The “Exhibition of manga ‘What if Tokyo’,” featuring 20 renowned manga artists representing Japan, presents 20 original manga works themed around “Tokyo.” Held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) in conjunction with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the exhibition aims to showcase the city’s captivating cultural essence to the world.

The exhibition’s spatial design and role of space manager were overseen by our architect and founder, Tan Yamanouchi, who served as the head of the executive committee for the exhibition.

Focusing on the inherent “alleyway character” of Tokyo, we designed a physical and highly navigable exhibition space where visitors can actually walk through and enjoy a “What if Tokyo” cityscape, brought to life by the manga artists’ imagination.
Furthermore, when viewed from above, the arrangement of the individual exhibition rooms for each artist appears to resemble “manga panels,” giving the entire venue the sensation of being a “single manga book,” offering a bird’s-eye, meta perspective on the space.

Additionally, two works that blur the lines between manga and installation art were displayed in the outdoor public space, expanding the traditional boundaries of manga.

The exhibition space was designed to offer a unique experience, distinct from conventional manga exhibitions, providing an immersive, deep engagement with the world of manga.

type : ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
program : MANGAEXHIBITION
date : AUG 2018 – SEP 2021
status : COMPLETED
site : KIYOSUMISHIRAKAWA, TOKYO, JAPAN
scale : 1,600 sqm
credits :
– ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECT / TAN YAMANOUCHI