Tokyo Work and Community “Laborscapes:” Machikoba and Beyond

An exhibition of transformations of communities, work, and habitability in Tokyo’s neighborhoods.

(東京の町工場と地域社会：「Laborscapes（労働の風景）」から読み解くコミュニティ、労働、居住性の変容—展覧会・シンポジウム)

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. https://www.instagram.com/machikobak2lab/

Co-hosted by:

Research Centre for the Future of Cities, University of Ottawa

Keigo Kobayashi Lab, Waseda University

School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University

Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture

Venue: Shibaura House3-15-4 Shibaura, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0023https://shibaurahouse.jp/Shibaura House is a 7-minute walk from JR Tamachi Station and Toei Mita Line Mita Station.

Dates: November 28 (Fri) – 30 (Sun)

Organizers:

Vincent Mirza (University of Ottawa)

Keigo Kobayashi (Waseda University)

Christian Dimmer (Waseda University)

David Slater (Sophia University)

Contact: David Slater, Sophia University — d-slater@sophia.ac.jp

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

16:00 – 17:00

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)

17:00 – 18:00

Open Exhibition Viewing and Informal Discussion

Exhibition Description

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 – 10:30

Opening Remarks

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

10:30 – 12:00

Keynote Lecture

Henry Smith (Columbia University)

“Tokyo as a Village”

12:00 – 13:00

Lunch

13:00 – 15:00

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.”

15:00 – 15:30

Break

15:30 – 17:30

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 – 11:00

Presentation: 

The Margins of Excess: The Culture of Monozukuri and the Living Histories in Downtown Tokyo

Yoshiya Makita (Hitotsubashi University), Ito Yoju (Shiseikan University), Shuichiro Higuma (University of Tokyo)

11:00 – 12:00

Performance: 

“The Margins of Excess – Performative Interpretation of the Life and Culture of Downtown Tokyo.”

Daisuke Takeya, Mineki Murata, and Takumi Hashimoto (Takumichan)

This site-inspired performance engages with Tokyo’s layered histories of labor and urban transformation, exploring the labor history of buraku communities along the Arakawa River while reflecting on the rapid urban renewal of Tateishi, Katsushika—an area where redevelopment risks erasing the city’s working-class memory and texture.

12:00 – 13:00Lunch

13:00 – 15:15

Roundtable Discussion: 

The Future of Machikoba and of Neighbourhood Life

Chair: Christian Dimmer (Waseda University)

Participants: Kamiya Keisuke (Ota Creative Town Center + Mitsubishi Jissho Sekkei), Ito Masaru (Shibaura House), Yasumori Akio (Institute of Science Tokyo and Chiba University), Kobayashi Keigo (Waseda University)

15:15 – 16:00

Closing Remarks and Next Steps

Keigo Kobayashi, Christian Dimmer, Vincent Mirza, David Slater

Event Ends at 16:00