Studio Adrien Gardère

What does it truly mean to be free? The Nara Prison Museum invites each visitor to explore this question through a journey that is both historical and introspective.

Studio Adrien Gardère, acting as Museography Supervisor, supported Hoshino Resorts and Taku Satoh, the project’s artistic director, in developing this narrative throughout the spaces of the former prison. Together, they conceived an exhibition approach in which historical and documentary content continuously engage with a sensitive and artistic perspective. This collaboration gives rise to an innovative museum where heritage, design, and critical reflection come together to offer a renewed interpretation of the history of Nara Prison.

Built in 1908 in Japan’s former imperial capital, the panopticon-style Nara Prison is the only intact survivor among the five major prisons constructed in the early twentieth century. Designed according to the “Haviland system”, it features a radial plan organized around a central surveillance tower. Designated an Important Cultural Property (Japan), the site bears witness to the modernization of the Japanese penal system while inviting visitors to reflect on their own understanding of freedom.