Kyoto Journal Issue 73

How long ago did our hunter/gatherer ancestors begin to utilize materials from their natural environment to braid rope, craft baskets, weave the first textiles, or produce richly-hued dyes from plants and insects? Could anyone in those far distant days have imagined the splendor of Cambodian ikat, the sumptuous intricacy of Nishijin silks?

Who discovered the power of drumming? And when did the rhythm of language turn into songs of devotion, or reflective poems? When did we start telling stories about the other creatures whose world we share, or begin to depict them in decorative arts? At what stage did we render plant fibers into paper; record observations worth saving for the future? Who was inspired to make those earliest flutes of bamboo or swan’s bone, and the first stringed instruments? When did we start to conceive the seasonal aesthetics of gardens and devise other means, public and private rituals, to re-envisage our interconnectedness with nature?

Ages ago we learned that to preserve nature and nature-based crafts is to safeguard the source of our richness; to destroy nature is to take an axe to our own roots. So when and how did we begin to forget this? And what can we do to remember?

This issue of Kyoto Journal explores our present relationship with the natural world. Among eight interviews and profiles are several featuring Japanese artists with deep commitment to working creatively with local communities abroad.

Contents:

Profile:
Morimoto Kikuo: Resurrecting a Cultural Ecology —Molly Harbarger
Nature is Beautiful –Ezaki Mitsuru