Japan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

About the Comissioner
The Japan Foundation is Japan’s only institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange programs throughout the world. It was established in October 1972 as a special legal entity supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Japan Foundation serves as the organizer and commissioner of both the art exhibitions and the architectural exhibitions that are held at the Japan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Since 1976, it has introduced representative Japanese artists at the Japan Pavilion and supported international exhibitions of the Biennale in which Japanese artists participate. 

The Japan Pavilion
The Japan Pavilion was completed in 1956 with the donation of Shojiro Ishibashi, founder of Bridgestone Tyre Company, Ltd. (current Bridgestone Corporation). The Japan Pavilion, designed by architect Takamasa Yoshizaka who studied under Le Corbusier, is an innovative building that combines international style with Japanese features. Its walls are devided by four protruding partitions, and a hole is opened in the center of the floor leading to a piloti. 
Despite the limited space of the exhibition room with a floor area of 256 square-meters, on each occasion Japan’s leading artists and architects have showcased their diverse and fascinating works to the world in this space that attracts great international attention. So far, more than 200 artists and architects have exhibited at the Japan Pavilion, including artists such as Yoshishige Saito, Jiro Takamatsu, Kishio Suga, Yayoi Kusama, Tatsuo Miyajima, and Koki Tanaka, as well as architects Arata Isozaki and Toyo Ito.