A tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto, founder of more trees, and a launch event for a new work by Kengo Kuma, current president of more trees, will be held in the lobby from March 28 to April 14, 2010 with more trees × Pearl+.
More Trees representative/architect Kengo Kuma’s latest creation, “〇〇□ (Marumarushikaku)”, will be unveiled for the first time at Ace Hotel Kyoto, in collaboration with More Trees × Pearl+ , a tribute to More Trees founder Ryuichi Sakamoto and a launch event for the new creation by current representative Kengo Kuma will be held in the lobby from March 28th to April 14th. The lobby gallery features an installation of “〇〇□ (Marumarushikaku)” stacked up to eight levels high, while a library where visitors can browse books by Kengo Kuma, Pearl+ founder John C. Jay, and former professors is also available in the lobby. Here, “〇〇□ (Marumarushikaku)” will serve as a bookshelf. Additionally, a one-day-only “Kengo Kuma Talk Show” will take place on April 6th (Saturday) in the Lobby Gallery. A special fragrant space will be created in the venue using Pearl+ essential oils. Our friends at Uplink Kyoto three films related to Ryuichi Sakamoto located on the basement floor of ShinPuhKan. For more details, click here.
■ Event Overview
Dates: March 28th, 2024 (Thursday) – April 14th, 2024 (Sunday)
Venue: Ace Hotel Kyoto 1F Entrance (Shinpu-kan, 245-2 Kurumayacho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City)
STORY…
Pearl+, which proposes products made from naturally derived materials, was founded by John C. and Janet Jay, two world-renowned creators. The birth of Pearl+ began with a request from Alex Calderwood, founder of the Ace Hotel, to create an amenity soap for the hotel.
Later, John C. Jay brought together musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, founder of the forest conservation organization "more trees," and Alex Calderwood. In 2013, Alex Calderwood passed away suddenly at the young age of 47. At the request of John C. Jay, who asked him to "make Alex's dream come true," Ryuichi Sakamoto is organizing a solo piano concert at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles in 2019 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the foundation.
In 2023, after Ryuichi Sakamoto's passing, Kengo Kuma, an architect known for his numerous wooden structures and a friend for 30 years, took over as head of more trees. Kengo Kuma was also a longtime friend of John C. Jay. Kengo Kuma supervised the design of the Shinpukan commercial facility centered on the Ace Hotel Kyoto, which opened in 2020, and the hotel also uses Pearl+ amenity soaps.
March 28, 2024. On March 28, 2024, the first anniversary of Ryuichi Sakamoto's death, more trees will unveil a new product designed by Kengo Kuma, "XX□," the first new product designed by Kuma in the nine years since "Tsumiki" in 2015.
The product will be unveiled at the Ace Hotel Kyoto with the creativity of Pearl+, including John C. Jay, to convey the connection between friends over time, and the fascination of art and nature.
■ Thoughts of Ryuichi Sakamoto, founder of more trees
Humanity has been with the forest.
Where forests collapsed, civilizations perished.
Now, forests are collapsing all over the world.
This is a warning for the downfall of human civilization as a whole.
In fact, Japan is a country with many forests.
They adsorb a lot of CO2 and keep water, and hold water and nurture many forms of life,
We need to do our best to preserve these precious forests for future generations,
Please join forces to preserve these precious forests for future generations.
more trees!
Founder Ryuichi Sakamoto
■ John & Janet Jay, founders of Pearl+ commented
“This is for friends.”
There is a deep personal relationship between a group of global creators who share a love for art, life and our planet.
Kengo Kuma, John and Janet Jay, and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alex Calderwood are connected through the origins and creative legacy of the Ace Hotel in Portland Oregon.
On the evening of Oct. 18, 2018, Ryuichi Sakamoto walked onto the stage of the Ace Hotel L.A. theater. In his understated manner, Ryuichi looked out at the audience and whispered, “This is for friends.”
I had asked Ryuichi to perform that night to honor Alex Calderwood, the late co-founder and cultural engineer of the Ace Hotels.
His dream had been for many years, to produce a concert with Ryuichi Sakamoto, to open an Ace Hotel in Japan and also work with architect Kengo Kuma.
It was my hope that I could somehow make some of this come true one day for Alex. After Alex suddenly passed away on Nov. 18, 2013 in London, before his Ace L.A. opened, I was more determined than ever to honor Alex’s creative inspiration. I asked Ryuichi to perform in honor of Alex’s life at the L.A. theater.
Years earlier, when I was researching Tokyo for the Ace, I used to take Alex to sit under the bamboo shade at the Nezu Museum, one of our favorite sites by Kengo. One day unexpectedly, Kengo suggested Kyoto as a possible location for Ace in Japan. He sent me maps of available land and properties in Kyoto which I passed along to Alex as potential ideas. We had no idea that years later the Ace project in Kyoto would become reality with Kengo Kuma leading the renovation of the site.
The Jay’s long creative relationship with the Ace in Portland broadened when Alex commissioned Janet to develop her Asian inspired, organic hand-made soaps, “Pearl +” for all of the Ace hotels in America. Today, “Pearl +” has evolved and now made in Japan, featured in the rooms of Ace Kyoto.
Before his passing, Ryuichi Sakamoto befriended our sons, Matt and Keenan Jay in New York City. Ryuichi was a giant to Matt and Keenan and was a creative inspiration of the highest regard to them.
Today, Ryuichi’s dream of connecting cities and forests, enables “More Trees”, a forest conservation program to help prevent forest destruction has an even deeper meaning to all of us.
On Nov. 22, 2022; we lost Matt Jay through an unknown heart condition. Matt’s devotion to building a community to benefit young emerging artists of Japan through his “End of Summer” artist residency which was about to celebrate its 5 year anniversary. He had just curated the first of a series of shows to feature new young artists of Japan at the Tanabe Gallery at the world renown Portland Japanese Garden designed by Kengo Kuma.
The event we are celebrating from this month at the Ace Kyoto is in honor of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “More Trees”. There is no architect in the world who uses wood and nature as innovatively as Kengo Kuma. “More Trees” touches all of us in ways that are unique to each of us but always with Ryuichi’s passionate love of humanity and nature in mind.
Smiling from above is Ryuichi, Alex and Matt, filled with love and appreciation for the community of friends who are supporting art, life and our endangered planet with such respect and creative vision. More than ever, the power of creativity is the source of inspiration for a more beautiful future.
This is for friends.
John and Janet Jay