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The largest piece is the ocean.
#001
Hiroaki Murayama
Illustrator
His main activities include creating murals, live painting, and installations.
Since 2020, he has lived in a mountain village in Kyoto, where he creates paintings, three-dimensional sculptures, and spatial installations that combine these elements, exploring themes such as the vitality of nature, harmony with nature, and the relationship between people and nature.
#002
akira∞ikeda
Gaia SoundArtist
A musician who plays the Earth, exploring sound through the theme of “Tuning.”
In addition to performing, he creates water instruments, produces original albums, composes music for films and commercials, and serves as a comprehensive producer of ambient music. To date, he has been active in over 30 countries, regardless of location.
#003
nanairo
Sound Artist
A two-piece band consisting of Takuya Kobayashi (guitar, vocals) and Mayu (drums, vocals).
In the course of daily life, I observe and question events from various perspectives, and, inspired by words and music, I perform.
The base is in Hamasui, Takeno Town.
Photo by bozzo.
#004
Shinichi Anasako
Playwright and Director
Founded Blue Egonaku in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, in 2012. Since then, he has written and directed all of the company’s productions.
Representative of Blue Egonaku. Saison Fellow I at the Saison Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation.
Part-time lecturer at Toho Gakuen College of Arts.Associate Artist, 3rd Term, THEATRE E9 KYOTO.
Major external works include *Club Night: The Crab Comes to Save You at Night*(2021)
; *The Mountain That Was Just 1 cm Smaller 10,000 Years Ago* (2022), a collaborative production with Wataru Kitao of Baobab in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture;
; and *oboro* (2022), for which she provided the script to the Seventh Theater.
#005
Blue Egonak
Theater Company
Formed in 2012 as a theater company based in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, with Shinichi Anesako at its core.Based in both Kitakyushu and Kyoto, the company operates under the concept of creating universal yet innovative theatrical works.
Characterized by a style that seeks to discover the nature of the world while focusing on “the insignificance of the individual,” the company’s work is based on plays that incorporate lyrics and a directing style that employs musical elements in both delivery and structure.
To date, the company has produced plays in a wide variety of venues, including theaters, the streets of shopping districts, shopping malls, and even inside a 60-meter-long monorail car.
Based in Kitakyushu, the company presents several productions each year while also partnering with the Kitakyushu Performing Arts Center to produce the “Monorail Theater Series.”
In 2018, the company was selected for the ROHM Theatre Kyoto × Kyoto Arts Center U35 Creative Support Program “KIPPU” and staged *sad*.
In 2020, as part of the Toyooka Theater Festival 2020 Fringe Program, she stayed in Takeno Town, Toyooka City, and staged *Zanzaka to Yugyo* accompanied by the local Bon Odori Promotion Association.
In 2021, they presented *View* (2021) with music by COMPUMA, and at TOKAS OPEN SITE 5, they unveiled *Coincide: Things Happening Simultaneously* as the audio work *Coincideaudio*.
In recent years, they have been creating theatrical performances by musically reinterpreting dialogue from monologues and sketch-style exchanges, using the musicality of each scene as a starting point to generate narratives.
#006
Suzusora – LINK –
, Intuitive Improvisational Harpist; Intuitive Improvisational Pianist
In 2022, inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, she began playing the piano and launched her career as an artist who improvises solely based on her intuition. Seeking imaginative experiences that are more real than reality itself, she shares the sounds of her intuitive improvisational piano performances with the world, primarily online.
Currently based on Awaji Island—considered the birthplace of Japan—he focuses on offering retreat experiences designed to unleash the creativity of his listeners. Through sound, he continues to create a path toward “a world where individuality and art resonate.”
Major Performance Highlights
・Performed at the holistic retreat event “Grounday 2023”
・Performed at the Okukinosaki Seaside Hotel 100th Anniversary Piano Festival
・Official Artist for the OKUKINOSAKI ART PROJECT
・Piano performance at the Kitano Idzunikan “Shuuke Residence”
・Performance at Japan’s largest psychedelic festival, “GAIA 2024”
・Collaborative performance featuring crystal bowls and piano at Meszm Tokyo, Autograph Collection
・Yumekaiyu, Awaji Island: Piano Performance
・Dedicatory Performances at Shrines: Hoshida Myoken-gu, Iwakami Shrine, Izanagi Shrine, Izumo Taisha, and others
Affiliation
A creative collective of sound connecting reality and imagination“KIRAMEKIWAVE”
Message
With the goal of creating a world where every individual can fully express their unique personality and artistic spirit, we continue to perform improvisations and create works that transcend national borders and racial boundaries.
— @link_showhey
— https://www.tunecore.co.jp/artists?id=825109
#007
Shuhei Hatano
Filmmaker
Born in Tottori Prefecture in 1980; currently resides in Tokyo.
Major works include *TRAIL* (2012, Eurospace), *The Origin of Shadows* (2017, Grand Prize in the Short Film Category at the 2018 Tokyo Documentary Film Festival), *
* *I Remember*(2021; Grand Prize in the International Feature Film Category at the 2022 Yogyakarta International Documentary Film Festival
), and *It’s Just So Dazzling* (2023; Special Prize from the Young Jury at the 60th Pesaro International Film Festival).
#008
Masayoshi Fujita
Musician
Vibraphone and marimba player, composer.
Unbound by traditional performance styles, techniques, or compositional methods, he pursues a unique sound and new possibilities for his instruments.He is signed to the London-based label Illustrated Tapes Records and has released 11 albums to date. In addition to performing at concerts and festivals across Europe and around the world, he also composes music for various visual works, including films.
Often described as cinematic, his music draws inspiration from the profundity and stillness of fog and the majesty of mountains, reflecting a unique atmosphere and worldview. He released his new album, “Migratory,” in September 2024.Featuring American poet and musician Moor Mother and labelmate and vocalist Hachis Noit as guest artists, the album centers on the marimba and vibraphone while weaving in synthesizers, further deepening his unique ambient world that straddles the line between acoustic and electronic music.
He has also received high acclaim for his ongoing collaborative works with Jan Jelinek, a leading figure in the German electronic music scene.Additionally, under the alias el fog, he employs various experimental approaches to fuse the vibraphone with electronic music, navigating the space between acoustic and electronic, as well as analog and digital.
After spending 13 years in Berlin, Germany, he moved to a mountain village in northern Hyogo Prefecture. He has set up a studio in a hamlet high in the mountains and, drawing inspiration from the majestic natural surroundings, is sharing his new music with the world.
In 2024, he composed the music for the film *Smoking Tigers* by director So-Yeon Sherry Yoh, a winner at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, USA. In September 2024, he released *Migratory*, his first album produced after returning to Japan. He is an endorsed artist of Korogi.
#009
bozzo
Theater Photographer
Graduated from Tama Art University’s Graduate School of Design in 1991. After moving from job to job and place to place—working as a camera assistant, graphic designer, and art director—he became a freelance photographer in 2009.
From Okinawa to Tokyo… and then, in the spring of 2021… to Toyooka Takeno.My work primarily involves photographing performances such as dance, theater, and music. My credo is: “Photography has the power to reveal what cannot be seen.”
Since moving to Takeno, I have been actively involved in initiatives aimed at creating a “community-based society,” includingincluding the “Come On Over! Yakita!” wood-burning demonstration event; full support for the crowdfunding campaign for our hotel’s “100-Year-Old Piano Project”; visual identity (VI) design as a member of the executive committee for the “Takeno Umi-machi Market”; and the “Come On Over!” support initiative by Community Takeno to help with everyday problems—all while tackling a wide range of social issues.Other initiatives include crowdfunding for the creation of a family history book for “Kyogoku-yu, Tajima’s Last Public Bath,” crowdfunding for the relocation of the bell tower at “Onsen-ji Temple, the Guardian Temple of Kinosaki Onsen,” and the “Stained Glass Toyooka” project to promote literacy among foreign employees.
— bozzo.jp
#010
Bamboo Tea Room Kian – KIAN
Buildings
The bamboo tea house “Kian” is a structure that transforms a space built with the bare minimum of bamboo into a tea room. Ki-an has pillars and a roof but no ceiling or walls; it is the epitome of simplicity. While it may be considered incomplete as a tea room, it allows visitors to appreciate the beauty found in imperfection. Furthermore, by incorporating the surrounding scenery into Ki-an, it is completed as a tea room in the imagination of those who enter. Designed with practicality in mind, Ki-an is made of lightweight yet durable bamboo so it can be easily transported. As long as there is a 3m × 3m space available, you can set it up amidst your favorite scenic views. We hope that when you enter Ki-an, you will purely experience nature, connect with others, and feel the atmosphere of the moment through your five senses.
#011
Seizan Toda
Born in Kyoto in 1967; head priest of Daiji-in at Daitoku-ji Temple. Graduated from Doshisha University. After working at an accounting firm, he entered the Buddhist path.He spent five and a half years in monastic training at the monks’ quarters of Tenryū-ji and Daitoku-ji. He has also taught zazen in France and Germany and recited sutras in churches. He enjoys hiking and savors the four seasons of Japan by preparing tea at his hermitage, “Kian,” where he can appreciate nature while sipping tea.
#012
Masayuki Inaida
Born in 1976 in Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture; currently resides in Kyoto City. After graduating from Doshisha University, he worked for a precision machinery manufacturer before being drawn to the charm of Sukiya-style architecture—which coexists with nature—and embarking on a career in architecture.He joined Yamanaka Komuten Co., Ltd., the official contractor for the head temple Daitoku-ji. To share the unique spatial beauty of wabi-sabi—as seen in tea rooms—with the world, he created “Kian,” a bamboo tea room that can be transported and assembled by a single person. He has built Kian tea rooms around the world and is active in promoting the enjoyment of tea while connecting with nature.
#013
Kiko Ihara
While training in shrine maiden dance at the Niu-tsuhime Shrine—the guardian shrine of Mount Koya—she encountered the “shō.” She studied under Hideo Toyo, former Chief Music Director of the Music Division of the Imperial Household Agency’s Department of Ceremonial Affairs, and Yasuhiro Higashi.She continues to explore and deepen her understanding of traditional Japanese culture and spirituality, as well as their universal qualities rooted in the world. In addition to performing dedicatory concerts at the Soshuden Hall of the Inner Shrine of Ise Grand Shrine and at shrines and temples nationwide, she engages in a wide range of creative activities with various artists both in Japan and abroad. She appeared in “In-C” at Kiyomizu-dera Temple, conducted by Terry Riley; contributed to the music for Marihiko Hara’s album “PASSION” and the film “The Wandering Moon,” directed by Sang-il Lee; and co-starred with Akio Maro and François Chénier in the stage production “Secret Rite – Gold Shower.”She has also garnered acclaim for her international activities, including a collaboration with Jesse Kanda, the artist behind Björk’s artwork; a participation in the “ma,aida,…” production by Camille Boatel, the maverick of the French Nouveau Cirque scene; Her overseas activities have also been well-received, including a French theater tour, appearances at The Broad’s “Summer Happening” (L.A.), and the high-fidelity live music streaming program ODA (N.Y.). She will participate in the stage production “Sounds and Gestures III” in 2025 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Laos.
