Sato Masahiko Exhibition

Overview

A trailblazer in Japan’s media landscape since the 1990s, Sato Masahiko has created innovative yet approachable content across a wide range of platforms―including TV commercials, educational programs, books, and games. The breadth and diversity of the work is remarkable, especially considering it was created by a single individual.
This first retrospective of Sato’s work provides a rare opportunity to explore the full range of content, shedding light on the unique communication design methodology underpinned by the philosophy of “making the way of making.”

“Making the way of making”

From the 1980s and 1990s, Sato developed graphic design and a series of distinctive TV commercials throughout his tenure at Dentsu Inc., Japan’s leading advertising agency.

The Secret of Polinky, KOIKE-YA (Collection of The Ad Museum Tokyo)

Bazar dé Gozarre, NEC (Collection of The Ad Museum Tokyo)

Street of Don Tacos, KOIKE-YA

Pekoe, SUNTORY (Collection of The Ad Museum Tokyo)

Ta-da!, JR-EAST

Expanding the Boundaries of Expressions and Media

In the late 1990s, Sato tackled new forms of expression by masterfully employing a variety of media based on the concept of “Tone.”

I.Q Intelligent Qube, Software for PlayStation, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Tokitaku Naru Sugaku (Math you want to solve), Iwanami Shoten

Maitsuki Shimbun (Monthly Newspaper), Mainichi Newspapers

Dango San Kyodai (Three dumpling brothers), from the TV program “With Mother” (NHK)

Sato Masahiko Laboratory

From the 2000s onward, Sato produced educational TV programs and other works as a result of research undertaken with his students during his tenure at Keio University and subsequently Tokyo University of the Arts.

ballet rotoscope

ISSEY MIYAKE A-POC INSIDE

Algorithm Exercises & March, from the TV program “PythagoraSwitch” (NHK)
*Image provided by Warner Music Japan

SATO Masahiko + KIRIYAMA Takashi, Arithmetik Garden
Installation view of the exhibition “Transform yourself,” ICC, 2008

Framy, from the TV program “PythagoraSwitch” (NHK)

Botejin, from the TV program “PythagoraSwitch” (NHK)

Profile

Sato Masahiko (b. 1954, Shizuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese creator and educator known for his distinctive cross-genre work in advertising, television programs, games, and education. After graduating from the University of Tokyo, he joined Dentsu Inc., a Japanese advertising agency, and became its leading commercial planner. He later founded his planning office TOPICS and produced hit content such as the PlayStation game I.Q Intelligent Qube (1997) and the song Dango San Kyodai (Three dumpling brothers) (1999). He has served as a professor at Keio University and established a creative group EUPHRATES with alumni of Sato Masahiko Laboratory there, developing educational programs like NHK’s “PythagoraSwitch” (2002-). His work has received numerous honors, including the Medal with Purple Ribbon (2013) and selection in the Short Film Competition at the Cannes Film Festival (2014/2018). He is professor emeritus at Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media.

Official Exhibition Catalog “Tsukuri-kata Wo Tsukuru” (in Japanese language only)

“Tsukuri-kata Wo Tsukuru” (“Making the way of making”) offers an in-depth look at Sato Masahiko’s 40-year creative journey, revealing the full scope of his wide-ranging work through Sato’s own words.
On sale at the Yokohama Museum of Art Museum Shop “MYNATE” starting June 28, 2025.


Title: “Tsukuri-kata Wo Tsukuru”
Price: 2,970 JPY (incl. tax)
Language: Japanese
Publisher: Sayusha
Format: W 156 x H 227 mm
No. of pages: 288