Tokyo security guard turns duct tape signs into design fame

A graveyard-shift security guard at Shinjuku Station has spent years turning rolls of duct tape into signs that do more than point travelers in the right direction. Shuetsu Sato, 72, began the work in the middle of station renovations and ended up creating a calm, rounded lettering style that commuters now recognize as Shuetsu-tai.

Sato started at Shinjuku Station in 2002, first trying a megaphone to move crowds through the maze of platforms, exits, and transfer corridors. When that proved ineffective, he switched to tape and a craft knife in 2004, making directions for train lines, exits, and other wayfinding needs on the station walls. The station master kept asking for more, and what began as a practical fix for passenger flow became a signature style shaped by one of the busiest stations in the world.

His work soon moved beyond the station. Requests came from across Japan, and Sato began producing lettering for movie posters, museum signs, and clients including Nintendo and Suntory. In a field that often prizes polish and formal training, his approach stood out for its handmade clarity. Sato has said he simply does his best when asked, because no one would normally expect a security guard to create signage. He also says he does not charge a set fee and usually asks only for meals, transportation, and permission to use duct tape.

That reputation brought formal recognition last year, when the Japan Sign Design Association gave him a Platinum Honorable Mention, also described as a Special Award, for his contribution to sign design. The association says its award program dates to 1966 and is the only sign-design award in Japan. The 2025 competition was its 59th edition and marked the group’s 60th anniversary, underscoring how far Sato’s work had traveled from station maintenance into the center of Japanese design culture.

His latest assignment shows how far that journey has gone. Nike opened its new Shinjuku store on April 10, 2026, at the East Exit of Shinjuku Station, and Sato’s logo was displayed on a screen about 2 meters high and more than 3 meters wide. On opening day, he called the finished work “200 out of 100,” a fitting response from a man whose late-night labor has turned a maintenance task into a recognizable public art form.