DAVID BOILLEY OF ACRO: THE ZONE
Interview by Katsuyoshi Ueno
David Boilley is a nuclear physicist and the chairman of ACRO (a French NGO with a nuclear testing laboratory). I met with him during his stay in Japan to discuss the current situation of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and what Japan needs to do to protect its citizens both now and into the future.
The Japanese government is now trying to bring back people into the evacuation zone. Is this a sensible decision?
There are two reasons for the 30 kilometers evacuation zone. One is that there may …»
TAIUN MOCHIZUKI: CIRCLING TO NOTHINGNESS
The final in a three-part series on Japanese Suzuri.
Thick and black; reflecting the fading sunlight, a small sea of ink rests inside the pool of a carved Amehata stone Suzuri. This sumi ink, made from bamboo ash mixed with melted fish bones (and dried into a solid stick) has been ground by Taiun Mochizuki, a 95 year old Shodo (calligraphy) master. On the floor of his room long white sheets of paper have been marked in thick brushstrokes with words, poems, songs and sayings. What words are his favourite? “I have …»
YATARO AMEMIYA: ENTRANCED BY A ROCK
The second in a three-part series on Japanese Suzuri.
Suzuri are an essential part of Japan’s writing history but they are also an embodiment of Japan’s spiritual history; as instruments for meditation. “If you want to write something pure, something approaching truth, then your mind should be clear. This is what is interesting about Suzuri, it is a tool for self reflection, and I believe it can be viewed as a sculptural item.”
Sitting cross legged on a mat, Yataro Amemiya, a 17th generation Suzuri maker, explains …»
GYOKUSEN MOCHIZUKI: THE INKSTONE CAVE
The first in a three-part series on Japanese Suzuri
The stone is cold and wet to touch; a close grained and smooth slate. In the dark we feel for an end to the rock before a single light bulb turns on. Deep inside a forested Yamanashi mountain, this cave is the last place to mine for Amehata stone — one of Japan’s important ancient materials. When these stone walls collapse, or when Gyokusen Mochizuki mines the last piece of slate from the mountain’s geological guts, a living piece of Japanese cultural history will have become extinct.
SKATEBOARD FILE VII: BUCHI & THE RELIEF WHEEL
Hirotoshi Kawabuchi is a young amateur skater living in Japan and the United States. “Buchi’s” recent skating caught our attention with his involvement in relief efforts for the March 11th earthquake. Buchi and his sponsor, wheel maker Autobahn Wheels, have released a unique set of wheels, the profits of which go directly to the Red Cross. Now skateboarders from around the world have been able to contribute to the flow of donations through their purchase. The Papersky Skateboard File wanted to know more so we grabbed Buchi for a quick interview about this, yet another, unique relief project for Japan.
Tell us first, now that you’re skating with Autobahn Wheels, how did this charity project to help Japan after the March 11th earthquake come together? …»
EXTRACTING OLD EARTH: KOICHI KASHIMOTO
The third in a three part series on Bizenyaki, Okayama Ceramics.
A clay Bizen bowl you see today will not look so different from a clay Bizen bowl made a thousand years ago; it will be unglazed, rough and textured. It will be thick and if the clay was pure, the surface will be irridescent and deeply coloured. Both bowls will almost look as though they were dug up from the Earth itself. But the techniques for extracting clay to make those two distant pots are worlds apart. “Now we use tractors but in the past, …»
CLAY IDOLS: TOSHIN FUJIWARA
The second of a three-part series on Bizenyaki, Okayama Ceramics.
We are travelling through the town of Imbe, passing dozens of red brick chimneys which rise up over clay tiled rooftops; passing thousands of stacked pieces of wood ready to heat kilns (and send smoke up the chimneys), passing old ceramics factories, passing rice fields. It is late afternoon when we arrive at Toshin Fujiwara’s home. Outside: three dogs, a rooster, birds and fish in tanks. Inside: the wild smell of deer meat grilling on a stove. Fujiwara is sitting on a swivel chair beside a window. Today he is working on a small clay statue of an old man sitting atop a cow rendered in incredible detail. “Learning one form- like this cow- is not so hard, it takes about a year,” he says, “but learning many forms and styles is very difficult.” Toshin Fujiwara has been …»
