The “Outer Moat Waterfront Restoration Project: Edo Castle Outer Moat Projection Mapping” produced by HITOHATA,INC. was held from May 30 (Thu) to June 2 (Sun), 2024 at the Edo Castle outer moat site, Ushigome moat (3-2-8 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo). (Organized by Tokyo Metropolitan Government)

This event was a demonstration experiment conducted as part of activities to promote understanding of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's “Outer Moat Waterfront Restoration Project”. In addition, digital art projection mapping images of Nishikigoi carp and flowers were projected on the 100m slope of the moat.

*This project was part of the 32nd “UPGRADE with TOKYO,” a pitch event hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in which startups and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government collaborate to “solve metropolitan government issues,” and in which participants can experience the Outer Moat Waterfront Restoration Project and related historical and cultural content. This was a demonstration experiment following the winning proposal of “Projection Mapping” by HITOHATA,INC.

Outline of the event

[Name] Edo Castle Outer Moat Projection Mapping

[Dates] Thursday, May 30 - Sunday, June 2, 2024, 7:30pm - 9:00pm

*Content was projected continuously for approximately 8 minutes.

[Venue] Ushigome moat, the site of the outer moat of Edo Castle (3-2-8 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)

*The projection mapping can be viewed from the opposite side of the moat, from Sotobori Park.

[Detail] This was a demonstration experiment conducted as part of activities to promote understanding of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's “Outer Moat Waterfront Restoration Project”. The projection mapping images of Nishikigoi carp, flowers, and other digital art were projected on the image of the outer moat, which will be revitalized by the restoration of the waterfront.

[Admission] Free of charge, no advance application required

[Organizer] Tokyo Metropolitan Government

[Planning and production] HITOHATA,INC.

About the project to restore the waterfront of the outer moat

In the “Grand Design for Urban Development” formulated in September 2009, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) stated that it would work systematically with the municipalities, etc. to restore the moat, ponds, and other waterfront areas, and in September 2008, a study group was established by the relevant bureaus within the TMG to begin studying ways to improve the water quality of the outer moat.

Subsequently, in the “Tokyo of the Future” Strategy (March 2021) and the “Tokyo of the Future” Strategy version up 2022 (February 2022), the “Outer Moat Purification Project” was proposed to improve the water quality of the outer moat, a historical asset, to provide a place of relaxation for people working in the city center and to revitalize the entire area by creating a dignified landscape. The project aims to revitalize Tokyo as a “city of water” by promoting the purification of the outer moat.

Currently, a basic plan for the purification of the outer moat has been formulated, and the relevant bureaus within the government are working together to promote the purification of the outer moat, including the design of facilities necessary to guide water to the outer moat.

Restoration of the waterfront of the outer moat

https://www.toshiseibi.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/bunyabetsu/ryokuchikeikan/mizubesaisei.html

About the Outer Moat of Edo Castle

The outer moat of Edo Castle was constructed between 1604 (Keicho 9) and 1636 (Kan'ei 13) as part of the so-called Tenka Fuchin project. In the western area, between Iidabashi Station, Yotsuya Station, and Akasaka-mitsuke, the moat walls still remain, although they have been altered by the railroad and other factors. (Partially quoted from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Database of Cultural Properties Information)