The exhibition Japan in Architecture: Genealogies of its Transformation, held at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo in 2018, offered an expansive exploration of how Japanese architecture has developed through its long and dynamic relationship with tradition. Bringing together over 400 exhibits and 100 architectural projects, the show illuminated the enduring influence of wooden structures, modular spatial logic, and the fluid boundaries between interior and exterior that characterize Japanese design across centuries.

At the core of the exhibition was a meticulous 1:3 scale reconstruction of Kenzo Tange’s 1953 house—an iconic example of postwar Japanese modernism, long considered a pivotal work for its integration of traditional Japanese timber construction with the modern lifestyle of the mid-twentieth century. Although the original house was demolished, its presence in the exhibition allowed visitors to observe its two-storey structure in detail, reaffirming Tange’s role as a central figure in shaping Japan’s global architectural identity.

Organized into nine thematic sections, the exhibition traced architectural genealogies from ancient precedents through the Meiji Restoration and into the present day. Historical materials were placed in dialogue with contemporary practices, including cutting-edge digital installations by Seiichi Saito and Rhizomatiks Architecture, which used laser fibre and projection technology to reconstruct architectural spaces at shifting scales. This layering of old and new highlighted the “invisible thread,” as exhibition advisor Fujimori Terunobu described it, that connects traditional forms to present architectural thinking.