing Kabuki. aiming to attract a Kabuki-za theater, the name was changed to the current “Kabukicho” in 1947.
Ironically, the plan to attract the Kabuki-za never materialized, and only the name “Kabukicho” remained…
Or so it seemed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/boundless-art.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4586-1024x683.jpg\")
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Not Spectators, But Participants. What\u2019s inside the Kabukicho Locker…?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Making “Miso” and Dancing in the Middle of Kabukicho<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Taking a Bird’s-Eye View as a Researcher: The City as Envisioned by Naoki Saito<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Regarding what I hope for Shinjuku in the future, I don’t have a specific wish for it to change in a certain way, but I do think Shinjuku will continue to have this… let’s call it “seediness” (waizatsusa), or a kind of scariness. Urban development has an aspect of reducing those parts, but I wonder about eliminating all the gray areas. Rather, I don’t think it’s something that can be changed by manipulation, so as a researcher, I think it\u2019s fine to just watch it from a slightly more bird’s-eye view.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nMeeting Up at the Ohjo Building<\/h2>\n\n\n
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I had asked the people I met at the “Living Party feat. Miso Preparation” at Decameron to call me once their miso was finished and things had settled down. We met up at “Art-yoko” , an area lined with food and merchandise stalls currently being held on the 1st floor of the Ohjo Building.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/boundless-art.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4609-1024x683.jpg\")
Finally, I headed toward\u00a0“Tokyo Sabaku”.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/boundless-art.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4631-683x1024.jpg\")
The “Tokyo Art Community Center” was a bar opened by\u00a0Makoto Aida, serving as a salon where young artists gathered. The venue for tonight, “Tokyo Sabaku,” was created in the footprint of that now-gone place and its spirit. Tonight, Makoto Aida was specially serving as the bartender. Unfortunately, I missed the time Aida was there, but from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM, his wife and fellow artist,\u00a0Hiroko Okada, would be standing at the counter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n4:30 AM. The Attic of “Tokyo Sabaku”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Knowing it was rude, I pretended to check my camera while eavesdropping. I heard a conversation about philosophy so complex that even listening to that snippet alone was incomprehensible. Unable to resist, I asked the two people in front of me who were engaging in a fierce debate on “Art Theory.” They told me they had just met here moments ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/boundless-art.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/main-1024x576.jpg\")
Kihei Suzuki, who worked hard to rebuild this land shortly after the war as a “Moral Entertainment District,” entrusted a wish to the future\u2014a wish embedded in the naming of “Kabukicho”\u2014which is still on a journey. How will the future of Kabukicho, as envisioned by\u00a0Maki Tezuka\u00a0who says “BENTEN is thinking long-term,” entwine with future history? The dynamism of the city knows no bounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the day, visitors could experience the reality of the chaotic city where light and shadow intersect, and taste “Kabukicho” as culture, while wandering through venues such as the Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage, Ojo Building, Decameron, WHITEHOUSE, and Tokyo Sabaku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n