Ankou Sukikage - Musubi of all transient beings, Kenninji Ryosokuin, Kyoto 2019
Ankou Sukikage - Musubi of all transient beings
In collaboration with Rokusuke Tsuda
People in ancient times often projected themselves onto nature as the same transient beings in this infinite continuation of the world. However, today, the borders between us have grown and we seem to be losing our sense of connectedness. In this piece, we encase fragrant flowers that have been cherished since Japan's Manyo (Nara) era and are now endangered, with Mizuhiki to create bonds between us and generate an experience that can percolate through our invisible boundaries.
This work attempts to create a connection between the two flowers and the viewer by wrapping them in mizuhiki, which has the meanings of boundary and marriage, with two flowers that are fragrant in late autumn: Fujibakama, which has been loved by people as a perfume orchid since the Manyo period and is now endangered, and kikutaniigiku, which used to flow through the grounds of Kenninji Temple, but is now in bloom in the culverted Kikutani River. This work attempts to create a connection and mutual penetration that transcends the conflict between subject and object. The artist's silk cloth reflects the scenery seen in the satoyama, which used to exist between the forest and the town and where people and nature used to coexist. Each letter of the Ametsuchi no Uta, a Heian-period recitation describing the relationship between heaven and earth and all things, and the leaves of Fujibakama, which release their fragrance after withering, are wrapped in yakushi paper and delivered with the viewer to various places.
