ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) opened ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE in 2012, as part of ITOCHU’s social contribution activities, with the aim of developing the future generation, contributing to the local community, and supporting the independence of people with disabilities through art. Since then, various exhibitions have been held at the gallery.

On this occasion, ITOCHU will be providing ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE as the venue for an exhibition entitled “Prince Chichibu Memorial Sports Museum Touring Exhibition at Aoyama : Relive the Excitement of the Olympics!,” with the objectives of contributing to developing momentum towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and energizing and contributing to the local community.

Bygone moments of sporting joy and jubilation remain unfaded even with the passage of time, and come vividly back to life in this thrilling art exhibition. ITOCHU hopes that visitors will enjoy this unique exhibition, made possible only by its location in the Gaien/Aoyama district—the home of Japan’s national stadium—and the use of materials provided by the Prince Chichibu Memorial Sports Museum.

The following is an explanation of the main highlights of the exhibition, provided by the event sponsors.

Because it is to be held during the summer holiday season, the sponsors worked to structure the Touring Exhibition in such a way as to offer learning experiences for families, comprising three themes: The Culture of Olympic Design, Gaien Aoyama: Hallowed Mecca of Sport, and Reborn Art Ball.

The Culture of Olympic Design will focus on design aspects such as the uniforms that brought spectacular color to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and other past competitions, and the designs of posters used to promote the Games at the time.
Gaien Aoyama： Hallowed Mecca of Sport will present historical materials—including valuable photographs of Aoyama-dori and its surrounding areas where the torch-carrying relay and other significant events in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics took place—as sports memorabilia originating from the area.It is also planned for a complete model of the New National Stadium to be displayed in a special, limited time-only exhibition.
Reborn Art Ball will convey information centered around the theme of “the Olympics and Art,” through the display of “Art Balls”—pieces of artwork created around the theme of balls that play important roles in various sporting scenes, produced by children of the future generation under the direction and supervision of Professor Kei Ota of the University of Tsukuba—and various other exhibits, including an official 2016 FIFA Club World Cup soccer ball (a spare ball signed by players from Kashima Antlers, who were runners-up in the tournament).