GALLERY A: NODE (a node of thought)
First created in 1989 by manga artist Shirow Masamune, the science fiction manga ‘Ghost in the Shell’ has continued to have a profound impact on creators around the world for decades. Now, as 2029, the year in which the story is set, draws ever closer, the future envisioned by the work is rapidly approaching our own reality, alongside the widespread adoption of AI and the rise of the cloud era.
The large-scale exhibition Ghost and the Shell looks back on the series’ 37-year history while separating the concepts of the Ghost, representing mind and consciousness, and the Shell, representing the body and its vessel. Through this approach, the exhibition explores the core questions Ghost in the Shell has long posed about the nature of humanity. As fiction and reality increasingly overlap, what do we experience as the Ghost, and where do we draw the line of the Shell? By confronting each visitor with these questions, the exhibition offers a new perspective from which to contemplate the future.
Exhibition Highlights
GALLERY A: NODE (a node of thought)
Serving as the gateway to the exhibition, NODE invites visitors to plug into the information network of the Ghost in the Shell universe. Here, you will encounter an immersive experience, transforming yourself into a “nexus of thought.”
Exploration within the Huge Cyber Network Visualizer known as Nerve Net.
◾️Huge Cyber Network Visualizer: Nerve Net
An ultimate search experience that lets visitors dive into the worlds of Ghost in the Shell. Across a vast mapped space spanning the venue’s walls, visitors move through a sea of information, triggering scenes from various works as the space itself shifts and seems to breathe. Each visitor’s thoughts and paths of exploration become part of the exhibition in this all-encompassing search installation.
◾️Ruins of Knowledge – World Tree: Ghost and the Shell
One of the most iconic scenes from Ghost in the Shell, the wired connection, is brought to life in physical space. Countless cables pour down from a darkness 15 meters overhead, linking to monitors like bundles of nerves and activating a vast cyber network. This work allows visitors to physically experience the moment when information begins to pulse and the city awakens.
Alongside the permanent experiential installations, the space will also host talk events featuring creators and researchers influenced by Ghost in the Shell, as well as DJ performances and live events that further expand the world of the series.
PATH A: STORY (An Introduction to the World), Exploring the Directors’ Ghost
Each director reflects on what the ideas of Ghost and Shell mean to them, and on their personal relationship with Ghost in the Shell, through newly filmed interviews created exclusively for this exhibition.
Image 1: Director Mamoru Oshii
Image 2: Director Kenji Kamiyama
Image 3: Director Kazuchika Kise
Image 4: Director Shinji Aramaki
GALLERY B: DIG (Digging Up), Over 1,600 Original Drawings Intersect with the Real World
Covering approximately 1,000 square meters, this expansive gallery forms the core of the exhibition, bringing together more than 1,600 production materials from across every Ghost in the Shell animated series. Visitors can explore a wide range of materials that shaped the works, from setting documents and original drawings to background art and animation cels. The exhibition also revisits the themes of Ghost and Shell faced by each character within the story, with a carefully curated selection of iconic scenes that vividly recall their struggles and inner conflicts.
The DIG section also features a range of immersive experiences that allow visitors to delve deeper into the world of Ghost in the Shell from multiple angles. These include Cyberbrain VISION, where visitors don AR glasses and explore original drawings alongside Laughing Man Mirror, an installation inspired by the Laughing Man incident from Ghost in the Shell: STAND ALONE COMPLEX; and Analog Dig*, a hands-on experience that invites visitors to uncover original cut bags used in anime production and take home reproduced drawings. Together, these experiences offer an in-depth, multifaceted way to engage with the series, with additional content to be announced.
*Optional experiences require a separate paid ticket.
◾️Cyberbrain VISION
By wearing AR glasses developed in collaboration with XREAL and STYLY, visitors can tour the original drawings while listening to explanations delivered through TACHIKOMA’s cyberbrain communications. This experience brings the anime’s concept of cyberbrain communication into the real world, allowing visitors to engage with the exhibition through an immersive, narrative-driven perspective.
Ticket prices:
Advance online purchase: ¥1,300 (tax included)
Online purchase during the exhibition period: ¥1,500 (tax included)
Same-day purchase at the venue counter: ¥1,700 (tax included)
Timed-entry system. Tickets are sold in limited quantities for each session.
◾️Laughing Man Mirror
Inspired by the cyberterrorism incident known as the Laughing Man from the Ghost in the Shell: STAND ALONE COMPLEX series, this installation brings the character into the exhibition space through AR technology and programming. Set in 2025, it recreates real-time face-masking hacking techniques, creating an unsettling experience that blurs the line between those who watch and those being watched.
◾️Dig Up Memories by Hand with Analog Dig
Cut bags are production envelopes used in animation to store materials for each individual cut and are rarely seen outside the studio. This hands-on experience invites visitors to open a cut bag themselves, offering a glimpse into the animation process behind the scenes. Inside, visitors will find reproduced original drawings to take home, allowing them to directly engage with the memory of the artwork and feel the presence of the creators’ craft.
Ticket price: ¥2,000 (tax included)
Available for purchase on site after entry
Available while supplies last
*Images of reproduced drawings are samples. The number and contents included may vary.
Collaboration Artist Exhibition (First Phase)
◾️Hajime Sorayama – Sexy Robot_The Ghost in the Shell type 1 (2026）
This new sculpture by contemporary artist Hajime Sorayama is modeled on Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, originally created by Shirow Masamune. Reimagining the cyberpunk icon through Sorayama’s distinctive perspective as a body of the future, the work brings into focus the theme of the boundary between humans and machines that the Ghost in the Shell series has continually explored. At the same time, it represents a timely experimental expression in which the core of Sorayama’s own artistic practice intersects with the enduring questions posed by the series. This work will be unveiled to the public for the first time at this exhibition.
Sexy Robot_The Ghost in the Shell type 1（2026）©Hajime Sorayama. Courtesy of NANZUKA
©Shirow Masamune / KODANSHA
Additional features will include a timeline exploring the boundaries between the real world and the Ghost in the Shell universe, artworks by artists inspired by the series, and original merchandise, all of which will be announced at a later date.
© Masamune Shirow / Kodansha / Ghost in the Shell Exhibition Production Committee
Ghost in the Shell Exhibition: Ghost and the Shell
Dates : Friday, January 30 – Sunday, April 5, 2026
Venue: TOKYO NODE GALLERY A/B/C (Toranomon Hills Station Tower, 45th Floor)
Ticket Information:
LivePocket : https://sp.livepocket.jp/exhibition-ghostintheshell
Lawson Ticket : https://l-tike.com/ghostintheshell-ex/
*Please note that ticket availability may differ depending on the ticket provider.
*Full ticket details will be published on the official website.
*Same-day tickets are also available at the venue.
Website : https://www.tokyonode.jp/sp/exhibition-ghostintheshell/
Instagram : @ghostandtheshell
X : @Gats_exhibition
