Tokyo Opera City is one of the greatest theater complexes in the world. It consists of six theaters/halls and two art museums, together with a wooden-walled Concert Hall that has a first-class sound effect, and the New National Theatre Tokyo where operas, ballets, modern dances and dramas are performed.
With about 50 company offices and 50 restaurants and commercial outlets located on the premises, the immense city block, the first of its kind in Japan, combines business, shopping/eating and cultural entertainment.

Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation was established in December 1995 for the purpose of planning and performing musical concerts, and holding exhibitions on the stages at cultural facilities such as the Concert Hall (1,632 seats), the Recital Hall (286 seats) and the Art Gallery, constructed by six private enterprises.
As for music performances, more than 200 concerts have been held annually in the Concert Hall (opened in September 1997), in addition to more than 300 recitals, including rehearsals in the Recital Hall (opened in April 1997). And for the visual arts, about 4 special exhibitions are held in the Art Gallery (opened in September 1999) every year. The Foundation was licensed as a special public interest promotion entity by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in September 1999, and has organized a supporting members' club to raise contributions broadly.

1. Presentation of Concerts

The first concert was held in September 1997 with St. Matthew's Passion performed by the Saito Kinen Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Since then, a great number of concerts have been presented, such as the concerts conducted by the artistic advisors*, including Kent Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and many other Japanese/international orchestras, chamber music, chorus, vocal performance, organ and piano recitals.
As the guidelines for planning, the late Toru Takemitsu, the initial Artistic Director, has placed the concept of "Prayer, Hope, Peace", and also given the vision of "Window to the Future". After his passing, the tradition was maintained for a while by Mr. Kent Nagano, as special music advisor, and currently Mr. Shinichiro Ikebe has taken over the role as the music director to provide advice and guidance.

*Artistic advisors - Seven world-renowned conductors and composers, namely Esa-Pekka Salonen, Oliver Knussen, Kent Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Kazushi Ono, and Hiroshi Wakasugi agreed to cooperate in developing the opening programs, responding to Mr. Takemitsu's request.

2. Contribution to New Music

"Toru Takemitsu Composition Award" was initiated by Mr. Takemitsu himself with a view to stimulate the younger generation throughout the world to create new musical composition. Only one judge for each year screens the eligibly submitted scores and selects a suitable number of pieces regarded as being worth forwarding to the concert for the final judgement after the performance, which takes place in the contemporary music week called COMPOSIUM held in May every year, where performances of the works by the annual judge are also featured.

-> Toru Takemitsu Composition Award

We hold the "B to C Series" from Bach to Contemporary, ten times annually. This series was started with the aim of giving promising young musicians a chance to make their own program freely and to perform a wide range of music from Bach to contemporaries. The "Ring-a-ring Concerts" which are rehearsals open to children from 4-year-old kids to high school students, are held about four times a year without charge so that they can experience the world-class players' music.

The management of the Concert Hall, the Recital Hall and Rehearsal Rooms is entrusted to the Foundation. These halls are used not only for the concerts and recitals but are also rented to music groups and agencies.
The Concert Hall is used for performances of Japanese and international orchestras, chamber musicians and solo recitalists. The Recital Hall is used for chamber musicians and solo recitalists. For renting halls, we have the best-conditioned facility, including lighting, sound effects, and musical instruments and well-trained hall managers and receptionists so that the users will have a satisfactory service.

1. Organizing Visual Arts Exhibition

Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, which has a total floor space of 1,000 square meters, is located at the third and fourth floors of the building, overlooking the Sunken Garden. The Gallery holds special exhibitions about four times a year, introducing various and unique art activities in this age.
The special exhibitions show mainly modern and contemporary works of the 20th century and afterwards, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, video works, installation works,designs, fashion, and architecture, and attract many young art fans.
The Tokyo Opera City Collection, mainly donated by Mr. TERADA Kotaro includes paintings, prints and sculputures by the leading artists of the Japanese art today, including NAMBATA Tatsuoki and his son, Fumio, who have been regarded as one of the most important abstract painters in Japan, besides other artists such as AIGASA Masayoshi,HOTAI Tomoyuki, LEE Ufan, NOMATA Minoru, OKUYAMA Tamie and YAMAGUCHI Keisuke.

2. Recognition of Emerging Artists "project N"

"project N" is a solo exhibition series to introduce emerging Japanese artists,in accordance with the wishes of the late NAMBATA Tatsuoki (1905-97). Exemplary works by the artists selected by the Selection Committee are exhibited in the corridor on the fourth floor of the Gallery.

Established
December 13th, 1995

Government authority
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(Agency for Cultural Affairs)

Basic fund
500 million yen

Main contributors:
Nippon Life Insurance Company
NTT Urban Development Co.
Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
Japan Real Estate Investment Corporation
Sogo Bussan Co., Ltd.