International Exhibition and Symposium at the Shibaura House. Tokyo, Japan

You are warmly invited to Tokyo Work and Community: Machikoba and Beyond, a three-day exhibition and symposium exploring the transformations of communities, work, and habitability in Tokyo’s neighborhoods. Hosted at Shibaura House, this event brings together scholars, architects, artists, and community researchers to examine the evolving meanings of Machikoba—from small-scale manufacturing and craftsmanship to the social and spatial fabric of everyday urban life. 

Organizers

• Vincent Mirza (University of Ottawa)
• Keigo Kobayashi (Waseda University)
• Christian Dimmer (Waseda University)
• David Slater (Sophia University)

Orientation

The exhibition on the 1st floor will be open continuously from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.
All presentations and performances will take place on the 5th floor of Shibaura House.

Program

Day 1 - Friday, November 28

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. – Introduction and Tours of the Exhibition

• Kobayashi Keigo (Waseda University), Yasumori Akio (Institute of Science Tokyo), Christian Dimmer (Waseda University), and Yoshida Sara (Waseda University)

5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. – Open Exhibition Viewing and Informal Discussion

• The exhibition explores the many meanings of Machi-koba—from its literal associations with small-scale manufacturing and craftsmanship to its wider significance in shaping neighborhoods, social networks, and ways of living and working. The ground floor of Shibaura House will be transformed into a Machi-koba within the city itself, inviting visitors to encounter and interact with the tools, ideas, and inspirations that point toward new possibilities for urban life—where work, dwelling, and creation coexist and evolve together in the context of the global Anthropocene. 

Day 2 - Saturday, November 29

10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. – Opening Remarks

• Keigo Kobayashi, Christian Dimmer, Vincent Mirza, David Slater.

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. – Keynote Lecture: Tokyo as a Village

• Henry Smith (Columbia University)

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.  – Lunch

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. – Panel: Machikoba and the City

• Jordan Sand (Georgetown University / Kokugakuin University): “200 Years of Working-Class Housing in Tokyo.”
• Christian Dimmer (Waseda University): “Philosophy of Work in Machikoba.”
• Vincent Mirza (University of Ottawa): “The Fragilization of Machi-Koba.”

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Break

3:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m. – Panel: Care, Labor, and Urban Infrastructure in Tokyo

• Susan Paige Taylor (Waseda University): “Preserving Trade in Jimbocho: Care, Circulation, and Labor in Tokyo's Latin Quarter.”
• Masamichi Tamura (Institute of Science Tokyo): “Critical Choreography of Urban Childcare from a Taskscape in the World of Sub-Micro Mobility.”
• Charlotte Gagnon Lewis (University of Ottawa): “Tinkering with a Farm: The Fertile Potential of Tokyo’s Urban Farmers.”
• Keiko Nishimura (Waseda University): “Labor of Platform Urbanization: Delivery Drivers in Japan.”

Day 3 - Sunday, November 30

10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. –  Presentation: The Margins of Excess: The Culture of Monozukuri and the Living Histories in Downtown Tokyo