Ginza Six art project “A Tree” brings raw Yoshino cedar furniture, installations and a rooftop garden into Ginza, Tokyo, as part of a three-year program, organizers said.
The project centers on Yoshino cedar, a timber with a woodworking tradition that organizers say spans nearly 500 years. Ginza Six Retail Management and DAIKEI MILLS said the initiative aims to expose the time, craft and cultural context usually hidden behind manufacturing, so visitors understand how raw material becomes part of daily life.
Ginza Six art first phase, furniture in public rest areas
The first phase, led by DAIKEI MILLS, installs a series of furniture pieces made from unprocessed Yoshino cedar on the mall’s third through fifth floor rest areas. The pieces intentionally preserve natural texture and grain so shoppers can feel the wood’s surface, smell its scent and sense its warmth while resting or browsing.
Organizers also introduced wooden elements into the mall’s rooftop garden to blend timber with planted landscaping, creating a softer experience in the heart of Ginza, a high-end shopping district in central Tokyo.
International design exchange at Ginza Six art
The second phase expands the project into an international design exchange. Organizers invited six designer teams and artists to reinterpret Yoshino cedar, producing works that mix artistry and utility.
The participating creators named by the organizers include Siin Siin, KUO DUO, Rio Kobayashi, Fabien Cappello, Max Lamb and Faye Toogood. The designers drew on their cultural backgrounds and methods to turn the timber into pieces that blur the line between material and medium, the organizers said in a release.
From forest to city
A Tree links forestry, timber processing and spatial design, forming what Ginza Six Retail Management and DAIKEI MILLS describe as a complete creative chain from forest to urban space. Visitors move through the exhibition encountering not only finished objects but also the process of natural resource transformation.
Talks and the next phase of Ginza Six art
To mark the public unveiling of the second phase, Ginza Six hosted a panel discussion with DAIKEI MILLS representative Keisuke Nakamura and the six design teams, where participants shared creative intent and design thinking, the mall said. The conversation focused on how wood can enter contemporary design and the role art can play in public space.
The project will move into its third phase with deeper spatial proposals and new presentation formats designed to increase visitor interaction, organizers said. From a single tree to furniture, art and architectural elements, the long-term initiative aims to map more possibilities for natural materials within the modern city.
For more information and visiting hours, Ginza Six Retail Management provided details on the mall’s official website.