We Are All Kids: 2025 Laboratory of Forest Art

 

2025 Laboratory of Forest Art started last Sunday, September 28. This annual art exhibition in Yokohama’s forest is, as usual, under the care of the GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods. 2025 show until October 26 has a theme: Forest, Art, Children. From this year, the GROUP receives funding from Asahi Ward of the City. Their patron gave them this subject. The artists have fulfilled the request joyfully. Each caption for installation has two panels. One is written with Chinese character, i.e. for adults. Another is written only with Hiragana è for kids. You can choose whichever caption you like. Now, let’s play with the art in their forest! 😊

Map for this year’s show

1. Let’s be a Tower Man! 

ISHIKURO Kazuo

“This year, I made a face-cutout towerman. Please be a Tower Man!” 

The trick of the installation should be easier to understand when you see the below photos.

You step up the ladder, put your head inside the towerman, and take a photo. Voila! You’re tower man! … Of course I did it, and my photo looks like a goblin, or ghost at best, of the forest. Creepy ... A kid before me was cuter. Anyway, please try.

Ishikuro prepares wooden horizontal bar next to the Tower Man. It is low enough for 6-year-old to mimic the Towerman-Sloth above the bar.

2. The Garden with Forest Ship
KANAI Toshikazu

“In this forest it is recommended to thin bamboo leaf oaks in order to let sunlight reach the ground and stimulate the undergrowth. By doing this, biodiversity of the place is promoted. Yes, just cutting down one oak, the dim area gets out to an open space with light. It’s fun after such forestry to meet with new environment and enjoy different vista of the forest. This year, we cut down 8 oaks for creating a space for the ship. Some are straight trees. The others are crooked. All in all, they are tough nuts to crack. One sure thing: improved ventilation. The forest wind has started to fit my body. The place is becoming my garden.”

3. Recycling – Plastic (2024)
CHIKADA Haruna

4. Recycling – Forest (2024)
CHIKADA Haruna

5. When you see a forest, The forest is seeing you
CHIKADA Haruna

“BB bullets were aimed at something. They are scattered all over the forest. What was the original target for them? Did the shooters achieve their wish by discharging them?”

Thinking BB bullet garbage in the forest is a continuous theme for Chikada. This time, she let the kids to think about the microplastic contamination and displayed mirror-like mobile installation that can reflect the forest and human with BB bullet. She said “Yeah, some ‘well-thought’ survival gamers use biodegradable BB bullets. They are VERY expensive and take at least 10 years to be decomposed. Meanwhile, we don’t know what kind of impact the bullets give to the environment. What does the forest think while letting those gamers stamping its ground, I wonder.”

6. Snake Garden (2024)
KANAI Toshikazu

7. In the Cockpit
ASADA

“Please check this QR code for the beginning of this installation.

When everybody thought each of us were a captain of Spaceship Earth, it would be difficult to be irresponsible. We should try seriously to navigate the ship better!”

8. Circling scenery
YOSHIKAWA Youichiro

“Please grab the bar and push to walk round slowly whichever direction as much as you like. What sound you hear? What smell you find? Which colour your eyes recognize? How do your soles touch the ground? You are in the Garden of Monkeygrass. How do your five senses feel the forest?”

9. Garden of Monkeygrass without Owner (2024)
YOSHIKAWA Youichiro

He’s really tending this “garden” for years already. Dwarf lilyturfs are getting larger. Meanwhile I found anticlockwise circling was for me with 2025 installation. The ground was still soft. If many people played with this year’s installation, Yoshikawa-san said the ground would be harder. Let us see.

10. Not without a Trace
KIGA Youko

“Here is a groove between planted trees. Was it a stream? If I can make it sure, I’m very happy.”

11. Dust or Gem (2024)
KIGA Youko

“In some rural communities of Japan, there is a custom called ‘Torikugurazu.’ There, people hang objects of spell at the entrance of their village. They hope it would ward off the evil and welcome good luck to their community. Now in the 21st century, the border is sometimes garnished by high concrete walls that can shut off the vista completely, or with barbed wires that must hurt anybody approaching. I guess no evil or good fortune would come to such boorish and artificial objects.”

12. Bond (Wood connect: 2024)
HARADA Akatsuki

13. Let’s make trees
HARADA Akatsuki

“Adults were kids before. Kids will be adults. Many dreams before. I was curious. I had the things I loved. I had the things I hated. I had the things I wanted to do. You are growing little by little while experience many things and learn a lot. Let’s make growing trees like you. You put in branches in holes of logs, will you?”

The idea of this installation is, you write down whatever dream or wish you have on a waterproof “leaf” the artists prepared on a branch with

these permanent markers in a tapper ware and insert the branch to a log with lots of holes. The sizes of the holes are different. Trial and error are what the artists intended. At the end of the exhibition, he hopes there are several trees with many wishes. Next to this installation, Harada-san prepared

which he called “a bridge made of logs harvested from thinning (due to oak tree wilt). They are stabilized by clamps, i.e., bond.” The bridge is also an installation fun to walk above. If you try them with kids, please hold their hand firmly and support s/he at the side.

In addition to the installations on the map, the staff of the GROUP also presented their own works.

Prayer Wheel by ISHIYAMA Katsuyuki.
Please spin them and pray for …

In the Pergola by ISHIYAMA Katsuyuki and
his students in a facility for handicapped people.

Route Art 2025 by ZAMA Kimihito,
ARAI Maki, and INO Ryoko.

They are showing the direction to the venue
from Satoyama Garden 2025 Fall.

The Group holds Weekend Marche till October 13. They sell second hand goods and small objects created by the artists. The money raised this way will fund their art creation. Participation by shopping is welcome.

Also, the Group plans several events during the exhibition. Some are held in Satoyama Garden Venue. For detail, please check here.

In the open space at the entrance there is a small stage,
 and musical instruments hand-made of bamboos are provided.
You can play with them.

On that stage there was a free-jazz concert
for the opening party featuring
SHODA Jiro and Friends.

2025 the Laboratory of Forest Art is held during September 28 – October 26 in the same forest of the previous years. Since there is no parking, a recommended access to the Forest is by bus. The most convenient transportation is a bus ride to Yokohama Zoorasia, from JR Nakayama 中山 Station, Sotetsu Tsurugamine 鶴ヶ峰 Station, or Sotetsu Mitsukyo 三ツ境 Station. Get off the bus at the North Gate of Zoorasia that is the closest to the art exhibition entrance. (Access to Zoorasia North Gate can be referred from here.) When you leave the terminal stop of Zoorasia North Gate, go back a bit along the bus road, and on your left is the sign for the GROUP. From there enter the forest. The road is a relatively wide walking promenade. Soon you can see a big banner over there saying “the Creation and Voice of the Woods 創造と森の声.”

When you find a problem in the site introduced in this post, the best contact address will be GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods.
https://morilab.amebaownd.com/
e-mail: morinokoe7@yahoo.co.jp

The city office which is in charge of this forest is

Zoo Division
動物園課
Yokohama Municipal Government Green Environment Bureau
横浜市みどり創造局

Phone: 045-671-4124
FAX：045-550-4650
email: mk-satoyama-garden@city.yokohama.jp

Digression: suddenly Red Spiderlily

 

Er, I planned to post a continuing story of kakishibu dyeing, but before that, I have to report you this. Suddenly the temperature in Yokohama has dropped, and the flowers for early autumn have ‘bursted’ open around Niiharu.

Red Spiderlilies

Burr Cucumbers

Panicled Tick-Trefoil

Vigna angularis var. nipponensis

Especially red spider lilies will open just for 4-5 days of a year. This week is the chance for us un 2025 to admire its mysterious beauty. You wait, and the next bloom will be a year later. Don’t miss the chance!

Rhynchosia acuminatifolia

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, please make contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North
北部公園緑地事務所

Yokohama Municipal Government Green Environment Bureau
横浜市みどり創造局

Phone: 045-353-1166
FAX：045-352-3086
email: mk-hokubukoen@city.yokohama.lg.jp

Excuse, excuse … : How to make Kakishibu, and I have not tried it!

 

So, here is the process to make Kakishibu, and my EXCUSE not to make it by myself.

1. 

First we have to collect unripen fruits of bitter persimmon. Bitter persimmon? Yeah, it’s a variety of persimmons, but not suitable for fresh eating. It has an elongated shape and is hard to find these days in gardens of our suburban houses. As the variety contains more tannin, it is suitable for making persimmon tannin. To eat it, we have to dry it in cold wind for weeks from late autumn to early winter. The end product is REAAAAALY sweet treat for Christmas and New Year. It requires certain level of artisanal technique to produce this level of dried fruits, and hence not common for suburban houses. It comes normally USD 6-10 for a fruit. Reasonable price, I think.

<Reason 1 why I did not make persimmon tannin by myself> 

I don’t have a bitter persimmon tree.

Dried bitter persimmon.
Our family buys a couple of dozen
at the end of December from
a farmer in Yamanashi Prefecture
and freezes some
that are not consumed during the holiday season.
In this way, we can enjoy them in mid-summer.
Natural defrost is enough to eat.

2. 

Smash the gathered unripen bitter persimmon on the day you harvest them. Never wait for the next day as the tannin will be depleted rapidly as the fruits dried. Mash the smashed bits in a mortar, or strong food processor, for obtaining “paste.” If you find the bits too dry to make a paste, add a bit of H2O but never too much of it to avoid diluting tannin. At this stage the tannin juice from the fruit is VERY strong. So

2.1 For work, don’t forget to wear durable rubber gloves and apron or some overall clothing. The tannin stain cannot be removed once it’s on your clothing (; more to this point next week).

2.2 Never use iron utensils for the process. In yesteryears, people used wooden pestle and mortar. In the 21st century, food processors with ceramic or stainless blades would do the job. BUT please wash the tools thoroughly after use.

Sweet persimmon, early fall.
Yeah, it’s green, but does not contain that much tannin.

3. 

Move the mashed bitter persimmon from the pestle to a glass, ceramic, or enameled container. Never iron or metallic jar, please. Add H2O for the amount more than covering the mash. I mean, if H2O is just enough to cover the mash, it is too little to make Kakishibu. On the other hand, if the water is more than enough, it will make Kakishibu too thin for use. “Just enough of H2O” is the key.

4.

Leave the container for 3-4 days in the shade. The mixture of mashed persimmon and water starts fermentation. Around 3rd or 4th day, it begins to smell like alcohol and turns the liquid color green. From this stage, leave 3-4 more days for further fermentation. Well, of course, the H2O will evaporate during the process, but we want to keep Kakishibu juice moist enough. So the amount of water in the Process 3.

5.

Strain the mixture to separate the mush and liquid. Add half the amount of H2O compared with the process #3, and leave it again for about a week. Meanwhile, preserve the first liquid in a non-reactive bottle.

6. 

Mix the second fermentation and the liquid from the first fermentation stored during the process #5. Leave the mixture in a non-reactive container for at least 2 YEARS. During the process the gas emitted from the reaction of tannin and O2. If you store the mixture in a, say, PET bottle, there is a high possibility for the bottle to be burst. Never use a container of tight sealing for Kakishibu fermentation. Also, the smell coming out from such chemical reaction is UGLY. Some of my senior forest instructors once tried the process and stored the fermenting container in their shed surrounded by ordinary suburbia. It became a HUGE neighborhood scandal. They had to deal with a difficult local “politics.” So,

<Reason 2 why I did not make persimmon tannin by myself>

I don’t have enough ample space to avoid such politics.

i.e. When we cook Kakishibu in a traditional way, the product must be smelly. Nowadays, professionals find ways to remove such odors. Store-bought version does not have a stink, and we enjoy usage of the liquid without turning our noses. There are several ways we, non-artisans can use it for our craft. Nex week, I tell you the way we Niiharu Lovers tried. We used Kakishibu for natural dyeing. It was fun!

One of the products Niiharu Lovers made
with Kakishibu dyeing

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, please make contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North
北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Green Environment Bureau
横浜市みどり創造局

Phone: 045-353-1166
FAX：045-352-3086
email: mk-hokubukoen@city.yokohama.lg.jp

Organic Waterproof Product: Kakishibu, aka persimmon tannin for Japanese life

Waterproof spray is “must-have” for me. Outdoor activity inevitably makes my garment soiled. I wash them every time I come home. But for next use, it is necessary to prepare for rain unexpected or not. Crossing streams along the trails requires garments with water repellant properly. A can for waterproof spray becomes light quickly for me. I am thankful for this 21st century product for making my life easier. How did our ancestors cope with the problem of wet garment and soiled clothing? They did not have waterproof spray for sure. But there was, and is, an organic substitute. Have you ever heard “Kakishibu 柿渋”, aka persimmon tannin?

The current spray I’m using
for waterproof treatment.
The can is very light …

Before fluororesin, silicone resin, and plastics, Japanese used organically processed persimmon tannin for waterproof, bug repellent, and preservative to almost everything. It was used for walling during construction. For UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan, usage of Kakishibu for materials is ubiquitous. For making tools for fishing, the final coating with Kakishibu was (and is, for luxury brand these days) the MUST. When applied to the surface of traditional Japanese paper, it can make the paper suitable even for raincoats and umbrellas. To make (high-end) Japanese lacquerware, persimmon tannin is essential as the base. Japanese samurais used it for make their garments durable enough in battlefield for more than a millennium. There is an old book, written in 918 called “Honzo-Wamyo 本草和名,” for herbal medicine in Japan, which discusses the utility of Kakishibu.

An ancient raincoat I found in a museum
for Lake Tanzawa Commemorative Center.
In this mountainous area,
villagers of yesteryears used this straw-raincoat
 made of straws and coated the surface with
persimmon tannin to make waterproof stronger.

In the 21st century, scientists are still researching the power of the product and thinking about the usage of it for our daily life. Persimmon tannin soap would be the most familiar product we can find these days in drug stores. Its cleaning power is strong enough to wash over that “particular smell” of teenage boys and middle/senior aged gents. Warning: heavy usage of it for ladies is not recommended. My senior citizen mom was a heavy user of Kakishibu soap. She was scolded by her doc when she was treated for eczema. The magic of the product is from its potential for sterilization. Traditionally, several communities used cloth treated with persimmon tannin to sieve water from wells and streams and to procure potable water. There is a published paper reporting deactivation of norovirus using persimmon tannin. Several researchers even search for methodologies to prevent spread of COVID-19 by Kakishibu. Persimmon tannin is a powerful staff. In more “peaceful” modern usage, persimmon tannin is very important to make Japanese SAKE clear. It can remain a fresh brew without distillation although it is basically fermented rice porridge. Persimmon tannin is VERY important for Japanese culture.

Kakishibu Soap.
Really popular cosmetics,
especially among males in Japan.

Tannin itself is a material for tanning leather but cannot act as waterproof. On the other hand, persimmon tannin cannot permeate rawhide and so cannot tan skin but has the power of water repellent. Why do they differ? In the process of making persimmon tannin, sugar of persimmon is fermented and becomes stable. When the persimmon tannin meets moisture, the sugar absorbs H2O in the air and solidifies it, i.e. goods coated with Kakishibu are waterproofed. That’s why persimmon tannin was used widely in this very humid Japanese archipelago. How to make Kakishibu? It does not require rocket science but asks patience for ‘cooking’ it. Next week, I tell you how to cook it. I have not done it by myself, but the product is available from internet (for example from here). The reasons why I did not make it will be clear next week. (It’s not an excuse!.) Please stay tuned for next week. 😉

The store-bought Kakishibu
Niiharu Lovers use

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, please make contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North
北部公園緑地事務所

Yokohama Municipal Government Green Environment Bureau
横浜市みどり創造局

Phone: 045-353-1166
FAX：045-352-3086
email: mk-hokubukoen@city.yokohama.lg.jp

Will they flower this autumn？ Niiharu’s north facing slope of lilies 新治市民の森

 

Several years ago, the head of Nagaike Park of Hacioji City 長池公園, Mr. Hideshige Uchino, visited Niiharu Citizen Forest. He said the slope where Golden-rayed Lily blooms every July (; my post for July 28, 2024) was a precious place. Niiharu Forest locates at the edge of Tama Hills 多摩丘陵 which is basically a typical suburbia of Tokyo. The hills are covered by housing and business buildings with sporadic remnants of yester-centuries’ forests and farm fields. The slope of lilies in Niiharu is facing north and probably the underground water level is relatively high. Observing the vegetation, plants loving somewhat cooler conditions thrive there. Mr. Uchino said “Such environment is now rare in Tama Hills. Probably Niiharu’s slope is the only one left.” Hmmmmm … We have to protect it, you know. The place is covered by lilies, but they are not the only flowers showing off their beauty on the slope. Currently, flowers of Adenophora triphylla var. japonica is dominating the site, but if autumn comes as before, we will admire pale purple of wild Salvia japonica. If lucky, monkshood may return. And Japanese gentian should come in November … er, that is, if we can maintain the ground of the slope OK for these flowers.

Adenophora triphylla var. japonica

The thing is, Niiharu Forest is changing. I think we should use the term ‘evolving’ but I’m not sure whether the term is appropriate. Reason? Er … once the slope was a chestnut orchard. But in 2019, mega-typhoons came and destroyed old trees. The large and tall trees were down, and some poor trees were torn apart by strong winds. Until then Niiharu Lovers mowed the steep slope every August before chestnuts falling in order to collect autumn goodies easily. After the calamity, we did some mowing, but alas not much goodies from the tree. Besides, the chestnuts trees are really decaying. So, the serious mowing of the slope after flowering lilies is suspended. Then the City, the landlord, decided to redo the chestnut orchard with oak trees, and Lovers cleared the broken trees from the place. Aside from some afforestation by school kids this early summer the work for restoration of the forest is not yet started. The summer mowing is not done this summer.

Survived chestnut surrounded by grasses

It’s bad news for autumn flowers on the slope. Before, greedy Lovers mowed the place for chestnuts, which made the sun light reach to the ground and short seedlings of, say, Japanese gentian, could start vigorous photosysnthesis for blue flowering in late autumn. Yet, we still want to enjoy gentian at the beginning of winter. What to do? We Lovers chose to mow a small plot around the seedlings of such autumn flowers this summer. We pushed through tall sasa bamboos and Japanese bracken fern both of which dominate the slope, found seedlings of flowers, then cut these tall and ubiquitous grasses around the seedling, hoping it would help the babies to become beau in 2-3 months’ time. It is a delicate task, just like finding bugs in programming code … By the way, my PC Topy5 turned out to have magnetic head failure. It now really is “hospitalized” and undergoing a “surgical operation.” *sigh*

A sort of maze …

In a deadly hot August summer of 35°C temperature, the small plot mowing with concentration continued on the slope. After cutting covering vegetation, I found the soil around the seedlings is really dry. Not much rain has come this summer. Even if it comes, the tall grass prevented the rainwater reaching the ground. When the duration of rain is short, the water retained on the surface of dominating grass leaves evaporates quickly. I was alarmed.

Desiccated ground

One of my Forest Instructor pals has a day job for Kanagawa Water Supply Authority. He normally sits in front of the control panel for water distribution procured from Sagami 相模川 and Sakawa 酒匂川 Rivers. The Authority is in charge of management of Miho 三保ダム, Sagami 相模ダム, and Shiroyama 城山ダム Dams (; my posts for April 19 and 26, 2019) and operation for intake weirs from the two rivers. He knows the current condition of water supply in Kanagawa Prefecture. He said “Well, we don’t see any abnormality this year. Currently, all dams have more than 85% of water capacity. We soon will begin annual discharge from dams to prepare torrential rain of typhoons for Autumn.” I asked him if there is any special request from farmers for water supply. His reply was “Nah.”

His assessment may be correct for water source
 … this one is Yadoriki Stream … REALLY?

… He may have engaged in some PR stunt. But we at least haven’t heard any request for water saving from the authorities. On the other hand, also in a different occasion, personnel from JA Yokohama said this summer farmers in Yokohama are having hard time to irrigate their field. “You know, in such summer, casual watering does not seep into the ground. We have to hose down for hours to save our crops. It surely impacts the bottom line of the ag business.” Hmmmmmmm … I heard schools had difficult times moistening their lawn ground during summer vacations. Parents and teachers volunteered to tackle the task, but the baking sunshine of long day smirked human activity. Their lawn is brown. Meanwhile bitter melons of my garden do not get big. It needs more water. Weather forecasters predicted the record-breaking high temperature this week, already in September. Who said climate change is an imaginary thing?

Umeda River along Niiharu Forest.
Local farmers withdraw H2O from here, but …

I’m not sure if it is OK for rice paddies
dry this much in Yokohama’s August.

Niiharu’s pond is dried up.

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, please make contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North
北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Green Environment Bureau
横浜市みどり創造局

Phone: 045-353-1166

FAX：045-352-3086
email: mk-hokubukoen@city.yokohama.lg.jp