At GINZA SIX, the largest commercial facility in the Ginza area, the popular rooftop garden skating rink, the Rooftop Star Skating Rink, will be open again this year for a limited time from November 16, 2024 to January 26, 2025.
A press preview was held the day before the opening, and contemporary artist Kenji Yanobe, who exhibited his latest work, SHIP'S CAT (Ultra Muse / Red), at the rink, was in attendance.
GINZA SIX is currently running a Christmas promotion centered on art and culture under the concept of "HEAVENLY GIFT – A gift from space" (until December 25th). Various places in the building, including the entrance and underground passageways, are decorated with collage visuals by graphic artist Keiji Ito . With the theme of HEAVENLY, which has two meanings: "from heaven" and "wonderful," the promotion expresses a Christmas that makes visitors forget about their daily lives, appreciate the "irreplaceable" nature of what they have today, and feel a sense of elation and celebration.
HEAVENLY GIFT
Collage visual at the 7th Street entrance (exhibition until December 25th)
The Rooftop Star Skating Rink, which opened on November 16th in the GINZA SIX Garden (rooftop garden), is an eco-friendly rink that uses resin instead of electricity. Its design means that children can skate safely without getting their clothes wet even if they fall, and it looks set to become a popular winter spot in Ginza again this year. It can accommodate up to 75 people. (Details of the event are provided at the end of this article.)
Rooftop Star Skating Rink (open until January 26, 2025) Photo by Yasuyuki Takaki
The stadium is lit up at night. You can enjoy skating while looking at the beautiful night view of Ginza. Photo by Yasuyuki Takaki
Here, contemporary artist Kenji Yanobe's installation "WINTER ANGEL" will be displayed. In the center of the rink, the latest work in the "SHIP'S CAT" series, a giant cat with wings , "SHIP'S CAT (Ultra Muse / Red)" will appear, welcoming visitors with heavenly graphics by Keiji Ito.
Kenji Yanobe, SHIP'S CAT (Ultra Muse / Red), 2024 (Exhibition until January 26, 2025)
Kenji Yanobe is famous for creating machine sculptures and giant sculptures, and his humorous works that contain social messages are highly praised both in Japan and overseas. His representative work in recent years is the "SHIP'S CAT" series, which he began producing in 2017, which depicts the guardian deity of travel that brings good fortune. The motif is the "sailor cat," which traveled around the world during the Age of Discovery, protecting cargo and ships from rats and sometimes bringing healing to sailors. In his work, he is treated as a cat that travels through space in the future, guiding the journeys of young people and people in a turbulent world.
In fact, the huge central atrium, which could be said to be the face of GINZA SIX, has already been hosting the "SHIP'S CAT" series installation "BIG CAT BANG" since April this year. The powerful visual impact of countless cats in space suits shooting out of a spaceship into the sky with force like a big bang, paying homage to the Tower of the Sun by the late Taro Okamoto, who said, "Art is an explosion!", has been a hot topic on social media.
Kenji Yanobe, "BIG CAT BANG", 2024 (Exhibition until summer 2025 (planned))
Appearing at the press preview, Yanobe explained that "BIG CAT BANG" and "SHIP'S CAT (Ultra Muse / Red)" have stories that mix reality and fantasy, based on the panspermia theory, which holds that life was brought from outer space.
Kenji Yanobe
"It tells a mysterious and grandiose story about who brought life to Earth long before we humans were born. A spaceship shaped like the Tower of the Sun came from outer space, carrying space cats with them, bringing the seeds of life to this beautiful Earth. The space cats exploded out of the spaceship and evolved from protozoa to humans, facing many threats of extinction, but they persevered and nurtured life. When humans finally appeared, the space cats became exhausted and collapsed. The spaceship ran out of fuel and was unable to return to space, and today the remains of the spaceship remain as the Tower of the Sun," says Yanobe.
He said that space cats that die rise to heaven like angels, and that the winged SHIP'S CAT (Ultra Muse / Red) is a monument to the space cats that raised humanity and then passed away.
"The message of this work is to look at the current social situation, such as overcoming infectious diseases and wars, from a bird's-eye view, a cosmic perspective," says Yanobe. The monument's mysterious, shining green eyes quietly watch over the people.
Yanobe also happily recounted how he was surprised at how the skating rink was like a white cube (exhibition room) in an art museum, creating a space in which the installed artworks stood out beautifully.
"Although GINZA SIX is a commercial facility, it has emerged as a space that is truly familiar with art and has an understanding of art, and I believe that it is presenting a new way of presenting art," says Yanobe.
Additionally, Spaceship "LUCA" from the SHIP'S CAT series is on display on the 4th floor of GINZA SIX, and BIG CAT GIFT from the same series is on display at the entrance.
Kenji Yanobe, Spaceship "LUCA", 2024 (Exhibition until summer 2025 (planned))
"Spaceship "LUCA"" is a model of the interior of the spaceship "LUCA" that appears in "BIG CAT BANG". LUCA is named after the single-celled organism LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor), the common ancestor of all life on Earth. Inside are seedlings of life scattered on Earth by a space cat and implanted, as well as a real meteorite. This meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite that is said to have had amino acids attached to it and was collected in North Africa, and is said to be the origin of the panspermia theory.
"Inside the original Tower of the Sun, there was a model called the Tree of Life, which represented the evolutionary process of life that was born on Earth, and we revived that structure," said Yanobe. The Tree of Life is exhibited in a way that allows visitors to follow the evolutionary process by climbing a spiral staircase that surrounds the work, and he continued, "It overlaps perfectly with the structure of the GINZA SIX building, which has a huge atrium in the middle."
Kenji Yanobe "BIG CAT GIFT" 2024 (Exhibition until December 25th)
"BIG CAT GIFT" is a cute snow dome-shaped installation that is about 3.5m tall and will be lit up in four different colors.
"The main theme of life being brought from space is also connected to the concept of GINZA SIX's HEAVENLY GIFT. We wanted our desire to deliver gifts from space to as many people as possible to be easily understood at the entrance, so we created an installation in which SHIP'S CAT, dressed as a reindeer and Santa, joyfully distributes gifts inside a snow globe," says Yanobe.
There are lots of space cats on the Christmas trees set up throughout the building!
GINZA SIX in winter is filled with cats watching over people and bringing happiness, and is filled with a sense of euphoria and festivity. When you visit the skating rink, be sure to think about the story of the space cat as you wander around the GINZA SIX building.
■ Overview of the "Rooftop Star Skating Rink" event [Period]
Saturday, November 16, 2024 – Sunday, January 26, 2024 [Time]
Weekdays 14:00-21:00, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 11:00-21:00 Last admission 20:30
*December 23rd (Monday) to January 3rd (Friday), 2025 are treated as weekends and holidays. *December 31st (Tuesday) is open from 11:00 to 18:00 (last admission at 17:30), closed on New Year's Day. [Location]
GINZA SIX Garden (Rooftop Garden)
[Skating fee]
Adults (high school students and above) 2,000 yen, Children (junior high school students and below) 1,500 yen, accompanying fee 300 yen *Including rental shoes *Preschool children must be accompanied by a guardian *Children under 3 years old are not allowed to ski [Other]
Gloves are required (you may bring your own. Large gloves are sold at the venue for 400 yen, small gloves for 300 yen)
Helmets are available for free rental (must be worn by children under 10 years old), and other protective gear is also available for free rental. [Maximum capacity]
75 people [Organizer]
GINZA SIX
*Opening hours and event content may change or be canceled without notice due to bad weather or other weather conditions on the day.
*The contents of this article are from the time of coverage. They may differ from the latest information, so please check the facility's official website for more information.
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