Founded on October 28, 1994, Neighborhood is closing out its 30th anniversary year with an exhibition titled “Neighborhood 30th Anniversary Exhibition” at Laforet Harajuku, a landmark that continues to symbolize the district the brand still calls home. Running until October 5, the highlight of the show is the large-scale panel display of Osamu Nagahama’s new photo book The Tokyo Hundreds 2: Portraits of Harajuku. The first edition of this work was published in 2014 and captured portraits of over one hundred individuals tied to Harajuku, each framed through Nagahama’s lens. (The exhibition also includes a booth where visitors can revisit those earlier works, and since some of the portraits were taken twenty years ago, the individuals appear strikingly younger overall.) The second volume follows the same concept, this time featuring one hundred new figures connected to Neighborhood in recent years.
At the center of the venue, a small hut of about six tatami mats recreates the brand’s very first shop. Visitors cannot step inside, but the structure conveys the atmosphere of the early “Ura-Hara” days. The exhibition also showcases an archive of Neighborhood’s incense chambers, now a signature item, along with six oversized versions newly updated as art pieces.
Ahead of the exhibition, Nothingness spoke with creative director Shinsuke Takizawa.
What was the background behind planning this exhibition as the finale to your 30th anniversary year?
Honestly, I hesitated for a while over whether we should even do an anniversary event. But in the end, I realized it wasn’t just about us or the brand—it felt more meaningful to create something for the people who have been part of our story over these thirty years. That thought also tied in with Nagahama-san’s photo book project, and the timing of its release lined up perfectly. Since this coming October marks the start of our 31st year, we just barely managed to make it happen at the last moment (laughs).
What led you to create a sequel to The Tokyo Hundreds after ten years?
The first volume was published ten years ago, with photos taken over about eight years. At that time, Nagahama-san and I even said, “There won’t be a part two.” But in the ten years since, both as a brand and as an individual, I’ve made many new connections—whether with younger generations or friends overseas. Given that situation, it felt natural to move forward with a continuation. Unlike the first project, where we hadn’t initially planned to make a book, this time we shot everything with publication in mind, completing it in about eight months. The first portrait was Don Letts, and the last was Kei Hemmi from Timeworn Clothing.
Looking back over the past thirty years, were there particular turning points for the brand?
The reconstructed first shop on display makes it clear—we started out in a tiny space that didn’t even look like a clothing store. To have come this far in thirty years feels almost surreal. Rather than one specific “turning point,” it’s been the accumulation of countless encounters and communication with people—things I never could have achieved on my own, or with just the company and the brand. That’s what has carried us through three decades. More recently, I’ve begun traveling to Paris, and that too started with relationships I built with people like Yohji Yamamoto. Human connections have often led directly to growth.
Among the incense chambers, is there one that holds particular meaning for you personally?
The incense chambers are made with Seto ware, and I like that they’re fragile—that sense of impermanence is part of their appeal. Among them, the pieces created in collaboration with artists like Dr. Woo and Futura are especially memorable because of the shared experience. Including those, six larger-scale works are on display this time. Unlike before, I plan to present them as art pieces from here on. In that sense, they’re closer to my personal creative activity than to Neighborhood as a brand.
From your thirty years of experience, what would you like to share with younger creators or brands?
I get asked that a lot (laughs), but since times are different now, I don’t think it makes much sense to say “back in my day.” What never changes, though, is passion and obsession with what you love. It may sound obvious, but that’s the most important thing. Today there are so many role models that it’s hard to establish individuality. But if you pursue what you truly love without overthinking, that energy itself becomes the key. Money and recognition come afterward. In business, profit may be the priority, but in creativity, nothing outweighs the feeling of “I love this.”
