Who we are
MiSHŌ
is an interdisciplinary space and art residency
that connects practitioners working across fields to the 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 a 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 F
ujino artists that will develop into wider ranging opportunities/ partnerships within Japan and with international artists and like-minded residencies.
* 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.
About Us
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 proactive member of the Fujino community, utilizes self-directed social photography projects to explore local daily life and traditions.
How We Started
Relocating from Tokyo in 2021 in search of a closer connection to nature, we were moved by the warmth and creativity within the community, across generations, and inspired by the nature around us.
On the surface, Fujino is easy to overlook. The vitality of the town lies not on the streets or in spectacular sights, but in the mundane, everyday life of the village, and a creativity that coexists naturally within it.
We began inviting friends to visit to discover it, many of them artists, and in time felt compelled to revive the history and tradition of Fujino as a nurturing place for art residencies. With the help and support of Fujino native Kenichi Nakamura and Gabija Čepulionyte, Culture Attache for Lithuania , we started MiSHŌ in 2024 with a pilot residency program hosting MMLAB.
In 2025
we found our first home for the residency- a house with a big garden in the center of the village, close to the community and to everything needed
day-to-day.
Renovation began in the spring with the help of local friends, relying on DIY, shared skills, and collective effort.
Working right up to the finish line, the space officially opened its doors to the first residents at the end of August 2025.