In this blog for several years, I’ve reported on an open-air art exhibition in Yokohama, near Yokohama Zoorasia. The GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods is experimenting their work in forest for more than 10 years. This year’s show was from September 18 to October 23 (; my post on September 23, 2022). Yeah, unlike Echigo-Tsumari Art Field, or Art Setouchi, the event is not big nor with lots of patrons. But I appreciate artists’ adventures exploring the possibility of human creativity in nature. Continuing such a quest itself is not so easy. For example, Hadano City backs annual Tanzawa Art Festival, but their venues are mainly indoor galleries or the like. I guess from artists’ point of view situating their installation outdoors under sunshine, rain, and wind technically tricky. Not many risks their work under such travail. Having said that, there is another annual open-air art exhibition in Kanagawa Prefecture. Theirs are a bit younger than that of the GROUP in Yokohama. 2022 was for their 7th trial. It’s Open Air Art Exhibition in Kurokawa 2022 緑と道の美術展 in 黒川 2022 by Kurokawa Satoyama Art Project, held between November 1st to 30th in Kurokawa Green Space in Kawasaki City.
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| The final
installation of the show was in the premise of Farmers’ Market Ceresamos, open 10:00-15:00. They have a good choice for veggies, garden plants, and fruits from local farms. They also sell tofu, fish and meat made in Kanagawa. |
City of Kawasaki was once a center of Japanese heavy industry. Some 50-60 years ago, lots of smokestack complexes stood side-by-side along Tokyo Bay. Factory workers lived in the areas around the factories up to the inland areas near Musashikosugui and Noborito. Those communities were regarded as “downtown” by snobs from Tokyo (and Yokohama, I admit). Those were the days Tama River and Tsurumi River were stinky and polluted by industrial and home waste discharged from nearby. Such sceneries were long-gone since Japanese bubble burst in the early 1990s and the nation entered in the “lost 30 years.” Many companies which opened shops in the former industrial area moved their facilities to cheaper areas, including overseas. The City of Kawasaki searched for new industry for sustaining the town. Meanwhile Tama and Tsurumi Rivers became surrounded by the networks of high-tech sewage. Remaining factories in Kawasaki were complying with stricter environmental requirements. That was a good thing in many ways. The late 1990s was the time for meteoric rise of Silicon Valley. Kawasaki was right next to Tokyo and lots of educated workers lived. The City was already equipped with the best logistics network of port, motorways, railways, and airport (; that’s Haneda, mate). The City Hall had enough experience for industrial policy. Their environment was now cleaned up so that the riverside was a comfortable place to stroll. Why not making Kawasaki Silicon Valley of Japan? The City upgraded their “contents.” The companies of former heavy industry graded up their business to more research oriented. Lots of GAFA related businesses opened their research and related offices in Kawasaki. Science departments of universities located their labs in the area. By 2016 in Japan, Kawasaki City has the highest ratio of numbers of business and of population related to high-tech industry. Accordingly, the City is now the only major municipal government of Japan that does not need financial assistance from the National government. Corollary: the City of Kawasaki has money. They can fund art exhibitions in a well-maintained public greenery for well-educated people, you know.
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| The
beginning / end of today’s walk is Kurokawa Station whose front square has this woody shopping area such as for craft beers and organic olive oil. Wow, cool. |
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| The
front square of Haruhino Station, showing the supporting banner for Ao Tanaka, a 2022 FIFA World Cup Japanese squad member as a MF. He graduated from the elementary on the right of this photo. Oh, by the way, for this year’s Japanese 26 footballers, 5 of them, including Takefusa Kubo, were born in this area of Kawasaki. This is a town for football mums. |
The starting point was either from Haruhino はるひ野 or Kurokawa 黒川 Station of Odakyu Tama Line 小田急多摩線. I started from Haruhino, which I think was a good choice as the installation started from the front of the train station. That was
FUJIMAKI decorated the hedges in front of the station with artificial polyester flowers. Just outside the South Exit of Haruniho Station, they provided the map and pamphlet of the show. I think they would do the same next year. From there, they provide us signs for the directions of next installation, like these
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| The direction shows both to Haruhino and Kurokawa Stations. |
From here, without much ado, I show you each art works I found along the route.
2. Leaves. SATOYAMABITO
“First, mow Azumanezasa bamboos in circle. Autumn leaves fill the gap. Regularly collect the leaves to store in the nearby compost bin enclosed by country hedge. The work made by collaboration of people who care the forest.”
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3. live here. WANI
The third exhibition was a live performance by WANI on November 13th, who did something with pottery cray. This is the place that happened.
4. The glass shoot. TANAKA Toshiyuki
5. Yellow Air. OSHIO Hiromi
Cast iron
6. hide and seek. OKUNO Mica
Cast glass
7. RABBIT. OHTANI Sakurako
Pottery
8. The wind of YATO. UTSUMI Hitoshi
Wool yarns
9. Homo forest Walk with. KATOH Haruo
Woods
10. The place where frogs are. SUGAWARA Riku
Cast iron
… Even if it is a Japanese common toad, its arms are too big … some psycho analysis for the artist, anyone?
11. Sushi was born. IIJIMA Reika
The artist stated her sushi in the forest will show the direction for us to proceed for the future … er …
12. Art of Nora. HASEGAWA Chikako
She declared her personal tradition has nothing to do with traditional country life of Japan, but her unconscious something was touched by the New Year Dondoyaki festival in Kurokawa, which created her work. I see.
13. Camouflage. SHIBATA Mao
“The artificial work shown in the nature is decorated by camouflage, which makes its silhouette difficult to discern even if it exits there. Such difficulty reminds us certain “connection” there and encourages us to reconfigure the world we are seeing.” … so she said. But the artificiality of her work shockingly stood out in the forest, at least for me.
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A figure of crow made of wood and cloth. Below its foot there were two bells expected to ring with wind. (Oh, my … the silence of forest with winds will be gone, then.)
15. Mushroom Path. TACHIKAWA Mariko
Cheesecloth, wire, yarn
16. Shovel “A,” “UN.” KURIHARA Tsutomu
“The Vajrapani standing at the gate of temples have lips look like ‘0’ and ‘1.’ So, I arranged garden trowels in ‘0’ and ‘1.’ ‘0’ is for the beginning. ‘1’ is for the end.”
Very hi-tech oriented statement …
17. Moonlit Night. EMORI Wakako
Insulation panel, wood.
Why “insulation” panel in forest?
18. birth of life. HARADA Riito
Camphor tree panel
“Let me pile up light and air of Satoyama.”
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“Soil, weeds, water, everything moves incessantly here. When I meet them next time, something has changed without doubt. I’m going to feel it, record it, and to make a bit of my work at this point for a month. I communicate with the place.”
21. Mori to Hito (Forest and People) ’22-11. SAKAI Shinji
22. Square & Circle. MIYAZAWA Izumi
Granite
23. I am you, when I lose you. I am you, and I am born. KUDO Yudai.
Black granite
Come to think of it, the artists for Yokohama’s forest are doing it for more than 10 years. That could have made a difference between these two groups. Let us see how this group for Kawasaki changes over the years. The artists here have good backers to sustain their project … Though, I found rabbit (7), camphor panel (18), and a giant hole (19) interesting. Rabbit was nicely placed among the fashionable detached houses. For 18, I would prefer approaching nearer for the work to sense the smell of camphor in the forest … The hole is, it seems to me, an intriguing idea. I’ve heard when the GROUP first tried to have their exhibition in Niiharu Citizen Forest, everybody who managed the forest, including the neighborhood associations, the Lovers, and the City of Yokohama, was opposed to their plan as the artists tried to alter the forest rather radically. I’m curious how the City of Kawasaki said OK to Mr. MURATA for changing the place in such a drastic way. He must have promised to the Office restoring the place “as was.” The forest of Kurokawa was designated in 2015 by the Ministry of Environment as an important site for maintaining biodiversity. How did the environmental assessment go there, I wonder … Next year, I will return to the forests of Kurokawa and beyond that are the water source area for Tsurumi River.
1 Miyamoto-cho, Kawasaki Ward, Kawasaki City, 210-8577
〒210-8577 川崎市川崎区宮本町1
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