Old meets new: Tokyo exhibits tradition and modern innovation

From July 19 to September 5, 2021, the Tokyo Tokyo ALL JAPAN COLLECTION event takes place at Tokyo Sports Square and Annex in Yurakucho. The event showcases the intersection of Japanese tradition and modern innovation through artisan demonstrations, stage performances and product displays.

Sixteen booths promote Tokyo’s commerce and industry, tourism, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and the appeal of Japanese cuisine. In keeping with Tokyo’s “Old meets New” motto, exhibits include demonstrations and presentations of traditional crafts and cutting-edge technologies from both Tokyo and across Japan. Here are some of the booths you should not miss:

Tokyo Tokyo Pop-up Store

Tokyo Metropolitan Government and private businesses have been collabrating to develop Tokyo Omiyage Project – Tokyo Souvenirs -, a unique selection of Tokyo-specific souvenirs that encapsulate the concept of “Old meets New.” Items include charming ukiyoe woodblock print-design masking tapes, socks and T-shirts with contemporary designs, as well as artisan-made Tokyo shamisen three-stringed musical instruments and traditional maneki neko beckoning cats. Visitors will get a Tokyo tourism experience in miniature, as the booth’s design highlights many of the city’s best-loved sightseeing spots. Staff will demonstrate how to use toys such as the bunbun goma, a wooden button spinner made with cedarwood, and how to play the shamisen on site.

There are two special gift sets available. The Summer Memory Note Set comes with a ballpoint pen and a handheld postcard uchiwa fan, which can be used to keep yourself cool and to share your Tokyo memories with friends. The Tokyo Shopping Set includes a handkerchief and an eco-bag, both sporting a charming Tokyo symbol pictogram.

Tokyo Dentokougei Park

Tokyo is home to a variety of traditional crafts that have been born and cultivated against the backdrop of Tokyo’s climate and history from olden times and handed down for generations. TOKYO DENTOKOGEI PARK is a space with elements of the “park” aiming to enable many people to enjoy traditional crafts without difficulties.

At this booth, traditional crafts, such as obi (kimono sash belt) and tea utensils, as well as products that fit in our modern lifestyles, such as neckties and scarves, are on display and also can be purchased. Kumihimo no noren (curtain made of braided cords) and karakami no kabegami (wallpaper made of printed paper with traditional patterns), and other traditional crafts for building materials and interior are also displayed.

Edo Tokyo Kirari Project

There are more than 3,000 so-called venerable traditional businesses in Tokyo, which have been in operation for over 100 years. Selecting ambitious projects that are keen to promote new initiatives in accordance with modern lifestyle along with their quality and beauty of design, the Edo Tokyo Kirari Project exhibits them as representative brands of Tokyo. These Tokyo brands include traditional crafts like Edo sekku ningyo dolls, Edo ukiyoe woodblock prints and Tokyo kumihimo braided cords, as well as typical flavors of the city like nori laver seaweed and sake, and fashion-forward items such as Edo komon dyeing patterns and beni rouge. Fourteen businesses exhibit in pairs, changing weekly for a total of seven weeks. Visitors can purchase items, watch demonstrations by artisans and even participate in workshops.

Tokyo Artisanal Techniques / Takumi no Waza

Every year the Tokyo Metropolitan Government holds a “Monozukuri and Takumi Skills Festival” to promote traditional artisanal techniques and attractiveness of skills and techniques of monozukuri (literally, “making things”).

This booth introduces Tokyo’s craftsmanship through the lens of functional design created by Tokyo artisanal techniques that are on display at this event and items that are present in our everyday lives: clothing, food and housing. The exhibit focuses on artisanal techniques from various fields, including Japanese sewing, kimono dressing, tiles and tatami mats, landscaping, construction carpentry and Japanese cuisine. Twenty-one organizations will exhibit for three days then switch, with product sales and demonstrations.