Tomoko Sato
What is the “another Tokyo” where the past and the future intersect
Index for Obake Tokyo: Introduction Dual Screen Version
Commentary
What would happen if “another Tokyo” were to be created in the Tokyo we are in now?
The artist Taro Okamoto announced his urban theory of “Obake Tokyo” (Ghost Tokyo) in the 1960s, during Japan’s period of high economic growth.
The “obake” or “ghosts” he meant were not the usual sort of spiritual manifestations, but the power of imagination that comes to life when you look at something from the opposite angle.
The concept was that “Obake Tokyo” should be fresh, attractive, and spurring the current Tokyo.
Tomoko Sato has developed a method of providing new stories to places, based on huge amounts of research on the land and its history.
She has now focused her attention on Taro Okamoto’s “Obake Tokyo.” She is also presenting materials related to her lecture-style performances that trace the trajectory of the existence of the monster Godzilla, born in the same era and who destroyed Tokyo.
By connecting the presence of invisible things that hide within the city's complex history with present-day Tokyo, we may be able to stimulate our imagination for a yet-to-be-seen future Tokyo.
Profile
Tomoko Sato
Born in 1990. Graduated from the Department of New Media, Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts. Uses her own body to construct stories based on wide-ranging investigations, practicing “narrative” art using a lecture method. Recent projects include “TWO PRIVATE ROOMS _ A Circle of Reading” and “Index for Obake Tokyo.”
