Kanazawa Tsukimi Kouro 2026: Student-Built Light Art
Everything you walk through here – the corridors of light, the polyhedra, the projections on the old chinquapin trees – was designed and built by students.
Overview
Kanazawa Tsukimi Kouro is run by the Kanazawa Institute of Technology, with the Shiinoki Geihinkan as venue and the city as supporter. Students from the architecture and media faculties design, engineer and install the whole thing.
The result sits somewhere between a light festival and an architecture exhibition: membrane structures, a corridor of lanterns, star lights, and interactive projection pieces including one recreating scenes of Edo-period life.
When and where
The 2026 edition runs from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October, with the lighting and projection mapping from 18:00 to 21:00. A test lighting evening is held on 8 October from 18:00.
Venue: the front plaza of Shiinoki Geihinkan, beside Kanazawa Castle Park.
Getting there
Shiinoki Geihinkan is about 10 minutes by bus from Kanazawa Station to the Korinbo or Hirosaka stop, then a short walk. It sits between the castle park and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, so it is easy to fold into an evening.
What to expect
Small in scale, free, and unusually hands-on.
- Roughly 90 students from five university laboratories building the installations
- Light objects, star lights and polyhedral structures across the plaza
- Experiential projection mapping onto the great chinquapin tree and the building
- An interactive piece recreating Edo-period Kanazawa life
- Kanazawa Castle Park and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art next door
Tickets and admission
Free, with no reservation. The event may be cancelled in bad weather, and the organisers announce that on their website, so check before setting out.
Tips for visitors
Come at 18:00 when the lights first go on and the plaza is still quiet, then walk on to the castle park, which is lit in the same season. The installations are low to the ground and made to be walked among, so it works well with children. Combine it with dinner in Korinbo, five minutes away.
Access and map
| Dates | 9-11 October 2026, 18:00-21:00 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Shiinoki Geihinkan front plaza, Kanazawa |
| Access | Bus to Korinbo or Hirosaka, short walk |
| Admission | Free |
| Official site | Kanazawa Tsukimi Kouro (Kanazawa Institute of Technology) |
Source: Kanazawa Tsukimi Kouro, Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Image: Photo: Hirorinmasa / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
