WORKS

The "Minzoku-Bijutsu Bu" project utilized the collection of folk tools at the Suzu Theater Museum in Oku-Noto, Suzu, and was implemented as a project to provide practical experience of local livelihoods. Rather than simply appreciating the folk tools as historical documents, the aim was to rediscover the beauty inherent in their function and form by actually holding and using them. The workshop was structured to allow participants to physically understand the process of rice production by experiencing a series of steps, from harvesting rice with a sickle and drying it on racks, to threshing, hulling, and milling the rice. These tasks were carried out while referring to the knowledge of local farmers and elders, and attempts were made to reinterpret tools whose use was unknown through dialogue. The characteristic of this project is that it is based on the perspective that "folk tools are art," and aims to rediscover a system of knowledge rooted in the land through the form, texture, and physical sensations of using the tools. Through sensory experiences such as the feel of the rice stalks, the smell of the soil, and the rhythm of the work, participants come to perceive the landscape not merely as visual information, but as memories connected to the body. Folk art clubs can be seen as a place to recreate disappearing aspects of daily life and culture, as well as an attempt to reinterpret the relationship between local culture and people in a modern context.