Ghosts, Underpants and Stars―A place where children can be children

Exihition Outline

This is a summer-holiday exhibition aimed mainly at infants and primary school children. The normal, staid rules of the museum, such as 'Don't Run', 'Don't Touch' or 'Keep Quiet', will be relaxed and we will provide a place where children are free to touch and have fun. Based around three keywords that symbolize children: 'Ghosts' (imagination), 'Underpants' (children's growth) and 'Stars' (wishes), the exhibition will consist not only of works that are just to be appreciated for what they are, but will also include participation works or programs.

Artists: ZEROZEROESUESU, De-Ta-Ra-Me Constellation Society, (Representative: Keitetsu Murai/system:Masato Tsutsui), TORAFU ARCHITECTS (Koichi Suzuno, Shinya Kamuro), Sakurako Hamaguchi, Chikara Matsumoto


The Exhibition's Three OKs!


1. Children OK!
Is it alright to bring children to the museum? Of course it is OK! People tend to hesitate to bring children to a museum to enjoy the art, but this exhibition aims to be one where children can act naturally. We look forward to seeing you together with your children. Of course, unaccompanied adults are also OK!

2. 'Touching' and 'Playing' are both OK!
'No Running', 'No Touching' and 'No Noise'. These are the usual museum rules, but for this exhibition, the rules have been relaxed, there by paradoxically teaching them. (Of course, annoying other people or purposely damaging the works is not allowed)

3. Photography OK!
Please feel free to capture the smiles and sparkle of your children in a photograph.
In this exhibition photography, within certain limits,* is OK! *Regarding photography: Photographs are strictly forbidden inside the gallery except for the purpose of recording your children's growth or as a souvenir of family and friends. Please observe the following rules in order not to inconvenience other visitors.

 ■ Please do not use flash or tripods when photographing.
 ■ Photographs taken for commercial purposes are strictly forbidden.
 ■ Photography must be limited to stills, please do not take videos.
 ■ Please do not photograph other visitors to the museum as this may infringe on their rights of likeness.
 ■ Use of the photographs is the responsibility of the user. The museum will not take any responsibility.

Exhibition Features


'Transformation Corner' organized by: ZEROZEROESUESU
You are greeted in the first gallery by the 'transformation corner'. Here you can put on a false moustache or wear somewhat strange objects to become a slightly different person before moving on to see  the rest of the exhibition. This enjoyable 'transformation corner' is organized by ZEROZEROESUESU, which consists of the fashion designer, Hiroko Ito, and the artist, Takeshi Matsuoka. The last room in the exhibition contains various fabrics that you can use to create original costumes on the themes of 'ghosts', 'underpants', and 'stars'.

'Ghosts' organized by: Chikara Matsumoto
'Ghosts' is organized by the animation artist, Chikara Matsumoto. According to Matsumoto, ghosts, as spiritual apparitions/exsistence, live in the things we use all the time and also in outer space. The ghosts that Matsumoto visualizes can be seen in an animation, dancing, moving in strange patterns and climbing a mountain in large numbers. While you are there, you should also shine light on the 'space box' and take a quiet look inside.

'Underpants' organized by: Sakurako Hamaguchi
"Hadaka-chan is always naked at home. At school she is just a wimpy girl, but when she is at home she is full of beans! She likes to dream and she loves underpants. What Hadaka-chan wants to become is, believe it or not, 'underpants'. In her dreams, she and Pants-chan, who she made herself, travel together to the 'Land of Underpants'.
In her dreams, she and Pants-chan, who she made herself, travel together to the 'Land of Underpants'.
In combination with this story, that was created Sakurako Hamaguchi, the organizer of the 'Underpants' section, the entire gallery has been transformed into something resembling a world that exists inside a children's picture book! This section entices the children into the 'Land of Underpants'.

'Stars' organized by: De-Ta-Ra-Me Constellation Society (Representative: Keitetsu Murai, System: Masato Tsutsui)
Various constellations can be seen in the night skies: Orion, the Plough, Cassiopeia, etc., but who decides what these should be? The stars belong to everybody and this exhibit allows you to create your own constellations. The concept was created by Keitetsu Murai, head of the De-Ta-Ra-Me Constellation Society. We hope that you will check out this method of linking the stars to create nonsense constellations at the exhibition.

'Haunted House' organized by: Torafu Architects (Koichi Suzuno, Shinya Kamuro)
There is a room in this gallery that is filled with picture frames. The visitor experiences a premonition of something about to happen if they enter... This strange room was created by the members of Torafu Architects and it is called, 'Haunted play house'! After you have explored the secrets that fill this room, you will find lots of eyeballs await you!

Exhibition Information



Title: Ghosts, Underpants and Stars―A place where children can be children
Period: June.29 (Sat) - September.8 (Sun) 2013
Closed on: Mondays (except July.15), July.16
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday (10:00-18:00)
Please note that we have long opening hours(10:00-21:00) on the following dates (all Fridays)
July 19, July 26, August 2, August 9, August 16, August 23, August 30, September 6,
*Last admittance to the exhibition gallery- 30 minutes before closing.
Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT)
Organized by: Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Museum of Contemporary Art
Institutional Sponsorship: The Kao Foundation for Arts and Sciences
Corporate Supported by : HOLBEIN WORKS,Ltd., Endo Lighting Corp., Shachihata Inc,.
Supported by: NEC Display Solutions,Ltd., Funaoka Canvas, artdish g, Ishimaru Co., Ltd., Mihoya glass Co., Ltd., Katsumatameiboku Co., Ltd., Marukoh, EASTWEST Inc., INTELUX, GRAPAC JAPAN CO.,INC., OCCS PLANNING Corporation, Walnut Inc., DNP Art Communications Co., Ltd., L.TOPCO.,LTD., KATSUMI CO.,LTD., OFFICE MATSUSHITA Inc., ICHINOMIYA FASHION DESIGN CENTER, FLANDRE co.,Ltd, HANAI & Co.Ltd, AJIOKA Co., Ltd., SHINDO Co.,Ltd., ENSHUNET CO.,LTD, HOSOKAWA WOOLLEN TEXTILE CO.,LTD, Ltd. FUKUDA ORIMONO, WATANABE PILE TEXTILE CO.,LTD., FUTABA LACE CO., LTD., daisen kogyo CO.,LTD., NISSOU CO.,LTD., MIYASHITA ORIMONO CO., LTD, UEMATU CO., LTD, KAWAMURA KNIT CO.,LTD, GRAN YAMAKI INC., ALMOND EYE CO.,LTD., Maruyasu corporation., Inc., Sato Seni Co.Ltd, NAKADEN KEORI CO.,LTD, Sankei Co.,Ltd., TAKISADA-NAGOYA CO., LTD., CANALE CO.,LTD., FUSHIMI PLANNING CO.,LTD, JAPAN APPAREL-FASHION INDUSTRY COUNCIL, SEIREN CO.,LTD., HISAYAMA SENKO CO.,LTD, FINE TEXTILE Co.,ltd, MIYATA.W.F CO.,LTD, KAMEDA CO.,LTD, Matsuo International Co., Ltd, Sharp Corporation, The University of Tokyo, VANTAN DESIGN INSTITUTE, Fukagawa shiryokan Avenue Shopping Street Cooperative Society,Motokaga Elementary School,Fukagawa Daiyon Junior High School Art Club
Admission: Adult: ¥1000 (¥800) / University & College Student, Over 65yrs old: ¥800 (¥640) /
High School & Junior High School Student: ¥600( ¥480) / Free for Elementary School & Under
Note: *( ) Price for a group, over 20 people
*Free entry to MOT permanent collection for ticket holders
*Elementary school children and below are free but an accompanying adult is necessary.
Curated by: Yasunori Goh
Assistant: Masami Yamamoto
Press: Kumiko Ohara
Also showing: "Francis Al ÿs:GIBRALTAR FOCUS"
"The Power of Manga: Osamu Tezuka and Shotaro Ishinomori "
"MOT Collection"


  • Sakurako Hamaguchi, Ghosts,Underpants and Stars, 2013

  • ZEROZEROESUESU, I'll be a bit different from the usual me 2013, [Reference Image] Photo aimono yoshiteru

  • De-Ta-Ra-Me Constellation Society, De-Ta-Ra-Me Constellations 2013 [Reference Image]

  • Chikara Mastumoto , Dancing with O-Kama on 2013 [Reference Image]

  • TORAFU ARCHITECTS, TORAFU's Haunted house is a "Haunted play house" 2013 [Reference Image]

Concurrent Exhibition

See Exhibitions

Past Exhibitions