Located in the central Tokyo district of Nihonbashi, the Fukutoku Shrine has a long and distinguished history. Beneath the shrine grounds, an extraordinary world has suddenly appeared—SUIGIAN.
Here, dreamy banquets like you have never before experienced take place every day and night.
Transported back in time, guests are served delicious foods, sake wine, Japanese tea, and sweets from the Edo, Meiji, and Taisho periods while authentic traditional performing arts are presented on stage.
Treat yourself to a never-before experienced banquet of fresh new sensations to savor with the five senses.
Born in Tokyo in 1972, Hidetomo Kimura is an ART AQUARIUM Artist who was the first to propose and establish the field of“ART AQUARIUMs”, fusing“art”, “design”, and “entertainment” with his life work of “aquariums”. Combining phantasmagoric aquarium designs, high-level water conditioning, and a thorough knowledge of bio-management to establish the unique field of “ART AQUARIUMs”, Hidetomo Kimura is the only aquarium artist able to hold art exhibitions featuring aquariums at museums as admission charged events.
He also designs and supervises the interior, lighting, imaging, music, and space designs for these exhibitions himself. Currently he is endeavoring to develop traditional Japanese industry as modern art through projects such as “Edo-Sakura Renaissance” and utilizing this experience, he is constantly evolving methods for exhibiting “ART AQUARIUMs” as “real Japan”. In 2016 he celebrated 10 years of these activities as he endeavors to disseminate the new field of “ART AQUARIUMs”—a made-in-Japan field that he himself created—while incorporating cultural aspects featuring various movements, such as his development of performing arts stages within this unique world.
The “SKY AQUARIUM” exhibition, held at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, and “ART AQUARIUM Exhibition: Kingyo Series”—which specializes in Japanese works featuring kingyo (goldfish)—are especially famous and popular, drawing a total of 8.1 million paid visitors to date (as of the end of February 2018).
Hidetomo Kimura is also actively involved in environmental conservation activities. He has held Japanese exhibitions of aqua-cultured clownfish “ORA” from the world-class oceanographic research institute Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (Florida, USA), connecting aquariums and protection of the natural environment. He is also involved in the “One Ocean Project”, through which he carries out ocean conservation activities with ocean athletes, and is active as a board member of “Sailors for the Sea”, which was founded by Mr. David Rockefeller Jr. In 2012, he was appointed as a designer for world-class glass art brand “VENINI” (Venezia, Italy) at an exceptionally young age, making his true debut as an international artist. In 2015, he presented “THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD OF ART AQUARIUM” in Milano, Italy, his first exhibition to be held outside Japan.
In addition to his activities as an artist, Hideotomo Kimura is also remarkably active as an automobile enthusiast, and he has naturally cultivated a broad connection between the worlds of art and automobiles. He has successfully staged numerous world-class vintage car competitions events, beginning with the 2009 “Tokyo concours d’Elegance” competition, and serving successively as general producer for “Japan Classic Automobile” and other events. He also staged the “Concours d’Elegance Kyoto” competition at the Former Imperial Villa Nijo Castle, a world heritage site. As a young automobile enthusiast capable of taking charge in the field, Hidetomo Kimura is expected to play a role in preserving automobile culture for the next generation.
In 2018, Hidetomo Kimura opened SUIGIAN, a “new theater-style restaurant and lounge presenting fresh new sensations” that can be said to combine preserving and disseminating traditional Japanese culture—which he has been pursuing as his life work in recent years—with reviving the “real Japan”.
Born in Osaka on September 7, 1957, Genjiro Okura is a member of "Nohgakuza", a group of Noh performers and musicians dedicated to promoting Noh in the 21st century, regardless of their schools of origin. In addition to performing traditional works of Noh, Genjiro Okura also produces "Noh Play Outside of Noh Theater" in casual, non-traditional settings to enable members of the general public to comfortably experience "Noh". In 2017 he published Genjiro Nohgaku Dangi (“Genjiro’s Nohgaku Lectures”) (Tankosha Publishing Co., Ltd.), a guide to Noh theater bursting with the attractions of Nohgaku and including an introduction to the attractions of Noh from his perspective as a Nohgaku musician, columns where he discusses how to enjoy Nohgaku with 9 celebrities, and pictures of Nohgaku performances around the world.
After graduating from high school, Tsurutaro Kataoka became an apprentice to voice impersonation master Tsuruhachi Kataoka. Three years later, he was performing at the Toho Meijinkai and Asakusa Engei Hall. Subsequently, he began appearing on TV variety programs and quickly gained popularity amongst the general public. Active as an actor with the ability to portray a wide range of characters, he has won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and numerous other acting awards.
As a painter, Tsurutaro Kataoka held his first exhibition, Tombo no yo ni (“Like a Dragonfly”) in Tokyo in 1995.Since then, he has been holding one-man exhibitions of new works every year. In 2001, he held his first one-man overseas exhibition in Paris, France, which was met with great acclaim. In 2011, he held his first exhibition of Buddhist paintings, and in 2013 was responsible for designing the keshomawashi (ornamental apron) of the 69th Yokozuna (Sumo Grand Champion) Hakuho, which was dedicated and first worn by Hakuho at the Ise Grand Shrine. In March 2015, he received the 10th Tejima Yukei Prize, the most prestigious award in Japanese calligraphy, and also received a distinguished merit award at the 32nd Sankei International Calligraphy Exhibition in July of the same year. Continues to appeal to a wide audience through his diverse artistic work. Since April 2016, he has been presenting an exhibition of 11 artistic works in collaboration with broadcast writer Kundo Koyama in Domestic Terminal 1 of Haneda Airport entitled“An Exhibition of Traveling Japanese”.
In May 2017 he gained professional yoga accreditation from the Indian Government, receiving the titles of Yoga Master and Yoga Instructor, and has also been appointed as the 1st Yoga Goodwill Ambassador.
Born in Osaka City, Takuro Tatsumi graduated from the Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University. While a student, he led the theater troupe Gekidan Sotobakomachi. On graduation, he made his national acting debut in the NHK drama series “Romance”. Since then, he has been broadly active as an actor possessing the three important qualities of intelligence, dignity, and playfulness.
Takuro Tatsumi is also well-known as a food and wine connoisseur, and has been made an honorary sommelier by the Japan Sommelier Association, appointed as the Vice President of the Association of Nippon’s Wine Lovers, and
and even received numerous knighthoods from overseas Orders of the Knights of Wine.
His TV program Tatsumi Takuro Budoshu Roman “”Takuro Tatsumi’s Wine Romance”) (broadcast on BS Japan from 11:30 on Sundays nights), which he plans himself, is also highly popular, and he has a broad range of interests and hobbies that includes Go (Japanese chess), Haiku poetry, and horse riding.
In addition, since starring in Kuishimbo! Banzai (“Hooray for Gourmands!”) (Fuji TV), he has become passionate about community revitalization and has been appointed as a tourism/cultural ambassador for numerous regions. Since 2011, he has been serving as an advisor to the Japan Tourism Agency. Takuro Tatsumi has also writer a number of books, including Michikusa no susume, Introduction to Wine Starting from Zero, and Back Streets of Kyoto I’d Rather Not Tell You About.
Councilor, Nihon Ki-in; Guest Professor, Faculty of Literature, Arts, and Cultural Studies, Kindai University; Advisor, World Food Programme
President, Sailors for the Sea Japan. Minako Iue established the Japanese branch office of “Sailors for the Sea”, an ocean environment protection NGO founded by Mr. David Rockefeller Jr. Her aim is to create a sustainable society through sustainable consumption of marine resources and improvement of the marine environment.
Part-time instructor, Kyoto University Graduate School; Senior Researcher, Keio Research Institute at SFC, Keio University
Columns
Forbes Japan Online “Aiming for a Sustainable Society through Improvement of the Marine Environment”
25ans Online “Minako Iue’s Save the Ocean”
