Emerging from a Chrysalis, the Butterfly Spreads its Wings

Koike Kazuko (b. 1936) has worked closely with a veritable who’s who of creative contemporaries such as Issey Miyake and Tanaka Ikkо̄ over the course of a long career that began as a copywriter and has culminated in illustrious roles including Seibu Group art director, Muji advisory board member, and Musashino Art University professor emeritus.
In 1983, she founded Sagachо̄ Exhibit Space in the historic Shokuryо̄ Building, a former rice wholesale market in Tokyo’s Koto ward. Pioneering an alternative to conventional art museums and galleries, the space proactively supported emerging artists, many of whom would go on to play a pivotal role in the development of contemporary art in Japan.
Originally published in her book Kūkan no aura [The aura of a space] (Tokyo: Hakusuisha, 1992), this text provides a valuable window into Koike’s motivations for establishing the Sagachо̄ Exhibit Space. Responding to a dearth of opportunities available to emerging artists at the time in Japan, Koike drew on overseas precedent, incubating a grassroots movement that sought to foster a greater collaborative partnership between venue organizers and artists themselves. She created an “observatory platform” for young Japanese artists to compete and commingle with their international peers, replete with multilingual translation. Sagachо̄ Exhibit Space would go on to garner international acclaim, producing alumni including Morimura Yasumasa, Naitо̄ Rei, О̄take Shinrо̄, and Sugimoto Hiroshi.
Although shuttered in 2000, the space lives on at the Sagachо̄ Archive at 3331 Arts Chiyoda, its legacy open to the public’s perusal. (3331 Arts Chiyoda closed its doors in March 2023)

Title

Emerging from a Chrysalis, the Butterfly Spreads its Wings

Author

Koike Kazuko

First published

1992

Translation

Caroline Mikako Elder

Editing

Tom Kain, Koike Kazuko, Maruyama Mika

Design

Ian Lynam

Theme

Exhibitions, Events, and Sites

First Posted Online

2022-03-01

Last modified

2022-03-01

© 2021 Koike Kazuko + Bunka-cho Art Platform Japan

The newly published English translations on this website (https://artplatform.go.jp) can be used without permission only for the purposes of education, research, critique, survey, and the like. English translations cannot be copied for the purpose of sale or distribution. You must comply with the Rules Governing the Use of the English Translations.

Citation

Footnote/endnote: Koike Kazuko, "Emerging from a Chrysalis, the Butterfly Spreads its Wings," trans. Caroline Mikako Elder, Bunka-cho Art Platform Japan, posted March 1, 2022, artplatform.go.jp/readings/R202115.

Bibliography: Koike Kazuko. "Emerging from a Chrysalis, the Butterfly Spreads its Wings." Translated by Caroline Mikako Elder. Bunka-cho Art Platform Japan. Posted March 1, 2022. artplatform.go.jp/readings/R202115.

Original Japanese Edition

Koike Kazuko, “Sanagi habataku,” Kūkan no aura [Aura of space] (Tokyo: Hakusuisha, 1992) 24–38.

小池一子「さなぎ、羽ばたく」『空間のアウラ』白水社、1992年、24–38頁。

National Diet Library(NDL)

https://id.ndl.go.jp/bib/000002227512

ISBN

4-560-03853-8