Overview

“KITTE,” a new concept commercial facility, opened in Marunouchi, Tokyo on March 21, 2013. It is located in the JP Tower, an urban complex built on Japan Post’s former central post office site.

This redeveloped building was originally Japan’s central post office. Letters from around Japan were gathered here prior to delivery. It was a place where people’s thoughts, put to paper, gathered and scattered. This symbolism was applied to the “Message Cherry Blossoms” KITTE opening memorial art project. Hiroshi Senju, a world-renowned Japanese painter, sketched the branches of the famous “Miharu cherry tree.” This sketch was enlarged and printed for a painting event open to the general public. To complete the enormous “Memory Cherry Blossom” painting, people gathered to paint on cherry blossom petals with Hiroshi Senju. This piece was exhibited in the central atrium of the facility for a month beyond the grand opening. In addition, installation art made from people’s messages to their loved ones (gathered on a special website) was projected onto the piece for the first four days. After the exhibition ended, the painting was cut up into approximately 4000 postcard-sized pieces. Messages gathered from the campaign website were printed onto these cut-up pieces and were actually delivered to the intended recipients.