Kiyoharu Art Colony is pleased to announce a special exhibition by architect Toyo Ito, “Toyo Ito – Nature and Architecture / Under the Cherry Trees –”, held in Exhibition Room 2 of the Kiyoharu Shirakaba Museum starting Saturday, August 1, 2026.

Toyo Ito has long been dedicated to helping children grow their individuality and awareness of architecture and cities through projects like the “architecture school” (organized by the NPO “Initiative for Tomorrow’s Opportunities in architecture”) for children. This exhibition celebrates the completion of his new work, “Children’s Playground,” designed specifically for Kiyoharu Art Colony as a real piece of architecture for children to experience firsthand.

What is Toyo Ito’s vision for “architecture for children,” and what is the “Inner Landscape” he always considers when designing?

This exhibition invites visitors to explore Mr. Ito’s design philosophy through early drawings of the new “Children’s Playground,” alongside models of his major works, including Sendai Mediatheque (2001) and National Taichung Theater (2016).

◾️About “Children’s Playground”

The new outdoor architectural work, “Children’s Playground,” is located in the area connecting Tadao Ando’s Museum of Light and Terunobu Fujimori’s tearoom Tetsu. Conceived not just as something to look at, but as a place to stay and play, it features gentle earth slopes where children can freely climb, step down, gather, and play. Surrounded by a grove of cherry trees over 100 years old on the lawn, it harmonizes with the landscape and aims to become a new landmark at Kiyoharu Art Colony, welcoming visitors across generations.

• Open to the Public / Usage Begins: Early September 2026 (scheduled)
• August 1 – Early September 2026: Visitors may view the site exterior and construction process on-site.

■ Statement by Toyo Ito

When I first thought about making a playground for children on the lawn at Kiyoharu Art Colony, my original idea was to build towers of earth, mounds, and cave-like hollows. I wanted to make a park-like space where children could run around freely.

However, thinking about space constraints and what we could do right now, we decided to simply build a mound of earth and a dug-out hollow.

This reminded me of scenes from the past. People used to hang curtain walls (manmaku) under full-blooming cherry trees to make a party space and enjoy cherry blossom viewing (hanami). This happy scene is the very starting point of how I think about architecture.

There are many cherry trees here. So, I thought we could build this mound and hollow near the trees so everyone could enjoy hanami right there.

Even when the flowers are not blooming, children love places with mounds and hollows. I think it will be a fun and wonderful place for children to climb up the mound, step down into the hollow to sing, talk, play games, or eat lunch.

Even when I design buildings in big cities, I always want to make spaces inside that let people feel nature. I want to create places where children can run around and adults can relax, even inside a building.

This is a simplified nature—another kind of nature made from the landscapes people keep inside their hearts.

I call this “Inner Landscape.”

For this exhibition, I am showing two contrasting models to share my thoughts and feelings about nature with you.

Toyo Ito

■ Profile: Toyo Ito

 Architect. Born in 1941. Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Department of Architecture in 1965.After working for Kiyonori Kikutake, he founded his own office, Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects in 1971. 
His representative projects include Sendai Mediatheque, Tama Art University Library (Hachioji Campus), ‘Minna no Mori’ Gifu Media Cosmos and National Taichung Theater (Taiwan R.O.C.) Latest works include Ibaraki City Cultural and Child-rearing Support Complex and EXPO Hall for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. 
He is the recipient of the Architectural Institute of Japan Prize, the Golden Lion at La Biennale di Venezia, the Pritzker Architecture Prize among others. 
In 2011, he established a private architectural school, Ito Juku, which focuses on the future of cities and architecture. 
He has been seeking to go beyond the architecture of Modernism by bringing nature into architecture and to create more comfortable and free spaces that go beyond functionalism. 

◾️Exhibition Details

Exhibition Title: Toyo Ito – Nature and Architecture / Under the Cherry Trees –
Period: Saturday, August 1, 2026 – Sunday, October 11, 2026 (Open every day throughout August with no closed days)
Hours: 10:00 – 17:00 (Last admission at 16:30)
Venue: Exhibition Room 2, Kiyoharu Shirakaba Museum, Kiyoharu Art Colony
(2072 Nakamaru, Nagasaka-cho, Hokuto-shi, Yamanashi, Japan)