Oriza: Inaugural Project
Preserving Watarium Museum for the Future
Hiroshi Sugimoto × Watarium Museum
「WATARIUM ART MUSEUM 2025」
Medium: Pigment print (signed, with presentation box and felt cloth)
Edition: Limited to 25 copies
Dimensions: 156 × 129 × 47 mm (box) / 130 × 102 mm (print)Price: 6,000 USD (first sale)
(Excluding tax and shipping)The Oriza Project is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage.
As part of this initiative, purchasers are required to make an additional contribution of 700 USD or more in support of the Watarium Museum, recognized as a cultural landmark.Application Period: May 26 - June 4, 2025
Lottery Result Announcement: Scheduled for around June 7
※Please proceed with the contribution to the Watarium Museum only after you have been selected.
[How to Purchase]
- Fill out the lottery application form
- You will be notified by Oriza if you are selected
- Make a support contribution to the Watarium Museum
- After confirming your donation, you will be able to purchase the item on our EC site
HIROSHI SUGIMOTO
Born in Tokyo in 1948, Hiroshi Sugimoto has been based in New York since 1974.
After moving to the United States in 1970 to study photography in Los Angeles, he relocated to New York,
where he established a distinctive body of work that blends conceptual rigor, philosophical depth, and refined aesthetics.
His photographs have earned a prominent place in both museum collections and the art market,
with works held by major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
In recent years, Sugimoto’s practice has expanded across a wide range of disciplines,
including architecture, traditional arts, and classical performing arts. Among his most ambitious undertakings is the Odawara Art Foundation’s Enoura Observatory,
which opened in 2017 after more than two decades of planning—a monumental project that continues to attract global attention.
WATARIUM, Museum of Contemporary Art
Established in 1990 as a private art museum, Watarium is housed in a building designed by renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta. The museum was founded by Shizuko Watari, together with Etsuko and Koichi Watari, with the support of legendary first-generation curators such as Harald Szeemann and Jan Hoet, as well as pioneering artists including Nam June Paik.
Focusing on contemporary art, Watarium has staged numerous groundbreaking exhibitions exploring themes such as architecture, Zen philosophy, garden aesthetics, and street art. In 2021, as part of the cultural program supporting the Tokyo Olympics, the museum co-hosted Pavilion Tokyo 2021 with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government—an ambitious city-wide exhibition featuring ten outdoor pavilions designed by six architects and three artists.
TEAM
HIROTOMO HAKAMADA
He joined BASE, Inc., Japan’s leading e-commerce platform in terms of number of online store launches, during its early stages as a member of the marketing and sales team, contributing to its successful IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market. To date, he has supported the launch of approximately 1,000 online shops.
After becoming independent, he proposed a new model combining cultural heritage and blockchain technology, and has led preservation initiatives in collaboration with municipalities and globally recognized sites such as To-ji, Mount Koya, and Mont-Saint-Michel.
In the field of traditional craftsmanship, he has also been involved in M&A and rebranding projects, expanding the reach of Japanese artisanal techniques to global markets and driving both business growth and new distribution channels.
ETSUKO WATARI
Director, Watarium, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art
In 1990, she founded Watarium in the heart of Aoyama, Tokyo. Over the past 35 years, she has curated numerous groundbreaking exhibitions featuring experimental work by contemporary artists from Japan and abroad, as well as innovative shows on architecture and philosophical thought—including Rudolf Steiner, D.T. Suzuki, and Minakata Kumagusu. These thematic exhibitions have drawn a dedicated international following.
Since 2016, she has also served as curator for the Reborn-Art Festival in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture—an area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake—working alongside musician Takeshi Kobayashi (executive committee chair) to realize a model of regional revitalization through culture.
KOICHI WATARI
CEO, Watarium, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art
In 1990, she founded Watarium in the heart of Aoyama, Tokyo. Over the past 35 years, she has curated numerous groundbreaking exhibitions featuring experimental work by contemporary artists from Japan and abroad, as well as innovative shows on architecture and philosophical thought—including Rudolf Steiner, D.T. Suzuki, and Minakata Kumagusu. These thematic exhibitions have drawn a dedicated international following.
Since 2016, she has also served as curator for the Reborn-Art Festival in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture—an area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake—working alongside musician Takeshi Kobayashi (executive committee chair) to realize a model of regional revitalization through culture.
