Digital Art on Ancient Walls: Kyoto’s Nijō Castle Lit Up in High-Tech Show

Numerous flowers are projection mapped onto the Karamon gate.

Ninomaru Gardens by night, reflected in the mirrorlike surface of the lit-up pond. At left is the great hall of Ninomaru Palace, where the restoration of imperial power took place.

At the entrance, “Big Book: First Autumn Breeze” presents an overview of the event to visitors.

“Path of Falling Leaves” is an installation in the castle’s kitchens, which are themselves designated an Important Cultural Asset. Walking through here causes the leaves to move and creates sounds of leaves crunching underfoot.

“Autumn Storm,” a collaboration between Naked Inc. and Ikenobō, a flower arranging school dating back to the Muromachi period (1333-1568), on display in the kitchens.

Scents of cosmos and dandelions waft through the kitchens. Blow on the blossoms in these three-dimensional video installations and their seeds and petals fall away.

Stalks of hanasusuki (flowering plume grass), an installation in the kitchens, make it seem like visitors are looking up at the moon while still indoors. The mirrors mounted on the walls heighten the sense of standing in a vast field of plume grass.

Otherworldly views from the illuminated autumn foliage lining the paths outdoors.