Whose Shibuya Is It? — Fifty Years of a City Where Big Capital Built Infrastructure and Nameless Individuals Created Culture

'Shibuya Half a Century' (Shou Bunsha)

Tokyu laid the rails, Parco broke down walls,

clubs created the night, and the streets moved the world.

Shibuya's half-century is a record of how the 'impulses of nameless individuals'

continuously renewed the city.

Now that massive structures are complete, what this city lacks

is not hardware, but the designers of the next software.

Shibuya's redevelopment is nearly complete.

Tokyu Scramble Square, Shibuya Stream,

Shibuya Solastar—high-rise buildings have been completed one after another,

and the city's 'skeleton' is now entirely different from what it was 20 years ago.

Yet, there is a question many people feel:

'Why don't I want to go to today's Shibuya?'

The hardware is in place. So who will create the software?

To answer this question, let's think together.

Three individuals with distinct connections to Shibuya will explore possible answers.

▷ Tomoko Uchida (Author)

The person who has 'documented' Shibuya.

She has collected testimonies from key figures of each era

and recorded the culture created by ordinary people.

▷ Takumi Kanamori (Broadcast Writer, Brand Strategist)

The person who turns Shibuya into 'narratives'.

For 28 years, he has worked in television and public relations,

constantly asking, 'Why do people act?'

▷ Takeshi Mochida (NONLECTURE books/arts)

The person who created the 'next space' in Shibuya.

After managing TOWER BOOKS on the 7th floor of Tower Records Shibuya,

overseeing foreign book procurement for Daikanyama T-Site,

and directing BOOKMARC Harajuku by fashion brand Marc Jacobs,

he will open a new cultural hub on Shibuya's Spain-zaka in March 2026.

The documenter × the storyteller × the space creator.

When these three gather, the night becomes not nostalgia, but a 'design meeting'.

This event will dissect Shibuya's 50 years into five chapters.

Chapter One｜Tokyu as the Skeleton

The true identity of the 'urban designer' who built the infrastructure and commercial foundation

Chapter Two｜The Door Parco Opened

How the Sezon culture proved the conditions under which big capital can become culture

Chapter Three｜The Shibuya-kei and Club Nights

Why underground clubs that unearthed music from around the world

changed the surface

Chapter Four｜The Day the Street Moved the World

What the 'kogyaru' phenomenon questioned:

'Who creates trends?'

Chapter Five｜Then, Who Will Create the Next Shibuya?

Not about nostalgia for the past,

but a call to those who will design the city's next software

[Book Introduction]

■ About 'Shibuya Half a Century'

A nonfiction work that records the unique energy Shibuya has emitted from the 1970s to today, posing questions to future Shibuya and regions across Japan.
Based on reporting by co-authors Tomoko Uchida and Mitsuru Goto from Kyodo News, it features testimonies from key figures of the era: Eiri from Chim↑Pom (Smappa!Group), Shuya Yoshimi, Maki Nomiya, Shinya Oki, and Shigesato Itoi. From their words emerges not a story of big capital, but the traces of 'ordinary people' who pulled culture from alleyways, underground clubs, and the streets.

■ Publication Details

Title: 'Shibuya Half a Century: City × Culture × Future'

Authors: Kyodo News Agency, Tomoko Uchida, Mitsuru Goto

Price: ¥1,980 (including 10% tax) / B6 size, 200 pages

Publisher: Shou Bunsha, ISBN 9784794980250

Release Date: November 6, 2025

[Event Overview]

Date: Friday, July 3, 2026, 19:30–21:00 (One drink required)

Venue: NONLECTURE books/arts

16-9 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

B1F Shibuya Zero Gate Building

https://nonlecture.jp/exhibitions-events/

[Author]

Tomoko Uchida

Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University, Faculty of Business. Formerly with Kyodo News Digital Strategy Headquarters and News Center, now a committee member of the Media Center Planning Team. An expert in intellectual property and media literacy, she has led cross-media hit projects like 'Shibuya Half a Century' and 'Tokyo Watch', promoting new urban culture. She frequently appears in media and lectures, serves as a visiting professor at the Professional Graduate School of Information Management Innovation, and as a lecturer at Kyoto University of the Arts. Board member of the Digital Archive Society. Author of 'Amazing! Working Intellectual Property' and 'Media Literacy for Content Creators' (Shou Bunsha).

[Special Guests]

Takumi Kanamori

Broadcast writer with 28 years of experience, producing news, information, variety, and sports programs for private broadcasters. He leads brand strategy and PR design for companies from the perspective that 'stories move people's actions'. He runs a community of over 1,900 corporate PR professionals. Author of 'The World's Easiest Skill: The Hidden Secret of Media Within 3 Meters That Boosts Your Small Talk Just by Watching TV'. Graduated from Sophia University, Faculty of Foreign Studies.

Takeshi Mochida

Handles international art book procurement, curation, photo exhibitions by global artists, art exhibitions, publishing events, and signings. Managed 'TOWER BOOKS' on the 7th floor of Tower Records Shibuya from 1998, foreign book procurement for Daikanyama T-Site from 2008, and directed the bookstore 'BOOKMARC' by fashion brand Marc Jacobs from 2014. Will open 'NONLECTURE books/arts' on Shibuya's Spain-zaka in March 2026.

[Note]

Filming may take place at the venue. Please note that your face may appear. Please cooperate with staff instructions for safety. Content is subject to change without notice.

[Company Information]

Shou Bunsha Co., Ltd. (Head Office: 1-11 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)