Faces of Tokyo

The CEO of Hoshino Resorts, a more than 100-year-old, leading operator of opulent resorts and hotels, Yoshiharu Hoshino oversaw the opening of Hoshinoya Tokyo in July. This luxurious traditional-style inn sits right in the heart of Tokyo, boasts its own natural hot spring and brilliantly brings the onsen ryokan experience to the capital, testifying to the success of Hoshino's efforts to focus on good old Japanese hospitality when standing up to global high-end hotel chains. While the city is seeing a rush of new hotel openings in the run-up to the 2020 Olympics, Hoshinoya stands above the bunch with its pioneering approach and could even be a symbol of things to come for the 'made in Japan' service industry.

Kris Yoshie is the director of the ambitious Slow Label collective, which works to empower people with disabilities and advance their integration into society. Their art project, ‘Slow Movement’, which sees performers with a wide range of physical and mental abilities and disabilities come together to create a beautiful whole, was a surprise hit at this year’s Roppongi Art Night and was also performed to great acclaim in Yokohama.

But Kris's most memorable moment came in September, when she had a hand in Japan’s refreshingly diverse ‘handover’ show performed at the Rio Paralympics closing ceremony. Abandoning the idea of disability as a 'minority issue' and bringing it firmly into the mainstream, Kris is pointing the way forward for Japanese society as a whole.

Photo: Masaya Tanaka

The progenitor of the Superflat movement, which still dominates the discourse in contemporary Japanese art, Takashi Murakami freely blends high and low art, appropriating manga, anime and pop culture with a knowing irony that has garnered him legions of fans and a fair share of detractors.

The eccentric artist extraordinaire had his hands full in 2016, and not just with a paintbrush: his critically acclaimed ‘The 500 Arhats’ show attracted over 300,000 visitors during its four-month run at the Mori Museum, while an exhibition at the Yokohama Museum of Art showcased his highly eclectic collection of art. An instantly recognisable face of Tokyo, not least because of his characteristic whiskers and round specs, Takashi Murakami has done more than his part in transforming his hometown into a hub of contemporary art.

Photo: Claire Dorn

2016 finally saw the overturning of Japan’s antiquated ‘no dancing’ law – a potentially far-reaching change that came about largely thanks to the efforts of lawyer Takahiro Saito. Having lobbied for reform since 2012 and built up a wide-ranging network of international contacts, Saito won over an impressive cast of entrepreneurs, artists and politicians, initiating a movement that eventually became too funky for the authorities to resist. With all-night dancing now legal and celebrated (although some grey areas remain), the future is looking a little brighter for Tokyo's long-suffering nightlife scene. Now, all Tokyoites need to do is actually find their way back to the clubs...

Photo: Towa Hiyoshi