Yield
2018
Rice, acrylics
2500 x 3000 mm
The bottom half of the rice was painted over with red acrylic paint and arranged along the the floor’s joints.
This work was exhibited at Makabe” in Sakuragaoka city, Ibaraki, and that was a part of a class.
Mt. Tsukuba has two peaks, and the west peak called Mt. Nantai (=man) and the east peak called Mt. Nyotai (=female).
A man deity and a female deity are enshrined on each peak, and the ritual is held to celebrate the good harvest of crops.
There also remains some legends, and the following “天地の竝斉日月…遊楽窮らじ” is also one phrase of the legend of Mt. Tsukuba.
The legend of Mt. Tsukuba is a tradition that
The deity of Mt. Fuji refused to allow the great deity to stay overnight at the time of the Niiname Festival, and the deity of Mt. Tsukuba welcomed him. Thus the great deity praised the prosperity around Mt. Tsukuba and Mt. Fuji is covered snow all year round.
There also remains a record of Utagaki. Utagaki held in spring and autumn and many men and women from many nations gathered in the mountain at that time, and generally speaking that event was related to the celebrate of farmer.
In addition, Makabe town holds Hinamatusri in every February to March, and there are some Moon waiting towers in the town quietly.
*Niiname festival is ceremonial offering by the Emperor of newly-harvested rice to the deities.
*Utagaki: dancing and singing feast of young men and women in ancient Japandancing and singing feast of young men and women in ancient Japan.
*Hinamatsuri(Doll’s Festival) is an occasion to pray for young girls’ growth and happiness.
*Moon waiting tower: This is a folk belief in Japan. It is a pagoda built as a memorial of offerings by a group of people who gathered on the night of a specific moon age and held a moon-waiting event.
It was spend half a year since I started living in Tsukuba.
I was curious Mt. Tsukuba that I could look from my room and even when I was riding my motor bicycle.
In summer vacation, I drove around the mountain for three hours because I wondered the mountain was exist or not that looked like a painting looked from my city.
The mountain’s green looked really vivid when I approached the mountain.
I do not why but the local convenience store in Hokkaido was located at the foot of the mountain.
The shape of houses in Makabe town on the way those was I have never looked before, so I looked around there for a while.
There were some Moon waiting towers were around there. Those were built by the women group who prayed easy delivery.
There was also grandly held Utagaki at the foot of the mountain.
Did the people more longing for lives than now?
I heard that the people live in Ibaraki say Mt.Tsukuba with unique intonation, that sounds like "Mr.Tsukuba" in Japanese.
I became know the legend about Mt. Tsukuba.
”天地の竝斉日月と共同に人民集ひ賀ぎ飲食豊富に代々に絶ゆること無く日に日に弥栄て千秋万歳に遊楽窮らじ”
I became know the land around here blessed by gods.