teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live - GC | teamLab

This work is a projection onto the surface of Mifuneyama Rakuen Pond. Using sensors, the water’s surface has become interactive, and the koi, that are projected onto the surface, interact with the small boats that float on the pond. The koi do not have a predetermined action, each koi reacts in relation to the behavior of the koi that are close by to it, and each koi swims independent of the others. The koi gather around small boats that gently float on the water, when the boat moves, the koi disperse. The koi swim according to the behavior of the boats, and the influence of the other koi. The movement of the koi leaves trails that draw the artwork.

This artwork uses an actual giant rock. The giant rock (3m in height, 4.5m in width) was reproduced in a virtual three-dimensional space, water was simulated to fall onto it, and the simulated movement of that water on the form of the giant rock draws the waterfall.

Next to the giant rock, a collection of boulders almost supernatural in their formation surround a small shrine.

The water is expressed as a continuum of numerous water particles and the interaction between the particles is calculated. Lines are drawn according to the behavior of the water particles. The cumulation of lines that represent the waterfall are then “flattened” in line with what teamLab considers to be ultrasubjective space.

The light of Mt. Mifuneyama is autonomous, it shines brightly and then fades as if slowly breathing.
It responds to the light from Life is Continuous Light - Azalea Valley at the base of Mt. Mifuneyama, resonating and shining brighter.

Mt. Mifuneyama emerged from the Ariake Sea approximately 3 million years ago. It is said that the Empress consort Jingu moored her ship (fune) on her return home from the Korean Peninsula (c. 200 C.E.), which is how the name Mifuneyama came about.

About 1,300 years ago, the famous monk Gyoki, who would later create the Great Buddha in Nara, entered the caves of Mifuneyama and engraved Five Hundred Arhats into three caves, and carved the Three Buddhas in the far rock of the third cave. Also at that time, he carved a hole next to the Three Buddhas, into which water has collected over 1,300 years without ever going dry. This water has long been used as medicinal water.
The calligraphy moves back and forth between the cave and the rock wall outside. The calligraphy is drawn across the surface of a series of three-dimensional caves and walls, where it rotates in three dimensions.The light calligraphy is black, meaning there is no light, thus making it indistinguishable from the darkness of the cave. The darkness of the calligraphy and the cave become one, and the spatial calligraphy is continuously written on the rock wall.
Spatial Calligraphy is calligraphy drawn in space, a form of calligraphy that teamLab has been exploring since it was founded. The artwork reconstructs calligraphy in three dimensional space to express the depth, speed and power of the brush stroke, and that calligraphy is then flattened using the logical structure of space that teamLab calls Ultrasubjective Space. The calligraphy shifts between two and three dimensions.

Masses (Megaliths) of different space-times are clustered in the bath house ruins.The forest surrounding the bath house ruins is home to 3,000-year-old trees, and it changes daily with the imperceptible, slow flow of time, repeating every year, as a space where the endlessly long time accumulates. The ruins from ages past scattered in the forest and the Edo-period garden which remains today each have their own respective space-times. The bath house was made in modern times, but after just a short period, it was abandoned, becoming a space-time where time had stopped completely. And this group of megaliths is also a mass made up of compressed space-times where the flow of time varies. Here, various space-times intersect and overlap.
Each megalith is surrounded by similarly standing megaliths, the space-times of which are all connected. 
The artwork is continuously rendered in real time by a computer program. It is neither prerecorded, nor on loop. As a whole, previous states never recur, and the artwork is continuously changing due to the movement of people. Every moment is unique and can never be seen again.
The following artworks exist in the artwork space of the three-dimensional objects grouped in these bath house ruins.
・Flowers and PeopleThis artwork is in a state of continuous change. Over a period of one hour, a year’s worth of seasonal flowers blossoms and scatters. The flowers bud, grow, and blossom before their petals begin to wither and eventually fade away. The cycle of growth and decay repeats itself in perpetuity. If a person stays still, the flowers surrounding them grow and bloom more abundantly.
・Universe of Water Particles When people approach the artwork, the flow of the water changes. The movement of people influences the artwork, causing it to evolve continuously, while the artwork influences other works. For instance, the water causes the flowers in the work Flowers and People to scatter.
Water is represented by a continuum of numerous water particles. The interaction between the particles is calculated and then lines are drawn in relation to the behavior of the water particles. The lines are “flattened” using what teamLab considers to be ultrasubjective space.

* In order to view teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live before it opens (sunset), purchase a Daytime Rakan Bath Reservation. After sunset, only a teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live exhibition ticket is needed.

A long-forgotten underground passage has recently been discovered, and the depths of the passage are decaying. In this space that is crumbling and losing its original structure, a fire burns eternally.

The forest above the underground passage is home to 3,000-year-old trees, and it changes daily with the imperceptible, slow flow of time and with each year passing year, as a space where the endlessly long time accumulates. The ruins from ages past scattered in the forest and the Edo-period garden which remains today each have their own respective space-times. The forgotten underground tunnel is a space where time seems to have stopped, and the depths of the passage are a decaying space and time that will not exist for much longer. The fire that eternally burns there also has its own space and time.
Here, various space-times intersect and overlap.

The fire changes shape due to a transparent absolute presence.
Lines are drawn in relation to the flow of combusting gas, and the flames are created by the accumulation of those lines in three-dimensions. The lines are then “flattened” using what teamLab considers to be Ultrasubjective Space to represent the flames.

teamLab is exploring the concept of Distributed Art.
If you launch the Distributed Fire smartphone application and approach this artwork, the flame will ignite and you can take the artwork home with you. When you bring that flame close to another person's smartphone, a flame will alight. As you connect the flame, and they connect that flame with someone else, the flame will spread all over the world. The flames that are spread are displayed on the Map of The Flame.

Distributed Art duplicates itself, or a part of an artwork is distributed among people. Then, once in the hands of the people, the artwork is further actively distributed, and also makes copies of itself. The artworks will be distributed and exist on people's networks and become decentralized. When the artwork exists on the network, it continues to exist even if the original disappears.

Pointillism is a genre of paintings that expresses the subject matter through a series of points. This interactive sculpture, however, consists of a set of points of light that are used to express three-dimensional objects. For this work, a three-dimensional interactive flame is produced by the points of light.
When people move close to the flames, the flames increase in intensity.
Flames are a phenomenon of light and heat generated by combustion, not a substance, but our sensory experience when we see a chemical reaction called combustion. People perceive the flame, a sensory experience, as if it were an object, and sometimes feel life in it.
Flames often appear to have a hierarchy of colors from their outside to the center: red on the outside, strong bright white on the inside, and dark in the center. In the case of a raw egg, the outer shell is white, the interior is transparent, and the center is yellow, but because it is a three-dimensional object, only the white shell is visible from the outside. Unlike an egg, the flame is a three-dimensional object made of light, and the strong bright white inside is still white when mixed with the red outside. Therefore, the flame, which is a three-dimensional object, appears as if it were a flat painting with a color hierarchy, no matter where you look at it.
By creating a three-dimensional flame with a collection of points of light, the three-dimensional flame sculpture moves back and forth between three and two dimensions.

This space in the hotel was originally a banquet hall. It was built during the years of steep modern economic growth, and gradually fell out of use due to changes in the times, becoming a closed space where time stands still.
Various times and spaces exist at Mifuneyama Rakuen. By destroying the outer wall of the building, teamLab reconnects the various times and spaces, and creates a place where they intersect and overlap.
The rubble of the collapsed outer wall creates flickering black shadows and static red shadows.

teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live struggled through the Covid pandemic and survived with the support of VOLVO. This space was created through the VOLVO project.

The cherry blossoms and maple forest of Mifuneyama Rakuen shine brightly. Each tree’s light is autonomous, shining brightly and then fading as if it’s breathing.
As people pass nearby, the light of the trees changes color, and a tone specific to that color resonates out. The light of an individual tree spreads radially to the neighboring trees. In the same way that the light is transmitted between trees, the tone also propagates through each tree, spreading continuously.
If a wave of light comes from the other side, it signifies the presence of people there. People gain a heightened sense of awareness of the existence of other people in the same space.

Available time (30 minutes one way):
Jul 12 - Sep 08, 8:00 - 17:00
Sep 09 - Oct 06, 8:00 - 16:00
Oct 07 - Nov 04, 8:00 - 15:00
* To experience this artwork, a ticket for teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live - GC is required

A giant tree over 3,000 years old. The roots of the tree are wrapped in rough bark, with their central section split open near the surface of the ground. The interior is a hollow space about 22 square meters in size, with a stone shrine in the back.

When the garden was built towards the end of the Edo period (1845 CE), efforts were made to find a path connecting the garden to the sacred tree based on the theory that there was a hidden path in the forest. A footpath made from stones was finally uncovered, where you can find The Floating Tree.

Depending on your location and the pace at which you walk through from The Floating Tree to the Excavated Path Leading to the Giant Sacred Tree, the musical experience changes.

This Sansui Mizaka (landscape viewing area) is by the pond in Mifuneyama Rakuen. The artworks Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and Boats – Mifuneyama Rakuen Pond that spreads across the whole surface of the pond and Resonating Mt. Mifuneyama which illuminates Mt. Mifuneyama in light can be seen together in this composition.
The light of Mt. Mifuneyama is created by people walking in the azalea valley at the foot of the mountain in the work Life is Continuous Light - Azalea Valley.

When a cup of tea is made, flowers bloom inside the teacup. When the teacup is lifted, the flower petals scatter and spread outside of the cup. Flowers bloom infinitely as long as there is tea. The tea in the teacup becomes an infinite world in which the flowers continue to bloom. Drink in the infinitely expanding world.
Tea is a transformative entity, and the size of the flowers that bloom will change depending on the amount of tea. The artwork is born only when there is tea. Once the tea is drunk, the work no longer exists.
The flowers blooming in the teacup change with the passage of real time.
The artwork is forever changing and the picture at this moment can never be seen again.

Before the modern era in Japan, Kasane no Irome (nuances of layered colors) were seasonal colors created in silk. The complicated colors were the result of a combination of front and back colors (silk at the time was so thin that the liner was transparent, creating more nuanced colors), overlapping color gradations, complex weave colors, and combinations of warp and weft.
When a person stands still close to a lamp, it shines brightly and emits a color that resonates out. The light of this lamp becomes the starting point, and it spreads to the two nearest lamps. The light from the two nearest lamps transmits the same color to other lamps, one after another, spreading out continuously. The light transmitted from the lamp always resonates out as a bright light once, passing to close lamps, until all of the lamps have shone brightly once, and then returns to the first lamp. The light of the lamp in response to human interaction, divides in two, becomes one optical line through all of the lamps respectively, before finally, returning to the first lamp that was the starting point. People become aware of the presence of others in the same space.
All the lamps, seemingly scattered randomly, have a single connecting line (unicursal) that can be drawn. When drawing a line, the stroke (the same starting and ending points) is drawn from a lamp to the lamp that is the closest in distance in three-dimensions. By arranging the lamps in this way, the light of the lamp corresponding to the person is always propagated to the nearest lamp, and must always pass through all the lamps in the space in a single stroke, before finally returning to the first lamp that was its origin.
The arrangement of the lamps is mathematically determined to satisfy a number of restrictions outlined below. A large number of solutions were evaluated that take into account the variation and distribution in the height, the direction of the lamps, and the smoothness of the three-dimensional path (light trajectory).
The hanging lamps are arranged uniformly, in such a way that they form an orderly grid. This is the first constraint. The second constraint is that of the boundaries of the physical space: the distance between the floor and the ceiling, and the height and the width of the passages through which people can move. And the third constraint is that when a line is drawn from any lamp to another lamp in three dimensions, the starting point and the ending point must be connected as a single line (unicursal).
Since the arrangement of the lamps born from such a process seems to be random at first sight, the trajectory of the resonating light cannot be predicted: the light continues to the lamp that is physically closest, thus giving a natural feeling - like a fire burning. And since the light trajectory of the lamps is connected by a single line, the light born from any particular lamp and the light born from any other lamp will always cross each other.
The arrangement of the lamps is not only beautiful in a static way, but also in a dynamic way when activated by people in the space. It demonstrates the space of a new era that can be designed freely and change itself through digital technology, a space that adapts and changes due to the movement of the people in it. 
※The lamp are made of Murano glass (Venetian glass).

Location: Inside Mifuneyama Rakuen Garden
Hours: Can be viewed during Mifuneyama Rakuen opening hours

This enormous megalith, almost supernatural in its formation, is an iwakura (an ancient form of nature worship in Japan known as animism), within which a hokora (small shrine) has been preserved.

Location: Inside Mifuneyama Rakuen Garden
* Only available to guests of Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel or Onyado Chikurintei

In the late Edo period when Mifuneyama Rakuen was built (1845 CE), the Hagino Ochaya Tea House was constructed with a thatched roof on the shores of a pond as the public villa of Nabeshima Shigeyoshi Nabeshima, the 28th generation lord of Takeo. This venue is open to the public in spring and fall.

Location: Inside Mifuneyama Rakuen Garden
Hours: Can be viewed during Mifuneyama Rakuen opening hours

It is said that the origin of "Mifuneyama" can be traced to Empress Jingu being named "Mifune" on her journey back from the ancient kingdom of Shilla on the Korean peninsula (around 200 CE).

Location: Outside Mifuneyama Rakuen Garden
Hours: On view 24 hours a day

Tsukazaki Castle is also known as Mifuneyama Castle.This castle is said to have been built by the second generation lord of Takeo, Sukeshige Goto, in the period around 1118-1120 CE.In the early Edo period (the first half of the 17th century), the Goto family received the surname of Nabeshima from the lord of Saga, Katsushige Nabeshima, and the Goto family name then became Takeo Nabeshima.Under the "One Castle per Province" law (1615 CE) of the Edo Shogunate, Tsukazaki Castle was eventually abandoned, but it survived to the present as a residence of the Takeo Nabeshima family through the Edo period.
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