Friday 25 November 2016

Teshima, Part 1

I've been trying to decide what to write first about Japan.  We saw several different aspects of this interesting country, so I'm going to start with the most unusual part of the trip - our visit to the islands in the Seto Inland Sea.  And of the three islands we saw there, I think Teshima was the strangest. (Click here to see where Teshima is.)

In fact, there was so much to see on Teshima that I'm going to divide my post into two parts. Otherwise, like me, you might end up with a spinning head.

So, let me give you some brief background. (VERY brief - I apologise if you're an expert and know how much I'm leaving out!)

Like much of rural Japan, the Seto Sea islands are depopulated and poor, in great contrast to the ultra-modern cities and famous tourist areas.  The area, though, is one of great natural beauty.  Some years ago, a wealthy man, CEO of the major Japanese company of Benesse Co, hired top architects to create some remarkable buildings on the Seto Sea island of Naoshima. They included a unique underground gallery (by Tadao Ando) which houses both his collection of Monets and some very large art installations, like the huge room below, which is created with, among other things, pure gold leaf. 


Over following years, more buildings and artworks were commissioned.  Eventually the Setouchi Triennale festival was founded to bring more art to more islands, with the focus switching to giving these islands a new life.  Major artists have created work that reflects the life and history of these forgotten places. Several have taken over existing derelict buildings and turned them into artworks, but there is no predicting what they will do. Some of the work is temporary, but much of it is permanent, so you can visit them at any time of year. 

You need weeks if not months to see everything, but we were lucky to catch the last few days of the 2016 Triennale. We started our trip from the port town of Takamatsu, and I hope the picture below captures that exciting feeling of waiting at a ferry on a bright, sunny morning, heading for somewhere new.  There's our boat approaching. - a high speed launch called ARTBOAT.

Once we were aboard, it roared off, spray glittering in its wake.  It was exciting and beautiful - though I noticed that at least two young passengers weren't enjoying it much... 


And soon we saw Ieura port, on Teshima.  


We were greeted by Kureishi, our Airbnb host.  Airbnb, in case you don't know, is a site where private individuals are supposed to rent out holiday accommodation. I haven't always been that thrilled with it, but Kureishi was just the kind of host everyone hopes to get.  He was so friendly, kind and fun, and he really wanted us to get the best from our trip.

He took us to one of the art houses just round the corner from the port.   It was created from an old house by German sculptor Tobias Rehberger. * It overlooks the sea and appears pretty ordinary from the outside...


When you enter, you must remove your shoes and put on slippers, as is normal in Japan, and you pay a few hundred yen at the desk.


Inside, the structure of the house is completely normal, except that it is painted with dazzling optical effects to trick the eye.  




Here's the cafe, (which was closed at the time)


I can't help wondering what food they offered when it was open. Liquorice allsorts, perhaps? 



A narrow staircase leads to the upper floor


The stripes gave way to spots on the stairs.....


Reminds me a bit of the Sea of Holes in the film "The Yellow Submarine."


You can see the fishing boats through the window, and the roofs of neighbouring houses.


So that was enough to make the head spin, but just round the corner, we discovered the Yokoo House, which was equally eye catching.   This was created by the Japanese architectural practice of Yuko Nagayama & Associates. We weren't allowed to take many pictures inside, but this is how Yokoo House reflects the outside world.  



I don't know how it's done but this is how it looks when you step inside the door.  



The house features a traditional Japanese garden in bright and unexpected colour. Carp, symbols of good luck, swim on the mosaic stream-bed through the garden and right under the house, which has both a glass floor and a glass ceiling. 


I liked standing inside and watching the carp swimming under the floor. 



The house contains many rather startling paintings which we weren't allowed to photograph. Actually, though, I thought the changing visual effects were more interesting than the paintings.  


I did consider retreating into the restroom to give my eyes a break. But I soon changed my mind when I saw ever more abstract versions of myself repeating into infinity....


You can see more about this house, including fascinating photo notes of how it was transformed from a ruined wreck, if you go here.

Kurieshi drove us back to his house to leave our bags, and then we took a bus to the Karato Oka area, to see "Storm House."  The artists were George Bures Miller and Janet Cardiff. She's essentially a sound artist so you really have to experience her work first-hand, but I've wanted to know more about her since experiencing her "40 Part Motet" a few years ago. 

It was a bright sunny day, and, seeking "Storm House," we wandered around that satsuma orchard I mentioned in the last post ...


....and past hillside shrines...


....and wild flowers growing from rocks...


and found Storm House, to all appearances a small, wooden, and rather shabby Japanese house.

As you enter, the temperature drops and you gradually experience just how it would be to endure a severe thunderstorm storm in this house, with the electricity flickering and then dying, the rain hammering on the roof and water dripping through into buckets on the floor.

It's quite eerie, although (as with all installations, you have to be there to experience it). The followings video gives you a faint idea of that experience, but what it doesn't show is the shock of stepping from cold and dark and rain and noise into calmness and sunshine again afterwards.



But, as I said, it wasn't all art houses by any means.   Still, I'm going to end this post here, and post Part 2 soon.

*PS The house's name is "Was du liebst, bring dich aus zum weinen" - "What you love makes you cry."  I'd thought it was "Il Vente" ("The Wind") but that is just the name of the cafe.   Thanks to David Billa for pointing this out. David's amazing blog "Setouchi Explorer" helped get me interested in the Seto Sea artworks, and I link to this in Part 2 - but hey, I'll do it now, too. 


47 comments:

  1. Enough indeed to make one's head spin and question the ability to see properly!
    I am sure you know that "Il Vento" means "The Wind" in Italian. How odd that a German sculptor would create this object in Japan and give it an Italian name!

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    1. Actually, the name of the artwork is "Was du liebst, bring dich auch zum weinen"
      "Il Vento" is the name of the café.
      Quite tricky, I know. :-)

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  2. I love all those artworks/art houses. The optical effects in Il Vento are wonderful. A shame about the paintings you weren't able to photograph. But your senses must have been swimming with all those strange aesthetic experiences!

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  3. Yes, I wondered that too. And there is certainly nothing particularly "windy" about the house either.

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    1. Oh... Hi Jenny...
      I started reading the blog (link was sent through google alerts) without realizing it was you.
      Glad you had a good time on Teshima.
      I can't wait to read the rest.

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  4. Wow -- it's like MC Escher went nuts in there! Yes, my head would spin too. I think those more tranquil scenes would be even more welcome. But what a fascinating spot. Can't wait till the next post.

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    1. Love the idea of M C Escher! Yes, sometimes the walls did seem to be turning themselves inside out!

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  5. Fascinating and unique art houses - I think that you head would really spin if you had had a few too many glasses of wine and returned back there to sleep.

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    1. Not sure I could sleep. Or indeed if there were any beds, so that is probably just as well! !

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  6. Fascinating! I wonder how many people end up with a case of vertigo after going through the Il Vento house.

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  7. Strange, strange, strange. I would suffer from vertigo, but oh so interesting.

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  8. Thanks for exposing me to parts of Japan I had no idea existed.

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  9. It's nice to see something that isn't just cities. Can't wait for Part II!

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  10. What a place to be in. Even the sliding window glasses has those spots.
    It would have confused me like crazy.
    And what a contrast once you step out into that orchard.

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    1. There was a peaceful little harbour outside which you could see through the spots....weird...

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  11. What a clever way to revitalize an area!

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    1. That is one of the aspects that interested me most.It seems to have turned into such a huge project and to all appearances is getting bigger.

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  12. Thank you for all the Wow! The senses are challenged in fun and interesting ways. The storm room is eerie.

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    1. Yes, it felt like suddenly warping into another place and time of day. Quite disconcerting.

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  13. Hi there Jenny... well, I have missed your posts (my own fault lol). Those two rugged up passengers definitely look to be a bit seasick! I was amazed at the interior of "Il Vento" - incredible! Loved your suggestion that perhaps licorice allsorts may be served.. I agree. Lovely to re-connect with you and thanks for your visit to mine :D)

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    1. Thank you Sue. Yes, the kids seemed to be feeling queasy, but cheered up the minute we landed.

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  14. Fascinating, indeed! I look forward to Part 2. :)

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  15. How extraordinary!! Though you'd not want a hangover in that house!!

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    1. I am not very keen on hangovers at the best of times :)

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  16. Fascinating stuff. YOu are correct in that the best way to see such a rich culture is to live there for a while. Wish I had time.

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    1. Yes, it would be interesting to live there. We were there for just under a month, and I could have stayed longer.

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  17. Fabulous post. I always say this everything I visit my family but the Seto Inland Sea is one of my favorite places to be. I have explored the bigger islands out of Osaka. And taking the ferry (no longer in use) out.
    This post is so wonderful and full of so much interesting information. I can not wait for part two.
    I miss staying in Japan.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I understand your feelings for Japan better now that I have seen how many aspects it has and how different it is from our Western way of life.

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  18. Oh wow those houses were amazing, so much more interesting to me than the boring old National Trust houses full of old furniture and oil paintings here in the UK. I love Op art but imagine you may have felt a little dizzy walking around in the first house for too long.

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    1. I know what you mean but the national Trust is actually branching out, they have an incredible house in London which is entirely full of this guy's intricate fretwork wood carvings, amazing to behold.

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  19. That looks like such an interesting place. I don't know why, but I especially like visiting islands.

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    1. They're little worlds of their own aren't they? I once worked for a travel magazine called "Islands" - a great idea, I thought.

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  20. What a great concept, Art Houses, and they are dazzling Jenny. I have not heard of the Seto Sea and its islands, but they will go on my wish list now. Those optical effects are incredible - Japanese contemporary art is wonderful to behold.

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    1. I was very impressed at the amount of interesting contemporary art I saw in Japan.

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  21. Wow! Some amazing art houses. I was nearly dizzy just looking at the photos of the first one. It must be disorienting to walk through some of these. You certainly travel to some unique places. So glad you blog about them so I can learn a little about them too.

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    1. It's a weird feeling not quite knowing where to rest your eyes, but there were enough other clues (like the way the light came in the openings etc.) which somehow helped you get grounded!

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  22. I could handle the circles better than the stripes. They seem to make me nauseous and they're only pictures--LOL! What a fascinating place to visit!! :)

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  23. Your last post rather opened my eyes to the difference between reality and perception of the Japanese countryside. This one re-affirmed that understanding and added the rather unexpected - no, completely unexpected - art installations. They are quite amazing in their own right.

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    1. I had no idea what to expect from the japanese countryside. From the marketing which is done here, you would almost think there wasn't any. Perhaps they don't market it much because most attention is on the cities.

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  24. Wow! I would have loved to experience that in person. I really enjoy attending art shows and this is very different from any I've seen.

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  25. I have just caught up with your two posts on Japan and they are fabulous. Such a great country to visit. Thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  26. I would be sorely tempted to burn that house down if I could ever get my eyes to work properly again.

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  27. Dear Jenny - Teshima Island looks like a theme park (island) specializing in any form of art, which would make us feel thrilled through senses. I’m sure I’d feel dizzy and difficult to keep balance at Il Vento.

    I like the header photo of the shimmering Seto Island Sea. It reminded me of a haiku by Buson;
    Spring ocean / swaying gently / all day long

    Yoko

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    1. Yes, the idea of a theme park occurred to me too. Of course most of the island is just a normal and attractive countryside place. I love the haiku.

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