Gofuu Juuu (Seasonable rains and winds)
Yaeyama no Kari: Black Crab at Ikemura Blacksmith's Shop
Ikemura Kajiya, located in Ishigaki City, is the only remaining island blacksmith shop in Yaeyama. Yasukin Ikemura, the third owner, makes tools from iron materials such as car plate springs and pieces of cannonballs. His appearance gives a sense of a tough and wild thinking, and the way he breathes new life into scrap pieces reminds us that blacksmiths used to be more like shamans. A vast number of samples, patterns, and model forms hang on the walls of the atelier, which are to create semi-custom-made tools that are specific to the vegetation and use. The tools created by Ikemura reveal the unique climate of Yaeyama. There are also things that can only be realized with the tools he made. However, it is clear that the number of village blacksmiths is decreasing in the modern economic principle.
In this exhibition, I hope that visitors feel the “window of time” that surrounds the blacksmiths of Yaeyama and reflect on the relationship between people and their tools.
Exhibition hall
Ogimi Village Former Shioya Elementary School 538 Shioya, Ogimi Village, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa
ARTIST
Gofujuu
This unit explores the creative and artistic crafts of the Yaeyama Islands, which, like Yanbaru, are rich in nature and culture. "Gofujuu(Five Winds and Ten Rains)" is a votive character drawn on the flagstaffs that appear at harvest festivals in the Yaeyama Islands. It is said that wind blows every five days and rain falls every ten days, which is good for a good harvest. The members are Eiji Hatanaka (professor at Kyoto City University of Arts), who specializes in ceramic history and archaeology; Takahiro Kaneshima (associate professor at Kanazawa College of Art), director of exhibitions at the Yanbaru Art Festival; Choji Nakahodo (photographer and artist), general director of the Yanbaru Art Festival; and Yufuko Matsushima (editor, producer), who has been involved in various projects mainly in Okinawa.