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「Kamiyama Artist in Residence」 Program |
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 If
you are looking for a fully equipped program, then
the Kamiyama Artist in Residence is not it.
If you are wanting a program that will provide you
with ample funds, then the Kamiyama Artist in Residence
is also not it.
However, if you would like to produce work surrounded
by the warm hearted people and natural beauty of
one of Japan's remaining mountain villages - in
other words, if you are looking for a "human
oriented" program - then the Kamiyama Artist
in Residence is just the thing for you. |
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The Kamiyama Artist in Residence (KAIR)
Program is an independent project organized
by volunteers who share the desire to
develop art and culture in Kamiyama
and was established in 1999 to invite
and provide artists with the unique
opportunity to concentrate on their
work in a supportive, communal environment. |
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| ■Kamiyama, Japan |
The Japanese Islands consist of four main
Islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu
ranging 2,400 km (1,500 miles) from north
to south in an arc shape. Kamiyama is located
near the center of Tokushima Prefecture (a
prefecture is equivalent to a state), which
is in the eastern part of Shikoku Island.
The area of Kamiyama is about 174 km2 (68
square miles) and 83% of it is forest. It
is about 25 km (16 miles) from east to west,
about 10 km (6 miles) from north to south
and is shaped like a parallelogram. Approximately
8,700 people live mainly in the area of an
alluvial fan opening along the Akui River,
which is a branch of the Yoshino River.
After driving 25 km (16 miles) to the southeast
from Tokushima City, the seat of the prefectural
office and the east gateway to Shikoku, (at
Long. 134°21’06”E., Lat. 33°57’47”N., 120
m (400 feet) above sea level) you come to
the Town Hall of Kamiyama.
Kamiyama means ‘Gods Mountain’ and Jinryo,
where the Town Hall is, means ‘the sphere
of Gods’, which is referred to in the oldest
history book in existence in Japan, The Kojiki
(712 AD).
The industry of Kamiyama used to be primarily
agriculture and forestry (Japanese Cedar,
Japanese Cypress etc.) but with a decrease
in population engaged in those occupations
under the influence of the recent economic
growth in Japan, people started to seek for
other kinds of works, or try to divert rice-producing
to fruit or mushroom-producing, or to horticulture,
such as orchid raising. Salaried workers are
mainly in the town factories, which produce
electric parts, metal goods, textiles etc.,
or in the construction industry. Also, quite
a few people commute to offices in Tokushima
City.
Recently Kamiyama has drawn people’s attention
for its naturally beautiful surroundings and
has been changing into a bedroom town for
commuters to Tokushima City and also as holiday
resort because of its hot spring and verdant
scenery.
Kamiyama is not only the geographical center
of the prefecture, but it is also rich in
culture and tradition. Its cultural resources
can be traced far back to the Bronze age (B.C.
300). People, who had been migrating to seek
fertile land, then changed their lifestyle
through agriculture and bronze were introduced
from the Asian Continent and settled down
in one place and cultivated the land. Those
who started to live in groups and learned
to work together cooperated to clear the wasteland
one after another and built safe, productive
settlements. One of those settlements is the
original form of Kamiyama today. Our ancestors
lived on millet (Awa) and were called a ‘millet
tribe’ because of their staple food. This
millet tribe is the oldest group of all in
Tokushima Prefecture and ‘Awa’, the ancient
name of Tokushima originally stems from their
name, so Kamiyama was the birthplace of much
traditional culture and folk art.
The most famous example is ningyo joruri,
a form of traditional puppet play, which was
performed at small theatres dotted throughout
the town from the late Edo period. Among the
props used in ningyo joruri were fusuma-e,
paintings on sliding screens that were used
as backgrounds. More than 1500 of these paintings
(the largest collection in Japan) completed
between the late Edo Period (mid 19th century)
and the Taisho Period (ending 1926), still
exist today and their vivid use of color and
dramatic style are stunning.
Interestingly, these fusuma-e were produced
by painters who were invited to local villages
as a kind of ‘resident artist’ to stay with
the villages’ powerful and wealthy, with support
from the local residents. In other words,
artist-in-residence activities were undertaken
in Kamiyama as early as the mid 19th century.
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