You can watch the live streaming of the program on the above YouTube channel.
MC: Satoshi Seki / Editor & Producer
Hosts: Bruce Osborn, Yoshiko Inoue
Organized by: OYAKO Day Promotion Committee
Streaming Date & Time: Monday, July 20, 2026 – From 13:00 (LIVE)
Guest: Kazuko Koike | Creative Director
The guest for the 48th Oyako Day Online Talk Live is Kazuko Koike, creative director.
Koike began her career creating copywriting for the Seibu Saison Group, and after the establishment of the Seibu Museum of Art, she became active as an associate curator. She also played a key role in the launch of MUJI in 1980, and went on to found and direct Sagacho Exhibit Space, helping lead Japan’s cultural and design scene for decades.
It was around this time that Bruce, not long after arriving in Japan, first met Koike. We look forward to hearing what stories the two will share—from their first encounter to the many episodes that followed over the years.
Kazuko Koike | Creative Director
Profile:
Born in Tokyo in 1936. Graduated from the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences at Waseda University. From the 1970s onward, she created numerous copywriting projects for the Seibu Saison Group, and after the establishment of the Seibu Museum of Art, served as an associate curator.
She was involved in the founding of MUJI in 1980 and has served on its advisory board ever since. In 1983, she founded and directed Sagacho Exhibit Space, introducing many contemporary artists from Japan and abroad until 2000.
Her books include Art / Intermedium: Kazuko Koike’s Sites (Heibonsha), and her translations include Eileen Gray: Architect / Designer (Misuzu Shobo), among others.
She is Professor Emerita at Musashino Art University. In 2022, she was named a Person of Cultural Merit, and in 2024, she received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.
Kazuko Koike | Tokyo Art Research Lab
https://tarl.jp/people/koike/
Kazuko Koike — Wikipedia
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/小池一子
Kazuko Koike and Masato Nakamura Launch a New Project in Bakurocho: Creative Base “Art Base / There Is No Coincidence”
ARTnews JAPAN
https://artnewsjapan.com/article/79217
Alternative! Kazuko Koike Exhibition — A Gentle Movement of Art and Design
3331 Arts Chiyoda
https://alternative-kazukokoike.3331.jp
Kazuko Koike: The Continuous Present Progressive — For an Alternative View
T JAPAN: The New York Times Style Magazine
https://www.tjapan.jp/art/17488785
