[After the '96 Yonago Sculpture Symposium]
​ Yonago, the legend of Ryugu Castle ... the mythical world ...

It was in mid-July that Yonago landed in Yonago, where the heat is getting hotter every day. Two days before the symposium begins. I started the production in an environment surrounded by nature, such as mountains with a lot of greenery, the coast with pine forests where the bright summer sunshine shines, and the Nakaumi and beautiful coves shining in the setting sun.

It was the first time in 15 years to produce in Japan, so I encountered various difficulties on the way. Production within a limited time was a big pressure for me, who is always non-spiritual and self-paced, but I was able to continue production as planned with the help of the artists participating in the symposium and the planning committee members. ..

The theme of the work is the "Tsuka Series", which has been going on for a long time, and it has a shape reminiscent of the mountains of Yonago, which has a roundness like a bowl, and Shiroyama, where the castle used to be. The landscape with mountains shaped like a burial mound and the appearance of mountains with many bamboo forests are reminiscent of the original landscape of Japanese mythology. As a Japanese artist in New York, I continue to pursue my origins, and I feel that it is no coincidence that I was able to place my work in Yonago, where the beautiful old-fashioned nature remains. do.

On the day when the sculpture shaped like a mountain made by stacking stones called slate was completed, we asked three children and four adults who were there to carve the 1996 record on the stone. I put it inside and made it a memorial. By the time the children grow up and become fathers, we writers and symposium officials may no longer be in the world. But perhaps the 1996 record will remain in their hearts forever. With that in mind, I finished stacking the last stones.

After the symposium, the day before I left Yonago, I was able to have a quiet time by staying in a place overlooking the Sea of Japan. When I was sitting toward the rough sea in the evening, a houseboat about 5 meters long made by combining bamboo was rushed to me. It must have been used for some event somewhere. The next day, when I was looking at the sea at the same place early in the morning, this time the fish were jumping all over the sea as if they were flying in the sky. Two hours passed while being stunned, and when I noticed, Oyama, who had a faint purple color, clearly appeared in front of the morning sun. It was a mysterious sight. It seemed to me that I was in the world of Japanese mythology.

On the way back from Yonago, I got a lot of souvenirs from the princesses. The most important of these is the Tamatebako. What exactly is inside? Urashima Taro couldn't keep his promise with Otohime and opened the Tamatebako and became a grandfather. What's wrong? It's not a lesson from Taro Urashima, but it's not a bad way to live as you grow older without opening the Tamatebako, keeping your promise with Otohime.
Brooklyn winter 96