Japan
National Day : July 8, 1988
Agreement to participate : 10 January 1986
Commissioner-General - Mr Tadashi Masui
Pavilion : 2176 square metres		 Return to Table of Contents

The Expo sun-sails are reflected stunningly in the angled mirror roof facade of the Japanese Government PavilionThe Japanese representation can be said to be, without fear or favour, one of the best representations by a national or corporate presence at World Expo '88.

It consisted of the $AUD26m Japanese Government Pavilion - the most expensive at the fair; a corporate presence by Fujitsu - which had it's own pavilion nearby; and, an Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO)-led consortium of governments from Saitama Prefecture and Kobe-City (the respective sister-state of Queensland and sister-city of Brisbane) and Japanese corporations Hitachi, Idemitsu, and the Japan Leisure Centre. The JETRO-led pavilion was located just next to the Japanese Government pavilion, and was called the "Japan Technoplaza".

The Japanese Government Pavilion was located at the back centre of the Expo site, facing towards the Brisbane River and near the popular man-made 'Pacific Lagoon' and countries of the Pacific. The Pavilion representation had three distinct elements, (i) the Pavilion itself (2,843 square metres), (ii) the Japanese Garden, at the front Entrance/Exit of the Pavilion (1,236 square metres) and (iii) a Japanese traditional leisure boat, 17 metres in length and known as the 'Yakata-bune' <屋形船>.


The Yakata-bune was specifically designed for entertaining        The Expo sun-sails are reflected stunningly in the angled mirror roof façade of the Japanese Government Pavilion
Japan Pavilion  (up to 30 at a time)  VIPs on  the  Brisbane                                       Postcard Image Courtesy and © Papermoon Innovative Concepts
River during the nightly fireworks, and was later gifted to the City of Brisbane.                                                                                                 

The firm responsible for the overall theme and design of the Pavilion was the <日 本科学技術振興財団> 'NipponKagakuGijutsuShinkôZaidan' (literally the Japan Foundation for the Promotion of Science & Technology), Tokyo, with several subsidiaries responsible for the individual architectural and design elements.

The Pavilion theme was "Harmony of Tradition and Technology" - which married closely with the Expo overall-theme of 'Leisure in the Age of Technology'. This was cleverly developed in the Pavilion exterior and interior - where Pavilion visitors could experience leisure time in traditional Japan by visiting the open-air traditional Japanese Garden - encircled and adjoining the front entrances and exits of the Pavilion itself  - or learn about the contemporary application of technology to Japanese leisure time on the inside of the Pavilion - through a series of dance/theatre, static, interactive, and audio-visual displays.

A unique juxtaposition of traditional Japanese Garden design and Australian native plants and shrubs, the Japanese Garden was a much cherished place of rest at the Exposition - where guests could sit and relax without encumbring lines - listen to traditional Japanese music - either as background music - or as a live performance of Japanese Harp (koto) on the Garden Pond Pagoda (where traditional Japanese dance was also peformed) - or watch - and take part in lessons in - Japanese calligraphy, flower arrangement (Ikebana), or Tea Ceremony. A gently cascading rock waterfall and pebble-stone path featured on the right side of the Garden, where boulders and rocks in seemingly ad hoc yet arranged beauty took their pride of place. The Garden entrance Gate - where a Pavilion attendant was always on duty to welcome - was dedicated by Japanese Prime-Minister Noboru Takeshita - whose calligraphy <遊翠園＞'Yuu-sui-en' - 'place of quiet and green' - graced the top arch of the Gate itself.

The pond and garden were reflected beautifully in an enormous angled mirror spanning the length of the pavilion suspended above the entrance and exit, with the words "Nihon" <日本> (Japan) in kanji (chinese characters) and "JAPAN" in English emblazoned in silver, heralding the pavilion to those from afar. The pavilion entrance, to the left, was done in white tiles, with pebbles to either side, with low-level glass revealing the garden, and featured a reception area and desk where questions could be asked, and where pavilion attendants could be seen welcoming guests to the pavilion with the obligatory pavilion pamphlet.

The main entrance foyer led one down a straight corridor to the first exhibit - the 'Shishimai Robots' ('shishi' meaning 'lion', and 'mai' meaning 'dance'), where two former car-manufacturing industrial robots dressed-up in traditional Japanese lion dance garb, (replete with meticulously-designed lion head-pieces in navy and red with a gold finish and 'snapping' jaws), would, in time with three stirring traditional lion dance Japanese drum and lute refrains intricately dance, move, and lunge at one another - much to the surprise of the viewing audience! We often had to tease people not to stand 'too close', and there was, for good measure (but never used) an 'emergency button' so that we could stop the machines for any purpose.

After the 'Shishimai' there was a corridor to the left, which brought one to the imaginatively designed display "Traditional Leisure in Edo Era, 18C.", where clever use of inverted hidden TV screens reflecting an animated image onto a false glass screen introduced guests to the antics of 3-cm high "Hachi", a resident of 18th century Tokyo - then known as Edo - as he 'walked' and 'talked' his way (in a jocular Australian accent!) through the skillfully-made village 1/15 replica scale models of Edo at the time - complete with a rising Mt Fuji in the background.

Turning around on the right-hand side there was a static display, entitled "Traditional Playing Today", which thematically explored traditional forms of Japanese leisure and festival that are still common today - and, as such, contained models of costumes of Sumo-referees and Kabuki actors, as well as a portable Shinto-shrine and traditional Japanese kites.



"C" Team from the Japan Pavilion, in the Japanese Garden, World Expo '88
(That's me - in the middle!)

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