MiSHŌ
2026 Spring/Summer residency applications to be submitted by January 6th
2026 Autumn/Winter residency season applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
MiSHŌ residency in Fujino, Japan, is inviting applications from critically and socially engaged artists, creatives,
researchers, writers, educators, musicians, dancers,
cooks, composters,
practitioners of boundary-crossing fields.
We encourage context-responsive artistic creation (open-ended work, development of existing or contemplation for a new project are all welcome) through direct engagement with local community and environmental exploration within Fujino's unique cultural and natural landscape.
In addition we support each artists by tailoring program to meet requirements of individual proposal.
RESIDENCY DATES
Summer/ Spring
March 26th - April 22nd
May 8th - June 4th
June 25th - July 22nd
Autumn/Winter
August 20th - September 16th
October 1st - October 28th
November 12th - December 9th
We offer:
• Connections to local artists, craft people, growers and members of community, enabling collaborative and research opportunities.
• Facilitation of workshops with local artisans exploring indigenous practices, crafts and culinary traditions using locally sourced materials.
• Guided neighbourhood field trips or route suggestions for independent exploration
• Participation in organized community events and activities such as organic farming, forest conservation and charcoal making.
• Organizational and promotional assistance with artists-led events for residency such as performance, workshops, exhibition etc.
• Providing local transportation where public transport is not available, can arrange limited travel trips required for the achievement of residency goals.
The residency will culminate in an Open Studios event, providing an opportunity for residents to share their work-in-progress with the local Fujino community. The format of this sharing is flexible and determined by the resident. Additional interactive contribution during the residency such as workshop, performance, readings, exhibition etc is highly valued.
This should be discussed and agreed before the start of residency to allow time for organization and promotion.
apply
(application guidelines below)
Application guidelines
Open to international and Japan based artists.
Application can be completed in English or Japanese.
Languages of communication: English, Japanese, Lithuanian.
SELECTION:
2026 Spring/Summer residency applications to be submitted by 2026 January 6th.
2026 Autumn/Winter residency season applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Selected candidates for Spring/summer will be contacted by January 15th.
There are two guiding principles in selection process:
-potential benefit and resonance gained for the work to be carried out in Fujino setting
-our capacity and resources to meet requirements specified in the project proposal
Given our small team structure, we will contact only selected candidates.
If you don't hear back from us but would like a follow up,
please use a contact form.
RESIDENCY FEE
¥250,000 (approx. 1400 EU) for 28 days
Method of payment: bank transfer via WISE.
On confirmation of a participation a non-refundable deposit of ¥50,000 (approx. 280 EU) is required.
Remaining balance must be paid by the agreed date.
If cancelation by the accepted resident occurs more than 2 months before the start date, the refund available (minus the deposit) is 100% .
For withdrawal of less than 6 weeks of the start date refunds are available with extenuating circumstances.
We accept payment conditional to funding and can support application for grants by providing an official invitation.
Please note a letter of invitation will be provided only for MiSHŌ program selected artists.
In case a visa is required to enter Japan :
Obtaining a visa is the artist's personal responsibility. Our assistance is limited to providing a letter of invitation.
Please familiarize with the visa requirements and allow sufficient time for the process. Failure to secure visa in timely manner doesn’t affect our refund policy.
Residency fee covers:
A private room in the house, sharing communal facilities with 2-4 others
In-house-studio space. Outdoor work-space is possible
Wi-fi
Artist support including translation
Organizational and promotional assistance
Additional costs covered by the artist:
Travel fare
Local transport
Fuel for additional trips
Daily expenses
Art supplies
Production
other optional services such as artisan workshops : MiSHŌ only offers to facilitate and assist with translation during local knowledge workshops with a the fee going directly to the provider.
About MiSHŌ
MiSHŌ is an organisation that connects international creative practitioners to the vibrant community of Fujino town, located to the west of Tokyo.
Fujino (population of 8000 residents) is known as an art village and one of the Transition Movement towns in Japan. With history as an artists’ colony where artists evacuated during the Second World War, Fujino has been the site of several art projects and residencies since the 1990s.
It is a decentralized satoyama*, consisting of dozens of villages nestled in the valleys overlooked by the Tanzawa Mountains, surrounded by rich forests and streams.
Misho (実生) is named after a Japanese word for “seedling.”
Just as people have maintained the vitality of forests by improving the environment and taken care of satoyama as areas that sustain their daily lives, our project uses this word with the intention to cultivate the ground for co-creation where artists and local people can interact and spontaneously generate new ideas and creative solutions. By connecting these activities and the network of creative people to the world, we aim to make the area a global hub for the regeneration of natural and cultural ecosystems.
We envision MiSHŌ as a space that welcomes everyone for educational and cultural events, spontaneous happenings and organized community activities.
Our future hope is to develop an artist exchange program for local Fujino artists that will develop into wider ranging opportunities/ partnerships within Japan and with international artists and likeminded residencies.
MiSHŌ is run by Kohei Hashimoto and Vika Množina Hashimoto.
Kohei Hashimoto (Co-founder / Arts Manager)
Born in Tokyo. Studied Sound Arts and Design at the University of the Art London.
After working as an art coordinator for art organizations in Japan such as ARCUS Project IBARAKI and 3331 Arts Chiyoda, became engaged in operating cultural centers and organising cultural events for several communities around Tokyo.
Based in Fujino since 2021.
Vika Množina Hashimoto (Co-founder / Artist)
Originally from Lithuania. Holds a BA in Sound Arts from Middlesex University, London.
Since moving to Fujino in 2021 as a pro-active member of the Fujino community,
utilizes self-directed social photography projects to explore local daily life and traditions.
* Combining the words sato (village) and yama (mountain), satoyama are areas located in areas between mountain foothills and arable flat land. They have been developed by villages and communities through centuries of small-scale agricultural and forestry use.
MiSHŌは、東京の西に位置する里山のまち藤野を拠点としたアート団体です。
戦時中この地に疎開してきた芸術家による芸術都市構想をはじめ、80年代以降の様々なアートプロジェクトやレジデンスプログラムを市民主導で行ってきた豊かな文化的土壌、そして、トランジションタウンをはじめとした市民活動やオルタナティブ教育、森の再生活動などを全国に先駆け行ってきた寛容な地域性を背景に、私たちは、アートとエコロジーが交わる現代の視点から、地域内外のクリエーターによる共創を支援するレジデンス・プログラムやコミュニティ・アート・プロジェクトを行っていきます。
種子から発芽して育った幼植物を意味する「実生」。
この言葉を掲げた私たちのプロジェクトでは、里山に人が関わり環境を整えることで森の生命力を生活に活かしてきたように、アーティストと地域の人々が交流することで、新たなアイディアや創造的なソリューションの自発的な芽生えを支える文化的土壌を耕していきます。
そして、この場から生まれる有機的でクリエイティブな活動や人のネットワークを世界へとつなげるハブとなることで、この地域から自然と文化のエコシステムの再生を促していくことを目指します。
今後は、地域や各機関との連携を強めながら複数のパイロット事業を継続的に行い、より恒久的な文化交流拠点としてのレジデンス施設の設立に向け、地域コミュニティとレジデント・アーティストと共に活動を展開していきます。
ACCESS:
MiSHŌ House
〒252-0185
神奈川県相模原市緑区日連564
Kanagawa Prefecture
Sagamihara City
Midori Ward
Hizure 564
252-0185
イベント開催時の駐車場
Location
We are pleased to share to have secured our first building for art residency and creative MiSHŌ projects in Fujino.
It is a residential house with spacious garden, conveniently located in the centre of the village, providing proximity to the local community and essential amenities. Although convenience is not the most important feature, we value it as a sustainable, self-sufficient and public-friendly option.
The space will be ready to welcome the first residents in September 2025.