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EXHIBITIONS

Eiji Watanabe: Garden of the appellation / Etoile Kaito Installation

EXHIBITIONS

Eiji Watanabe: Garden of the appellation / Etoile Kaito Installation

Ended

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Type: Installation

Venue: Nihonbashi/Bakurocho Area

Etoile Kaito Living Bldg.

1-15-15 Higashikanda, Chiyoda-ku

[Map]

Date: 10/17/2025 Fri. - 12/14 Sun.
11:30–18:00 (Fri until 19:00)
Closed on Mon and Tue
*Open Nov 3 (Nat’l hol.) and 24 (Subst. hol.).

Ticket: Ticket required

Photo: YUKAI

Eiji Watanabe is known for his installations using cut out images of plants and creatures from illustrated guides arranged in countless numbers within physical spaces. In addition to presenting his work worldwide, he remains active in creating art spaces with his own hands in various locations, inviting young artists and international artists to collaborate and realize diverse projects.

The centerpiece of this exhibition is the latest rendering of the series Garden of the Appellation, featuring images cut from plant and butterfly field guides arranged across floors and walls. This series began in 1992 and has developed across numerous locations. In plant and butterfly guides, diverse organisms are discovered, named, and classified by observers, accompanied by illustrations and descriptions. For instance, when one learns the name of a plant or mushroom encountered on a walk, it is only then that the object before them emerges as something identifiable within oneself, recognized as possessing individuality. When these confirmed illustrations are cut out and recreated anew in a different space as a “garden of the appellation,” we witness a fresh human-made nature.

The venue also features the work CATCH & RELEASE, which expresses phrases connected to the piece using light bulbs, along with interactive installations allowing visitors to engage with the work. Workshops titled “Let’s Make a Horse-Head Cane!” are also scheduled to be held during the exhibition period.

Special Cooperation: Etoile Kaito & Co., Inc.
Cooperation: Tokyo University of the Arts

Artists

Map

2 min walk from JR Sobu Line Bakurocho Sta. (Ex. 4)
6 min walk from Toei Shinjuku Line Bakuroyokoyama Sta. (Ex. A1)

Please note this is not the Etoile Kaito Product Department Building.

Related event

Performance

Hiromi Miyakita ･ Akio Suzuki | Performance "Garden of the Appellation / Maze Walking"

Eiji Watanabe presents his installation work Garden of the appellation / Etoile Kaito Installation at Etoile Kaito Living Building 7th floor. At this location, sound artist Akio Suzuki and performer Hiromi Miyakita will perform a collaboration with this Installation. This special performance was born from the encounter between Eiji Watanabe and Akio Suzuki. Performers: Hiromi Miyakita, dance “Butterfly Mindlessly Seeks Flowers”; Akio Suzuki, “Sound Staff” Eiji Watanabe , Garden of the Appellation / Etoile Kaito Installation, 2025. Installation view at Etoile Kaito Living Building. Photo by Yuka Ikenoya (YUKAI) Comments by Eiji Watanabe on the Performance I first met the two artists when I invited them to participate in an art project I co-founded with Obu City, Aichi Prefecture in 2021 (guest curator: Satsuki Yamamoto). There have been two previous collaborations with “The Garden of the Appellation.” One was in 2004, proposed by eca UNION (Edinburgh College of Art Students’ Union) at the Sculpture Court (a multipurpose space). The idea involved bringing about 100 alarm clocks into “The Garden of Names,” where they would begin ringing amidst the flowers like insect sounds, each with a different tone. The other was during my participation in ArtZuid 2017, the Amsterdam International Sculpture Biennale. Within the “Garden of Names” spread across the exhibition site, the Art Chapel, artist Paul Goede presented Mental Color. Since both were collaborations involving sound, the image of collaborating with Mr. Akio Suzuki and Mr. Miyakita, who I worked with at the Tokyo Biennale this time, naturally came to mind. “o to da te” in Tokyo Biennale 2025 performance in front of the Artizon Museum, Tokyo, October 16, 2025. Photo by Yuka Ikenoya (YUKAI) Since our connection began at the Art of List exhibition (Obu, Aichi), I found myself drawn to Eiji’s “Garden of the Appellation” at the Tokyo Biennale 2025. Tiptoeing, shuffling, the two wanderers rely on sound…

Ended 12/12/2025 / Etoile Kaito Living Bldg.

Workshop

Eiji Watanabe | Let’s Make a Horse-Head Cane!

Workshops by Eiji Watanabe, a biennale artist. Creating a Special Walking Stick to Enrich Your Daily Strolls Participants will craft a unique walking stick by attaching a ceramic horse head to the tip of a bamboo staff. Walking with your own hand-painted horse will give you the feeling of being guided one step further into the future. Workshop Process Using special ceramic markers, participants freely decorate a pre-prepared white porcelain horse head. After painting, the horse head is baked in a household toaster oven for about 15 minutes to set the colors The finished horse head is then attached to the tip of the bamboo staff, and reins are fixed to serve as the handle—completing the walking stick. With your completed staff in hand, your daily walks will become an even richer and more delightful experience. Notes Children under elementary school age must be accompanied by a guardian. If a typhoon is approaching or rainfall of more than 30mm per hour is forecast on the day of the event, we will inform you of the decision to hold or cancel the event by the day before.

Ended 11/09/2025 / Etoile Kaito Living Bldg.

Reference Image: Garden of the Appellation, 2014
Installation view at Hakone Open-Air Museum, Japan. Photo by Eiji Watanabe

Reference Image: Garden of the Appellation, 2017.
Installation view at Art Chapel, Amsterdam Sculpture Biennal: ARTZUID 2017. Photo by Eiji Watanabe

Reference Image: Garden of the Appellation / Misono, 2010.
Installation view at Aichi Triennale 2010, Nagoya. Photo by Eiji Watanabe

E.W_Artist in Residence_Orkney, Scotland 2010

Eiji Watanabe

1961 Born in Aichi, Japan. Lives and works in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. 1985 Graduated from Sculpture Course, Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music. 2004–2005 Studied at Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh (grant from Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs). Group Exhibitions: Art Zuid 2017 (Art Chapel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 2013 NISSAN ART AWARD 2013 (BankART Studio NYK, Yokohama), 2010 Aichi Triennale 2010 (Nagoya); 2007 All about Laughter: humor in contemporary art, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; 2001 Encounter (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery).

https://www.kenjitaki.com/artists_e/watanabe_e.html

Participating Event

Hiromi Miyakita ･ Akio Suzuki | Performance "Garden of the Appellation / Maze Walking"

Eiji Watanabe | Let’s Make a Horse-Head Cane!

Participating Project

Eiji Watanabe: Garden of the appellation / Etoile Kaito Installation

Nihonbashi/Bakurocho Area

Etoile Kaito Living Bldg.