Amabiki 2022 was held over the course of two months from Monday, 10th October to Sunday, 11th December, 2022. Sculptures by 33 participating artists were exhibited within the landscapes of the city of Sakuragawa (formerly the village of Yamato) in Ibaraki Prefecture.
The last exhibition was held in the spring of 2019, roughly three and a half years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic that began in the winter of early 2020 in Japan as well as elsewhere resulted in restrictions on travel between prefectures as well as on in-person gatherings and meetings.
As the Executive Committee of Amabiki Village and Sculpture meets once a month to produce the exhibition, the committee members struggled to determine how to hold discussions and prepare for the exhibition. However, young artists on the steering committee suggested web-based meetings, and discussions for the exhibition began with a mixed format of online and in-person meetings.
On several occasions, artists from outside the prefecture were unable to use the Yamato Central Community Center in Sakuragawa, where meetings were held. As time passed, the question of whether the exhibition could take place under such circumstances remained uncertain. However, the decision was made to proceed with meetings while keeping an eye on the situation. After several preparatory meetings, the exhibition was set for 2022.
Looking back, this marks the 12th time the exhibition has been held since the first one in 1996. The exhibition has continued for 27 years, during which the relationship between the city of Sakuragawa and the exhibition has gradually changed. The most significant changes are that the exhibition has been jointly hosted with the city since 2015, and that residents have taken a greater interest in the exhibition. Local residents have been seen viewing the works repeatedly while on walks. And an elementary school boy and his grandmother toured the works by bicycle, checking the route map as they went. These are surely the sorts of scenes we had hoped for. I feel that art is gradually becoming a part of our everyday lives, and I have realized the importance of continuing the exhibition. The fact that the exhibition has grown as it has is thanks to the understanding and cooperation of the residents as well as support from the city.
As artists, we are passionate about sculpture, so through the exhibition of Amabiki Village and Sculpture, we hope to continue creating wonderful exhibitions that will contribute to the culture of Sakuragawa.
Last but not least, I would like to offer my thanks for the cooperation from the landowners, volunteers, community residents, and the ward heads of the Motogi1, Nishikata, Ozone, Higashi-iida, and Abeta districts where the exhibition was held.

The AMABIKI exhibition Executive Committee
Executive Committee Chairman
OTSUKI Takayuki

Sakuragawa City is located about 70-80 km from Tokyo in the midwestern part of Ibaraki Prefecture. Surrounded on three sides by mountains, the area boasts five hundred and fifty thousand flowering wild cherry trees during spring that there is a saying “Yoshino in the west, and Sakuragawa in the east” (referring to Yoshino, an area in Western Japan renowned for cherry blossoms since more than a thousand years ago). The area is also blessed with a natural environment rich in greenery. The river Sakuragawa, which gives the city its name, flows north-south through the city center.
Centered on the city’s former Yamato district, which is particular rich in nature, the AMABIKI exhibition has been held since 1996, with 2019 marking the 11th exhibition. One of few such outdoor exhibitions in Japan, AMABIKI owes its continuation of over twenty years to several factors. Among these is the organization of the executive committee by all participating artists, and the independent nature of the event. Also indispensable are the understanding and support of an extremely large number of people, including not only the landowners who support the exhibition and readily provide space to exhibit the art works but also the local residents who warmly greet the artists and many visitors. I would like to express my deep appreciation to all of these supporters.
This exhibition lasted around two months, from April 1 through June 9. Highly individualistic pieces from thirty-eight artists were displayed against a background of rice paddies in the districts of Abeta, Haneda, Aoki, and Takamori.
The scenery of satoyama (border areas between mountain foothills and arable flat land near villages) in this season rapidly changes in various beautiful ways. The changes start with the blossoming of the cherry trees. The mountains then begin to turn a brilliant golden color, and the rice paddies fill with beautifully shining water. When the rice is planted, the surrounding scenery completely changes, growing a deeper and deeper green each day. Finally, the rainy season arrives.
Along with the natural environment of the satoyama, the expressions of the works of art standing amid this scenery undergo change after change. While this may be difficult to see for people visiting from far away, one of the exquisite aspects of the exhibition is the pleasure of seeing how the works of art change. If you have the opportunity, we hope you will view the pieces over time as the beautiful satoyama rice paddy scenery undergoes transitions.
This exhibition draws numerous people each time it is held. I heard that this time too, there were visitors from not only Sakuragawa City and Ibaraki Prefecture but also from around Japan and overseas. The exhibition is often covered by TV, newspapers, and other media, which is greatly appreciated by Sakuragawa City.
Although the dates of the next exhibition have not been decided, I hope that it will be held in near the future and will continue to support it to the best of my ability. In conclusion, I hope for the continued growth and prosperity of the AMABIKI exhibition and everyone involved.

The Mayor of Sakuragawa City
OTUKA Hideki

The first time I visited AMABIKI was in 2008, when I was a Fine Arts student at the Tsukuba University School of Art and Design. The place is located in Sakuragawa City, in Ibaraki Prefecture. That day was a beautiful late-autumn day, with hot summer weather. The clouds were flying by as though Constable had painted the sky, and the landscape was filled with various greens, bringing to mind lush grass, trees, and forests.
It felt like a new experience. Artworks are supposed to be exhibited in museums, or inside; or they could be public art, like sculpture. But to exhibit them short-term—just a couple of months or less—outside, somewhere like a rice field or another natural space, after which they have to be removed or destroyed—why would somebody do that? Why waste such energy on an artwork or project with such a short life-span?
What is the purpose of exhibiting an art work where it can be exposed the elements, transformed by the weather? Importantly, such artwork forms somewhat of a contrast to the character of mainstream culture, for example it cannot be easily transported and cannot be integrated by art galleries or museums. It is also difficult for such work to attract the interest of collectors. When the exhibition ends, you need to bring the artwork back to the studio, or have it stored somewhere.
That day, as we were walking around the beautiful natural surroundings, one by one the artworks revealed themselves in many places—amid urban areas, in the rural environment, in a forest, connecting and recreating harmony with nature, in situ. It was entirely different to going to a museum: I could feel the wind; I could hear the birds and insects around me; I could smell the greenery. And I had so many different views of the art works, each of them with a different story to tell.
In that way, I started to understand the point of environmental or land art, and nature. Of course, the natural environment had always been a part of artistic representation, like landscape painting. But by the end of 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, Land Art fostered a more intimate relationship to the nature and a break with the rule of “framing” a work. The art work became an experience, without a single view-point or focus. Such art works have a multitude of views or perspectives, which are often difficult to capture in a single snapshot for example. You have to be there, inside or outside, to feel and understand the presentation of the work.
I have now been a member of Amabiki Village and Sculpture since 2018.
After almost three years with the Covid-19 pandemic spreading all over the world, this year we were extremely hopeful and started in earnest to plan another iteration of this exhibition. Planning such an exhibition requires a lot of work. Participating artists gather monthly to discuss the details of the exhibition. However, these meetings are more than just deciding the exhibition details. Each members’ work is not simply a matter of creating, it also entails getting permission to use a site, planning the route of the exhibition, as well as designing the catalogue and promotional flyer, and installing signage. And of course, we cannot forget about the financial side too. To belong to an art group, sharing opinions, and doubts, is always important for one’s individual development as an artist too. For me it has been so meaningful to share these conversations with other AMABIKI members.
However, there are so many questions when you start creating your artwork. Looking for the right spot for the artworks, or planning its creation and the site, and actually realizing and adapting that plan to a specific space. Under these pressures, all participating artists have a limited time to finish their works. This also gives AMABIKI a somewhat different character, more like a big family, working together—but the artworks have their own soul and personality. The process of creation always takes a piece of the self that is integrated into the artwork. The representations of the artworks have countless faces. Some of them become part of the landscape, floating amid nature; others show a completely unrelated picture with the materials used and the colors, yet these too become part of the scene.
The artwork connects with the surrounding lights and shadows, which are playing on them, giving them so many delicate views in the scene. Visitors must follow a route, a journey, to see all the art works.
Ultimately, the viewers will always express their own thoughts and bring something home with them, which may share a little spark of hope in the turmoil of a world in pandemic.

Participating artist
ZELENAK Sandor

AMABIKI 2019, the 11th AMABIKI exhibition, opened together with the blossoming of cherry trees. The exhibition was first held in 1996 when seven sculptors active in Sakuragawa City (former Yamato Village) announced their wish to exhibit their works in the village and surrounding satoyama (border area between mountain foothills and arable flat land near villages). From the second exhibition held the following year, artists working in various materials and forms were also invited to participate. The exhibition came together through monthly meetings in which each artist served as an executive committee member.
Through the fifth exhibition, the exhibition was called the “nth AMABIKI VILLAGE AND SCULPTURE.” However, the addition of “nth” to the name of the exhibition raised the feeling that each event was held just to increase that number, so the use of a single name was examined and decided upon. It has now been three and a half years since the previous exhibition, AMABIKI 2015 Rin-rin Road. It was decided that the monthly meetings should be not only meetings for making decisions regarding the exhibition but also valuable venues for discussions of sculpture. There was also a desire to hold the exhibition during spring, when the cherry trees that cover the satoyama begin to bloom. In this way, the timing of the exhibition was decided. This is the first exhibition held in spring since 2006, thirteen years ago. This exhibition has been created through nearly two years of preparatory meetings and full meetings. Exhibiting sculptures amid changing seasons and in different areas, the exhibition is founded on the identity of each artist as a sculptor with a basic desire to create and display works of art while living in the satoyama.
AMABIKI 2019 is cosponsored by the Sakuragawa City and the Sakuragawa Board of Education. The AMABIKI exhibitions have been held for 23 years, a feat made possible through the understanding and support of the mayor, city office staff, local ward heads, landowners, and volunteers. We on the Executive Committee will do what we can to communicate the culture of Sakuragawa City through the exhibition.
I would like to express special appreciation for the assistance we have received during the busy spring season.

The AMABIKI exhibition Executive Committee
Executive Committee Chairman
OTSUKI Takayuki

Sakuragawa City is located about 70-80 km from Tokyo in the midwestern part of Ibaraki Prefecture. Surrounded on three sides by mountains, the area boasts five hundred and fifty thousand flowering wild cherry trees during spring that there is a saying “Yoshino in the west, and Sakuragawa in the east” (referring to Yoshino, an area in Western Japan renowned for cherry blossoms since more than a thousand years ago). The area is also blessed with a natural environment rich in greenery. The river Sakuragawa, which gives the city its name, flows north-south through the city center.
Centered on the city’s former Yamato district, which is particular rich in nature, the AMABIKI exhibition has been held since 1996, with 2019 marking the 11th exhibition. One of few such outdoor exhibitions in Japan, AMABIKI owes its continuation of over twenty years to several factors. Among these is the organization of the executive committee by all participating artists, and the independent nature of the event. Also indispensable are the understanding and support of an extremely large number of people, including not only the landowners who support the exhibition and readily provide space to exhibit the art works but also the local residents who warmly greet the artists and many visitors. I would like to express my deep appreciation to all of these supporters.
This exhibition lasted around two months, from April 1 through June 9. Highly individualistic pieces from thirty-eight artists were displayed against a background of rice paddies in the districts of Abeta, Haneda, Aoki, and Takamori.
The scenery of satoyama (border areas between mountain foothills and arable flat land near villages) in this season rapidly changes in various beautiful ways. The changes start with the blossoming of the cherry trees. The mountains then begin to turn a brilliant golden color, and the rice paddies fill with beautifully shining water. When the rice is planted, the surrounding scenery completely changes, growing a deeper and deeper green each day. Finally, the rainy season arrives.
Along with the natural environment of the satoyama, the expressions of the works of art standing amid this scenery undergo change after change. While this may be difficult to see for people visiting from far away, one of the exquisite aspects of the exhibition is the pleasure of seeing how the works of art change. If you have the opportunity, we hope you will view the pieces over time as the beautiful satoyama rice paddy scenery undergoes transitions.
This exhibition draws numerous people each time it is held. I heard that this time too, there were visitors from not only Sakuragawa City and Ibaraki Prefecture but also from around Japan and overseas. The exhibition is often covered by TV, newspapers, and other media, which is greatly appreciated by Sakuragawa City.
Although the dates of the next exhibition have not been decided, I hope that it will be held in near the future and will continue to support it to the best of my ability. In conclusion, I hope for the continued growth and prosperity of the AMABIKI exhibition and everyone involved.

The Mayor of Sakuragawa City
OTUKA Hideki

I first visited the AMABIKI exhibition when I was a student. At that time, I never thought that someday I would take part in the event. I became a member when I was just starting out as an artist and am now participating in the exhibition for the fourth time.
When I first took part in this exhibition, one openly held by the artists themselves, the behind-the-scene aspects were something that I had never experienced before. There was a particularly strong tension during the serious but raucous discussions at the monthly meetings. We address all matters related to holding the exhibition, and deal with things that come up. There is no pre-established harmony regarding the path to solutions, and members all discuss issues from scratch with full knowledge of the troubles involved. In this way, the character of each artist becomes evident. This is a difficult time, when every comment made by people comes back just as it was given. From within this maelstrom, I felt I was looking at a microcosm of society.
That microcosm gradually changes in line with each artist’s path in life and relationship with society. The AMABIKI exhibition itself has also truly changed as the times have moved forward. However, it is not just about other people. When I take a look back at myself, I notice that within me, a part of that microcosm, there is yet another more compact microcosm. The various unique artists serve as mirrors, and various versions of myself are inevitably reflected.
Society is based on division of labor. People are only able to accomplish things in the limited time they have by taking on a specialization and delegating other work to people. This is true of exhibitions too. If the exhibition can be effectively put on by dividing up the roles of the artists and other professions engaged in expression, that is good enough.
However, the AMABIKI exhibition is not done that way. That is perhaps because, while only focus on creating your art and let the other struggles in your life fade into the background, you acutely perceive the possibility of losing something essential as a creator. What does it mean to make great efforts to always stay self-aware? It may be something like an effect that is difficult to seek within the framework of art that became self-evident once there was a division of labor – something that, although difficult to put into words, could be called “certainty”.
If one looks back at history, one can argue that each of the various expressions that have been developed were achieved together with a particular “certainty”. It must have also accompanied people when questioning obviousness or aiming for innovation at the frontier of frameworks. On the other hand, the focus of the AMABIKI exhibition is solely on the extremely simple act of showing people works placed within the scenery. However, one captures a “certainty” in expression by accepting both meaning and responsibility in the process, and by in the end tracing the process of the formation of the frameworks themselves.
Follow the route and view all of the works of art. The works of art illuminate the artists, visiters, region, and society, which in turn illuminate the works of art. This intricate reflection reflects the microcosm within me.
I stand as an ephemeral state of change between the inside and outside. On the other hand, the works of art exist naturally within the satoyama (border area between mountain foothills and arable flat land near villages) life, as if unrelated to the subtleties of those flesh-and-blood people. They will likely remain in the memories of visiters who viewed them accompanied by “certainty”. With the passage of time, one’s interpretation of them is sure to change with each recollection. The more that works of art are recalled in mind or updated, the more they provide artists and viewers with a new vision. They do so while urging one to take the next step.

Participating artist
SHIOYA Ryota

On behalf of all of the participating artists I would like to extend my greatest appreciation to Sakuragawa city in jointly hosting “The AMABIKI exhibition Rinrin Road” as part of their ten year anniversary.
The cooperation and hard work of city and prefectural supervisors and a great number of other people has led to where we are today. Thank you very much.
Sakuragawa city was established when the towns of Makabe, Yamato and Iwase merged in October, 2005. We decided to use this time of commemoration to try something new. After much deliberation and discussion we decided to hold the AMABIKI exhibition along the Rinrin Road that joins the former towns of Makabe, Yamato and Iwase, and here we are today at the opening of the AMABIKI exhibition.
Previous the AMABIKI exhibition were held in the former Yamato village district. An area was chosen for the exhibition and artists would then each decide where they wanted to install their works. Then, with the help of town office employees, the heads of local districts, and local residents, they had to gain permission from landowners to install works on their properties. After sites were decided, routes were worked out and signposts erected, as everyone went through the process of getting each exhibition up and running.
The subtitle of this exhibition is “Rinrin Road”, a road that runs from the Inuda intersection on the prefectural road 14 at the northern end, past the amabiki rest area, and down to the old Kabaho station at the southern end. Exhibits were restricted to the Rinrin Road area, and thus we have the current exhibition route.
Upon reflection, when the Amabiki exhibitions started back in 1996, there were no art galleries or museums, just an expansive rural landscape and it all started in the hope that the people of Sakuragawa city and the children who grew up here would see art and sculpture as a normal part of their surroundings and not as something special or out of the ordinary.
And now twenty years has passed and children who were born back then are about twenty years old. It is our dream that the years of Amabiki exhibitions have given these children of Sakuragawa a sense and awareness of art and sculpture.
The lastly but not least, I would like to extend a gratitude to the volunteer group Yamato-Nadeshiko-an who provided meals and a place to rest for exhibition visitors for many years. I would also like to appreciate everybody at Mirai Juku for getting the local junior high school students involved and planning the photo contest and workshop etc.
As well as the workshop itself, frottage rubbing materials were available near each work so that people could become a bit more familiar with each exhibit. The idea came about so that people would not only appreciate the different works, but also make their own frottage rubbings of exhibits as a moment of the exhibition. 　　　　　　　　

The AMABIKI exhibition Executive Committee
SUGAWARA Jiro

　My first encounter to the AMABIKI exhibition was about 10 years ago, when my university professor gave me a flyer on the sculpture exhibition, which I then went along with my friend and their family. We travelled by car from our home in Kawagoe, along the Kawagoe Highway, taking the Uratoko Bypass onto the Shuto Expressway, the Gaikan Expressway, Joban Expressway and finally the Kita-Kanto Expressway. I’m not sure if it was because the scenery was so unfamiliar but when we entered Sakurgawa city it felt like we had travelled such a long way. After visiting at the works in the exhibition we went to the opening party. We walked along the slopes of the park and arrived at a wide-open space where the artists themselves had made this amazing barbecue feast. The second time I also went with a friend. We walked around the forest and surrounding grounds, feeling very calm amongst the serene nature of Amabiki. On my third visit I came with my family and we looked around the exhibits by my car. I remember my children playing between the sculptures. It is a great memory. All of the sculptures that we saw were so impressive, and in the natural scenery. There were also some sculptures that captured both the natural environment and a feeling or sense of discomfort. These pieces made me think what exactly a sculpture should be.

　I had heard from various people that the AMABIKI exhibition was organized and run by the artists themselves. This coupled with the allurement of the sculptures commanding their spot in the Sakuragawa landscape, were behind my desire to try and participate the exhibition someday. About three years ago I went to a former university professor who is a member of the AMABIKI exhibition asking him to recommend me to be a participant. It didn’t take longtime to agree him to recommend.

　From March this year I was accepted as a member of the executive committee. Participating in monthly meetings about the upcoming exhibition. I had moved my home, for the first meeting it took three hours to get there, traveling from the Tohoku Expressway to the Kita-Kanto Expressway. As I came down off the interchange I once again recognized at the sheer number of stone masons. When I reached the meeting room on the second floor of the community center, there were tables placed in a large circle with everybody seated facing each other. While there was a physical distance between the artists there was also a sense of unity and freedom in the air. I felt the excitement about the upcoming exhibition because a lot of ideas and opinions were exchanged during that first meeting. Since all the members walking the exhibition route “Rinrin Road” together, cutting the weeds, and getting flyers and posters ready to send off, I was able to appreciate that the exhibition really was a team effort by everyone involved.
　
　The location for the exhibition this year is an old railroad. I had to visit the site many times to fix my plans and to find right way to install my work. During these visits I was able to talk to local people and hear stories about the old Amabiki and Kabaho train stations. These stories made me think about what has been lost, and reflect on what it might have been like. I started to think about my family. My father, who had passed away, and mother, wife and children back at home. Encountering the AMABIKI exhibition has been truly invaluable to me, both in time and place. I am extremely grateful to the Mayor, the officers and the locals of Sakuragawa city and all other people involved, for the opportunity to show my work in the AMABIKI 2015 Rinrin road. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Written by OKA Takahiro

photograph SAITO Sadamu

The AMABIKI exhibition is set in the hills and hamlets of the former Yamato village, in Sakuragawa city, Ibaraki prefecture. With the support of the local residents, the AMABIKI has been operating as an artist-run exhibition since its first season in 1996. What started out with only seven stone artists now involves a large family of artists who convene for a general meeting every month to discuss exhibition details such as installation areas and the route the exhibition course should take.
The last exhibition, AMABIKI 2011, was titled ‘In the Midst of Winter’, and showcased sculptures amid the attenuated colors and harsh chill of winter. The exhibition, which showed finished sculptures that fitted perfectly with the snowy backdrop and mid-winter theme, was unfortunately cut short by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The exhibition area, largely dependent on the stone and agricultural industries, suffered from the earthquake. Fortunately, the 42 sculptures in the exhibition all remained in one piece, showing the high level of safety management that was carried out for the installation of each work. It was such a shame that the artists couldn’t showcase their work for the whole intended period.
This, our ninth exhibition, showcased the sculptures of 38 artists for two and a half months between September and November, amidst the fallen leaves and beautifully tinged hills of autumn. Perhaps the best part of this exhibition was the excitement of navigating by yourself through the brisk autumn air and beautiful scenery to each sculpture location. With a lot of repeat visitors and an overload in bookings for the interpretive bus tour from day one, this exhibition was definitely a success. This was our first exhibition since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and involved making installations even safer than before, and having another look at the relationship and impact the artists and exhibition have on the local community. On behalf of all the artists I would like to extend my greatest appreciation and thanks to everyone who came to see the exhibition, and of course to everyone who assisted with the preparation and running of the AMABIKI 2013.


December, 2013
AMABIKI 2013, Executive Committee

After the exhibition period had been finalized I came to Amabiki to look at the exhibition area. That was this time last year. The fields were filled with rice about to be harvested, and in some fields harvesting had already begun. Because the exhibition lasts for three months, the surrounding environment inevitably changes from the time the exhibition starts to the time it ends. And therefore the exhibits must be visible through the fresh green of the sultry summer to the cooler nights that announce winter’s approach. Over the course of six months I kept coming back, to be inspired by the environment and to find the perfect place for my creation, a place where my sculpture wouldn’t clash with or get in the way of any of the other exhibits.
However, at that point I didn’t know who would be bringing what kind of exhibits, and therefore I wasn’t really thinking about how my sculpture would fit in to the exhibit as a whole. I chose a location on the promise that each exhibition would be self-contained and discrete unit. But as soon as the exhibition opened, you could see each artist’s individual personality begin to come through and merge giving the exhibition an organic life of its own, bringing the area to life and creating an almost living creature of sculpture and scenery. We expect people that ‘make things’ to lack a sense of cooperativeness with others, but through this exhibition I have realized that joining forces in our expression benefits both the individual and the group as a whole.
As a participating artist I am a person that ‘makes things’, but this does not mean I am profound in the wisdom of art. Some exhibits are very straightforward, while others are a bit more difficult to understand. For example, if there was nudity. The sculpture title would be ‘Woman’, People feel a sense of relief. Humans feel relieved when they see things that they understand. But can we really say that this ‘touches’ us? The reality is that there are many things that become uninteresting when we know their purpose.
A map and pamphlet, with short comments from each artist, is made available at ‘Sitrus’, the first sculpture in the exhibition. The comments vary, with some very straightforward descriptions to short poems by artists who can’t express their thoughts in any other way. Viewing the sculptures in light of these comments makes going round the exhibition that bit more interesting.
The concrete objects and scrap metal on the side of the road, which could be mistaken for part of the exhibition, are just fallen down road signs. Some of them might carelessly catch your eye and have you thinking ‘Look at that! I wonder who the artist is? It’s quite good!’ Looking at these as you take in the intended sculptures is perhaps an unexpected way of enjoying this exhibition.I first participated in the second AMABIKI exhibition in 1997. Since then I have continued to be involved with the installation and removal of exhibits. For this exhibition, I spent the two weeks set aside for installing the sculptures driving around the various locations in a 4-tonne truck.So, even though it had become a route with which I was familiar, I decided to ride a bicycle around it to take another overall look at the exhibition in preparation for writing this piece. Travelling around the exhibit at a speed somewhere between walking and driving, I noticed a lot of little changes that hadn’t previously realized to me before. When I was a child I had to walk 8km to get to school. And it was through scenery very similar to this. I still remember the big rocks left in the middle of fields, the stacked of pile of old cars and scrap metal, and thinking that it looked like they all just existed as part of the natural environment. I think the foundation for creating my sculptures lies in those things I didn’t understand as a small child.
While most of the artists in this exhibition vary in age and profession, we are all professionals who want to make a living from sculpting. Not even a psychic could take one look and correctly interpret these exhibits, which have evolved out of an extended prosses of trial and error. In fact, in some cases, not even the artists themseves completely know the meaning behind their work. So, how is someone else able to understand? But it’s not about understanding. Don’t look at something mysterious and try to draw rational conclusion about it. Sculptures are made to be looked at as they are, in their full mysterious entirety.
Lastly, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone who came from far and wide to view the exhibition, and to the local Amabiki community, for the various facets of support they provided in helping make this exhibition a reality. In particular, I would like to say a special thank-you to the landowners, with whom we shared ‘the space’, and with whom the artists grew close. We are all very grateful. I believe that AMABIKI is providing new possibilities as an expressive ‘space’ in what is already a saturated arts scene.

MATSUDA Bumpei, participating artist

‘AMABIKI’ is not hosted by any public bodies. It is widely known as an exhibition run by the artists themselves. The participating artists organize the executive committee and are responsible for the various duties involved with running the exhibition. I am the Secretary. It is my job to write up the minutes from the monthly committee meetings. People often comment on how difficult or tedious my job must be, but I actually quite enjoy it. The discussions quite often get heated and people start talking faster, making it difficult to catch what everyone is saying, but it’s interesting because each artist has his or her own way of expressing their opinions, their own choice of words and tone of voice. Some artists express their ideas very logically, while others find it difficult to find the right words. This difference in character carries over to their work.
The day after each meeting I go over my notes and write up the official minutes. In the meetings members discuss issues until everybody is satisfied with the solution, and I try to show this in the minutes by documenting all the points of view. However, with 40 assertive artists at each meeting, this can sometimes be a formidable task. Doing this kind of work after every meeting has given me an objective view of the AMABIKI, the challenges being faced and the way in which each artist responds. The time I have spent on has been very valuable, helping me understand my own relationship with the AMABIKI and deepening my thinking on art and sculpture.
In addition to myself as Secretary, each participating artist is responsible for a set duty, such as catalogue making, signage and event planning. We call this current system the ‘AMABIKI Way’, but it never used to be such plain sailing. I joined the exhibition in its third year, and while even back then the theory was that the exhibition would be run by all the artists, in reality only a small group were doing all the work, and it was starting to cause problems. The following year the number of participating artists increased and with it so did the amount of work, causing an array of problems, including the obvious difference in how little or how much some artists were committed to the running of the exhibition. Our current system lets us overcome such issues, and trial and error has made the artists more aware that this is their exhibition. Of course the current system isn’t completely perfect and improvements will continue to be made.
And so the ‘AMABIKI2013’ exhibition has begun. Many visitors have already come to view the sculptures and the surrounding hillside scenery under the autumnal Amabiki skies. I wish I could take time off from my committee duties during the exhibition, but of course I cannot. If something were to arise during the exhibition period that required the committee to convene for a meeting, I would of course need to take the minutes. I hope my quiet dedication to the job now will pay off for future exhibitions.

YAMAJO Rei, participating artist

photograph SAITO Sadamu

Sakuragawa City in Ibaraki prefecture, which is an expanse of rural scenery, is also one of Japan’s leading sources of stone with a flourishing stone industry. In 1996, a number of stone sculptors with workshops in the area began “Amabiki Village and Sculpture”. The participating artists ran the event themselves, with the cooperation of local people, and by now the sculpture exhibition has a history of 15 years. Many art events have been staged in recent years, to stimulate the region, and the diligent efforts of the artists have gradually won people’s understanding. The exhibition is also a rare example of such an effort leading to the beginnings of community stimulus, and it offers many hints on the relationship between society and the pure, expressive efforts of the sculptors.
In this, the eighth exhibition, 42 participating artists will place their works, which use diverse materials and forms of expression, in the “satoyama” village hillsides and hamlets between the start of the year in January to the beginnings of spring in March.
Until now, the exhibitions have mainly taken place in the milder seasons of spring and fall, but this time we chose to brave the harsh cold of winter in an exhibition entitled “In the midst of winter”. As the trees lose their leaves, the ridge lines of the landscape are starkly exposed, revealing a different kind of beauty from spring and fall. What kinds of places will the 42 artworks settle into, amid the attenuated colors and the harshly chilled air, and what kinds of scenery will they create?
Visitors will feel the air of the season and move around in an orienteering style, encountering scattered clusters of works. As they do so, they will also experience the beauty of Japan’s “satoyama” hillsides, and the local industries and people’s lives that go on there. Those things have always made the exhibition richer and more vivid.
The artists called to Amabiki Village have been searching for expression in the intersection between the natural life of the “satoyama” and the social environment of the area. Regardless of age and background, they are stimulated by each other’s work, turning the exhibition into a workshop in which they polish themselves. I believe “Amabiki Village and Sculpture” will go on making steady progress, like marking a row of footprints over this wintry terrain.

March 2011
Amabiki 2011, Executive Committee

There was a letter from the artists who established the first exhibition, inviting people to participate in the Amabiki Village and Sculpture event. I still remember how truly passionate and sincere it was. I liked what it said and have participated in the Amabiki Village and Sculpture exhibition since the second event. Since then, the exhibition has expected the artists to put in the hard work of running the event for themselves, and in exchange, it has respected their individual expressive efforts, while searching, with an unwavering stance, for the ideal form of exhibition. The way the artists, doing away with frills of all kinds and working with a kind of austerity, build this kind of outdoor exhibition, is now very important.
While the outdoor exhibition has come around every two years, as a venue for artists to explore their own potential for expression, it has become even more important as a precious opportunity for artists to meet colleagues and their works, and stimulate each other.
Around the time when that process reached the seventh exhibition, I fell ill with a serious disease and was repeatedly hospitalized. The situation was serious, and not a time for creating art. I had a sketchbook by my hospital bed, but didn’t have the spirit to draw a single stroke. Unavoidably, I had to give up on the seventh exhibition.
Three years passed, then I came back to Amabiki, to exhibit my work in the eighth exhibition.
Helped by many people, the will to live, and to create, somehow guided me to Amabiki. I started walking around this beautiful village for the first time in a long while, looking for a suitable site for my work. Our forefathers drew pictures in caves long ago, or erected giant stones on hilltops. Expression emerges in its own right place, and perhaps the search to find that place is a desire and a creative wellspring that is fundamentally innate in people as they try to express themselves. I was brought up in the mountains of the Hokuriku region, and when I was in junior high school, I was unavoidably fascinated by a giant rock poking out of a river. I thought of cutting a hole into the tip of that rock. Lacking the right tools, it took three years before I finally managed to pierce the rock with a hole. I wonder if that was the starting point? Thinking of things like that, I move on through beautiful scenery. I have already begun the process of creating my art in Amabiki.
And that brings me to this year’s Amabiki Village and Sculpture exhibition.
The backdrop will be “in the midst of winter”. It is a season in which creatures sleep and people turn to indoor work. Perhaps it is the nature of artists, or really the character of Amabiki, to overturn that natural rhythm and stage an outdoor exhibition.
Over these three years, I have slept so much it disgusts me. I’m done with medicines that are like filthy poisons. Imagining the artworks dotted amid the winter scenery of Amabiki, I am longing to meet and join a group of 42 artists and their works.

MURAKAMI Tsukumo, participating artist

photograph SAITO Sadamu

People who come to the exhibition often ask me “Amabiki happens once in two years, right?” It takes strength to carry on. The kind understanding of the community, and of the people who come time and again to touch the works, is a great encouragement. But that question makes me feel a little uneasy, and I say “well, there’s no rule that says it has to be that way”, and start into a long-winded explanation, saying things like “All the artists work on it voluntarily. The Amabiki Village and Sculpture Executive Committee which stages the event is not made up of public agencies and planners, it’s an autonomous gathering of all the exhibitors taking individual responsibility. The executive committee forms for each exhibition and dissolves after it. The will to stage the event comes from the participating artists who make up the committee, and they run everything that involves work and decisions”.
It might be better to describe Amabiki 2008 as the seventh time the exhibition happens, rather than the seventh regular instance. It is normal for anything to lose its initial ideals and become a hollow shell if it is repeated enough times, but now, after more than ten years, I feel that every single Amabiki Village and Sculpture event is linked along the single path of creating works and believing in art. The participants always have the perception that this time will happen because last time did. The more sincere their attitude as creators, the more likely they are to notice important little details that could get overlooked or dropped, and pick them up carefully. They reflect those things in their next new works and present them as an exhibition.
This time, the exhibition is one element in the “23rd National Cultural Festival – Ibaraki 2008”. Once, we firmly refused to participate. That was based on our view that becoming one part of a government project would damage the independence of the event. It took several months of debate before we finally decided to participate. Our conclusion was partly a response to a request from nearby Sakuragawa City, which has cooperated with us for many years. The decision shows our confidence that “Amabiki Village and Sculpture” could find a way to make a small impression. Of course, we were well aware, in reaching our decision, that we should not stick egotistically to any one course.

November 9th, 2008
Amabiki Village and Sculpture, Executive Committee
INOUE Masayuki

The Surroundings of the Sculptures

The scenery of the village hillsides, which I have visited so often, is beautiful. It is good in different ways in each season. For artists of “Amabiki Village and Sculpture”, the scenery is certainly the first thing that sustains their passion. As you walk through the woods, there are works that reveal themselves little by little. There are sculptures that are seen from afar on the paths between rice fields, and come gradually closer. Others appear suddenly round a bend in the road. Sculptures of various forms are dotted through the hillsides of the village.
The participating artists visited this area many times, starting over a year ago, looking for the right spots to place their works. It’s a pleasure, but it’s also difficult. The act of deciding where to put your sculpture amid the broad expanses of village hillsides is the same as starting to create the work. Besides the actual installation site, the journey to encounter the sculpture is also an epilogue to the space that surrounds it. Artists are, in a broad sense, required to have this kind of spatial perception and feel for the air of a place. Where many works are installed, the strong feeling that they exert a presence, rather than merely decorating the place, is an expression of the individual artists’ deep concern for space.
The independent running of Amabiki Village and Sculpture is certainly one of its greatest characteristics. That independent operation is tough, and for the artists it is a harsh burden. But what we get in exchange for that toughness is huge. For the artists, staging an exhibition in which everything is determined by ourselves, either individually or collectively, is like stripping ourselves bare. There are few environments in which we can expose ourselves and express our thoughts in the shape of our works, and it is the search for such places that is really the “tough” thing for us.
One point in which this Amabiki Village and Sculpture is very different from those before is that it is a kind of participation in Ibaraki prefecture’s national festival of culture. The artists were very worried that this exhibition, which has continued in the simple form of an independent operation, could lose some of that simplicity. Discussions over whether or not to join in went on for several months of discussions, once a month.
The book “Forgotten Japanese” by the folklore scholar MIYAMOTO Tsuneichi describes community gatherings in long-ago farming villages. We can’t help noticing, with a wry smile, that the scene is very close to the way “Amabiki Village and Sculpture” works. In farming villages long past, the discussions continued endlessly for even trivial decisions, until all villagers agreed, sometimes going on around the clock for days.
“Amabiki Village and Sculpture” takes its time, like those villagers in “Forgotten Japanese”, and in future it will go on with its leisurely progress.

YAMAZAKI Takashi, participating artist

photograph SAITO Sadamu

The area around Sakuragawa City, located in the mid-western part of Ibaraki prefecture with a view of Mt. Tsukuba to the East, has a flourishing stone industry where high-quality white granite is quarried from the mountains that stretch from Mt. Tsukuba. In 1996, a number of sculptors who had been working in the area got together to hold the “The First Amabiki Village and Sculpture”. Changing the venue and the seasons of the exhibition, “Amabiki 2006”, the sixth of these events, ended successfully last month. Looking back, this was the 11th year. This time there were 44 exhibitors, making it a large gathering. Despite poor transportation to the area, the number of visitors has grown; having heard about the event, some even came from afar. In October of last year, the venue of the event Yamato Village became Sakuragawa City as a result of a municipal merger and with continued backing of the city and the cooperation of volunteers, “Amabiki Village and Sculpture” is gradually gaining recognition in the world.
The reason that we have been able to continue to hold “Amabiki Village and Sculpture” to the present time is because in addition to the cooperation of the local people, it is managed independently by the artists. Each exhibitor is a member of the executive committee. The monthly meetings of the executive committee are filled with passionate debates that gradually build the exhibition. For over a year prior to the exhibition, everything is decided from scratch, including the selection of the district, the sculpture installation sites, the timing of the event, and the viewing route. After the “Fifth Amabiki Village and Sculpture”, we changed the name of the exhibition to “Amabiki 2006”. This decision was another result of the discussions about the fundamentals of what the exhibition ought to be. By participating in these discussions, each member feels the responsibility and the recognition that the exhibition is his own. Another reason that has made the continuation of the event possible is that it enjoys the cooperation of landowners in each exhibition district. The cooperation goes beyond lending us the land to put up the pieces and providing us with backgrounds of fields and woods. It is that, as artists, we all have the desire to keep sculptures and art in the daily lives of the people in this farming and quarrying community. The Yamato district has a rich natural environment, based on the “Satoyama” pattern of hillside cultivation. Every one of the winding paths between the rice paddies has been built by hand through the long history centered around agriculture. Our works are inspired by the diverse affairs and phenomena of this slow-living town.
Whether or not sculptures can really become rooted in the landscape and the living environment of Japan, and what role they might have in a local society are among the issues we must address in the future. More than ever, we feel the importance of looking forward and taking one step at a time. Now that “Amabiki Village and Sculpture 2006” has come to a close, the works of art that stood amid the scenery charged with the emotions of the artists now exist only in the catalog. Nevertheless, I believe the winds that curled around the forms of the sculptures will reach the hearts of many.

July 1st, 2006
Amabiki Village and Sculpture, Executive Committee
OTSUKI Takayuki

The Path Going Forward for the Young People of Amabiki

“AMABIKI 2006” began on April 1 as the cherry blossoms bloomed and went on as the blossoms gave way to vivid green leaves. It ended on June 4, just before the onset of rainy season and as the green of the leaves deepened further. Two weeks later, all the art had been cleared away and the flow of time in Amabiki village regained its customary tranquility.
The pleasant climate of April and May, write ups on the exhibition in various newspapers, and reports on TV and radio all helped to bring the number of visitors to the exhibition to at least 1,500, only in the visitor’s book, 50% more than the year before. The bus tour events we arranged during the exhibition period received many more applications than we could accommodate. We arranged a second tour with more seating and a second bus, but we still had to turn people away. On the Sundays, volunteers staffed the Yamato Nade Shikoan rest area and served tea, the “Handmade Soba Appreciation Society” sold and demonstrated how to make buckwheat (soba) noodles, and people all along the 15km exhibition course provided comfortable rest spots. As a related event, a planning exhibition entitled “From Amabiki Village” was held at Gallery SEIHO in Tokyo from April 24 to 28. The event showed plans and sketches of the 44 artists’ works and served as a satellite gallery for a short period.
Now that all the art has been cleared away, what has it left behind for the hillsides and for the people who live there? It is as if the 44 artists who participated in the exhibition have left behind a radiant heat that has yet to cool down.
About ten years ago seven stone sculptors joined together to create the First Amabiki Village and Sculpture Exhibition as a venue for creative work in this quarry rich area. Rather than being staged by town or village authorities, the event was run by the sculptors themselves. They looked for their own exhibition sites, got permission from landowners, and created and installed their works, all in a dialog with their surroundings. Today, that principle remains as the underlying principle of the exhibition and the source of its character. The scenery of cultivated hillsides and hamlets makes a delightful exhibition space, but the sculptors were also drawn to the area as a social space woven from relationships with local people and the community. In spaces such as art museums and galleries, people know in advance that they will see sculptures and what kind of works they will be – that such spaces present art is self evident. But with this exhibition space there is a gap between the public’s perception of art and what the sculptors are doing, and this risks their work sometimes being seen as bizarre or of being misunderstood or ignored by the public. This type of experience gives the artists an opportunity to reflect on their work as it is now and re-examine what it should be. The number of participating artists has grown with every event and now numbers 44. The Amabiki Exhibition gives these artists a chance to question themselves anew about the significance of art and sculpture.
With the selecting of locations, the process of creating the art has already begun. The site, how the artist interprets it, the relationship the artist forms with it, will be the key to bringing out his or her artistic vision and ideas. Each artist will have a completely different perspective of the same place. As the artists explore these differences among them they lead to new discoveries and further stimulate their creativity. A sense of friendly rivalry is born. As years pass, many group exhibitions lose the idealism and edge they started out with and become no more than a facade of what they once were. Ten years have passed and yet the Amabiki Exhibition still possesses its initial vision, maintaining its ideal as a group exhibition. That might be due to the strength of Amabiki village as a venue. Or it might be due to the will and desire that the sculptors have kept alive through their own self management.
Be that as it may, the last exhibition was starting to show signs of strain, of going through the motions, so we started working on this year’s exhibition with an emphasis of getting back to basics. The municipal merger incorporating Yamato village into the newly formed Sakuragawa city was another factor. We spent about three meetings just on the issues of whether or not to hold an exhibition and what to call it. We examined each of the issues and dilemmas, one by one, so that we could produce a better exhibition. We hold regular monthly meetings, starting a year in advance, to make the necessary decisions. Every artist is assigned a task, and each has equal responsibilities and duties, regardless of age or career history. Perhaps the monthly meetings function as a kind of ceremony that uplifts the morale of individual artists and builds solidarity between them. At the end of these preparations we sent out posters and invitations, and opened the exhibition under its new name, “AMABIKI 2006”.
The result, as mentioned above, was an unprecedented success. Many of the pieces drew on the characteristics of their sites, and many powerful pieces gave the viewer an unprecedented feel for the artist’s vision and ideas. Certainly people cycling around the exhibition amid the fresh breezes of spring felt the presence of these sculptures. For many of the artists, these works were probably an important step forward in their artistic development. The bus tours including talks by the artists were must see and popular events.
Critics in the mass media followed up their previous articles on “artists staging an exhibition for free” to actually commenting on individual pieces. In fact, there was also an article criticizing the exhibition, saying: “for many of the works, the relationship with the surroundings was as no more than borrowed background, they lacked relationship with the community.”
During the two months of the exhibition, the surrounding environment was in a state of constant change. At the start of May, rice paddies covered with water completely transformed the scenery. All at once, the air was filled with the sound of farm work and the croaking of frogs. The greenery deepened. The shifts in the environment wrought subtle changes to the pieces they surrounded and how the public viewed them. Besides the appeal of an outdoor setting, attention turned to the beauty and richness of the mountain village cultivated hillsides formed by both nature and human work amid Japanese scenery.
There were some cases of local people unintentionally altering an exhibition space. For example, at the start of May, a photographic exhibition entitled “Citizens’ Gallery” was set up on panels behind the table exhibit that was installed inside the Yamato Station building. That action reflected the desire of the municipal authorities and local people to improve the environment in the unstaffed station and was prompted by the Amabiki Exhibition, but it was subsequently removed, as it changed the meaning of the station space from what the artist had intended. I am reporting this incident as one that made us aware of the difficulty of bridging the gulf in how pieces are understood and perceived.
When marking the last day of the exhibition and extolling its success, Executive Committee chairman Jiro Sugawara, had the following to say: “We have finally reached the stage where we are seriously reviewed and critiqued, which means that our ten years of diligent work is beginning to be recognized and is taking root. We must take this very seriously.”
That night everybody talked about a number of issues that arose in the course of the exhibition. We discussed issues that are essential to the success of the event, such as individual artists’ differing levels of enthusiasm, relations with Sakuragawa city, the problems of using e-mail to build a consensus of what the artists want to do, and the gaps between the artist’s and the public’s perception of art. We also had quite a lot to drink.
I feel that the purity and passion of this exhibition reflect the nature of youth.
The artists’ drive on behalf of their work and the Amabiki Exhibition, a drive that was sometimes naive, sometimes foolish, is stimulated by an extremely personal drive for self expression. In this exhibition, this personal drive for self expression came together into a cultural movement that cannot be overlooked by the local community. We stood at that point where youth takes the first step toward the next stage of artistic development. Going forward, we will have many more opportunities to discuss what direction our work should take in the context of personal expression and its relations to society.

KANAZAWA Kenichi, participating artist.

photograph SAITO Sadamu

In this prosperous village of stone businesses and agriculture located in the Midwest of Ibaraki Prefecture, an exhibition that started from seven persons was held for the fifth time. We have been holding these exhibitions for eight years in various seasons, and it seems, we, the participating artists, have ballooned to as many as 45. Though we pay the expense of monthly meetings, participating and, of course, all things concerning our art works, we are increasing in number. It might be because we are compelled and fascinated with the power which this exhibition has.
We put each work in its respective place and observe the appearance of seasons passing. We exchange salutations with passers-by and have short conversations. These experiences cannot be tasted in art museums or galleries. Moreover, in frequent meetings artists criticize the works mutually, offer opinions, and spar over fine art and this exhibition. It is also the spirit as well as the pleasure of participation.
Without criticizing from an overly arrogant attitude about the present condition of fine art and society, in that place each participant is concerned with his or her own self and with reverently facing the nature before us. The mountain of this village is traced with lives to every nook and corner. Therefore, it does not accept a work of exaggerated style or cheap tricks. Each time we think that each of us is tested in this reality.
Checking our own steps, we want to continue following the trial footprints of the last eight years and searching for the whereabouts of the future steps in this small village.

31th October 2003
Executive committee of Amabiki Village and Sculpture
NAKAIGAWA Yuki

The land spreads out, sloping gently to the mountain behind the village. Yamato village, venue for the Exhibition of Amabiki Village and Sculpture, is also the beginning of the Kanto plain where the Tokyo metropolitan area resides to the south. A river flows through the village, which is dotted with homes and stone mills where the land is flat. The figures of people working the broad fields and rice paddies appear tiny in the distance. Occasionally, trucks drive past, laden with pure-white granite. Against the sky, the running clouds and Mt. Tsukuba change their appearance from moment to moment. Mt. Amabiki, thickly forested, rises at the edge of the village.
For a long time, art has developed far away from village life. Sculpture soon came to demand “a white cube” as its surroundings. Autonomous works became divorced from any specific location. The Exhibition of Amabiki Village and Sculpture brings together a diverse group of artists, who collaborate with the villagers to imprint their individual ideas and expressions on soil that is at once old and new, through their works of art and sculpture.
Preparations for the exhibition began over a year before it was due to open. If anyone noticed a problem, they shared it with everyone, and the group spent the time to solve every problem carefully. Everybody knew that however good the exhibition was, its success would depend on the quality of the exhibits. Nevertheless, we kept on discussing everything, sometimes heatedly, looking for any improvements we could make to the exhibition. This year, once again, the time we spent together in this simple but arduous work supported the special character of the Exhibition of Amabiki Village and Sculpture, which is more than a jumble of private outdoor exhibits.
With each successive exhibition, our relationship with the local people gets a little better. By the end of the Fifth Exhibition, many of us, not just the exhibiting artists, were already looking forward to the next time. But we are about to lose our common land, our Yamato village, to the Heisei-era drive for municipal mergers. What will happen next? It is too soon to answer that question. All the artists gathered here are keeping calm, continuing to discuss. This year, the Exhibition of Amabiki Village and Sculpture reached the age of eight, and the future still holds many good things. The most important thing is to keep going forward, unhurriedly, one step at a time.
I have just finished clearing away my work, and now, as evening draws in, I am standing on a path in the village, looking round, a little bemused, at the place where my work stood until so recently. As I look back on the days I spent visiting this site, through the seasons for over a year, my mind is already leaping forward to next time. In the pale twilight, tranquility is returning to the mountainside scenery after an interlude of two months, but it looks just a little broader and more noble than it did before.

5th November 2003
Participating Artist, Sculptor
TODA Yusuke

As a greeting of 4th exhibition of Amabiki Village and Sculpture I would write short record of our meetings to show how we had been preparing the exhibition.

The course of events at the 4th Amabiki no Sato Exhibition 2001. We have had a monthly meeting since May 2000 before the exhibition started, involving about 30 artists. Where we discussed proposals and queries.
21/05/2000
Explained and debated the aim of the planning and management by participating artists in light of past experiences at these exhibitions. Debate about the zones, dates and participation fee for the 4th exhibition.
18/06/2000
Final decision of the 42 participating artists and the zones they will use, (Abeta, Nakane, Takaku, Washijuku area) dates, fees and assignment role of the volunteers and homepage committee.Every artist must choose 3 request set up points for the work and fill in the map at the town office planning division. At the same time submitting details of work, (i.e. D.O.B, CV, major works)
20 / 08/2000
Confirmation and decision of set up places. Artists wanting the same site would have to discuss between them and decide at the next meeting. Interim report by the Countryside Committee, PR and volunteers.
10/09 /2000
Examine the possibilities of the requested exhibiting sites chosen by the artists with attendance of the head of district council. Explain the process, by which the chief of ward could talk to the landowners, After which the artist could make a visit and ask for confirmation of a particular site.
22/ 10 /2000
Artists should have made a visit to the landowners before the meeting. With so many artists participating this time, we have decided we need a steering committee of 13 members to decide on contents of posters, leaflets. (I.e. preview, bus tours)One artist and one part time receptionist will be in attendance at reception during the exhibition period. Artists will pay the part time receptionist and provide a mobile phone at the information center.
26/11/2000
Confirm first proof for posters and leaflets. Tour of the proposed route by the steering committee. Confirm that journey time round all sites is 2hrs and 15km in distance, navigated on a simple One-way system.
14/01/2001
Release the final proof for poster and leaflets. Apply to the Art & Culture Promotion Fund for a subsidy as in previous year, it is unofficially due in April. Reports from home page, volunteers, and reception committee. For different reasons the final participants will be 38 individual artists and 1 group.
18 / 02/ 2001
The volunteer committee is organizing the provision of food and drink served in local hand made pottery, the selling of local vegetables at the Washijuku hall. The town office suggests the provision of 20 rent free bicycles for touring the site.Cqreceipt of the offer (by Sekishoukai) of providing means to bring in the works. Set up works between the 10th to the 23rd of March. Each committee confirms its own tasks, (i.e. making and setting up Information boards, running of the reception, comments on work and preview.) Publishing of the exhibition, say 4 – 5 times in the village newspaper. Each artist to notify the photographer the angles and time of photography.

This kind of process lasts about a year with each artist undertaking there tasks and culminates in the exhibition itself. This year especially we feel we understand the enthusiasm and excitement of the local people, this being kind of self evident in their provision of a group of volunteers and materials. It has taken four exhibitions before people started to throw question at us like “why are you doing this?” This is only a minority within the village, at last, we have managed to open some channels of communication with the local people and regard this as our greatest achievement.

Executive committee of Amabiki Village and Sculpture
SUGAWARA Jiro

“A quiet one can go far away at a distance”
CHI VA PIANO SI VA LONTANO

As one of the sculptors I participated to the third exhibition of “Amabiki village and sculpture”. Amabiki village is a typical rural village locatd in the north Kanto district. Before the opening of the exhibition, surrounded by beautiful rural sceneries I had meetings with over 30 sculptors and the villagers many times. There, we discussed very seriously how to succeed this small exhibition. After a little excitement at finishing display of sculptures in the village, I recalled an Italian proverb “A quiet one can go far away at a distance”.
The modern culture is quickly going to digital world, so-called “virtual reality” and the people care much about lightness of subculture as sensitivity to the times. But a few thoughtful ones acknowledge they can not change this trend of the world and know there is not a truth in it.
In the modern times the artists were thought as indicators who had keen senses and could anticipate what was coming in future. However, I think in the present day a real artist, like a gleaner in the field, is picking up the traditional and precious things which were already forgot by the ordinary people. And sometimes he asks quietly “Hullo! Where are all things going?” trudging along at the tail end of the time.
The one who visits the exhibition of “Amabiki village and sculpture” may think strange because each sculptor has a different way of representation of his art. Therefore, there may be no reason among sculptors to get together and hold an exhibition. But, though it is not popular today we have one valuable and common belief. It is that all sculptors here believe art and also think seriously or rather foolishly about sculpture.
Not only this, when I joined in the exhibition I have become aware that the sculptors deeply believed in people much than in art. So I was encouraged to find I was not only one sculptor who was trudging along the road in Amabiki village. We venture to have such a small exhibition “Amabiki village and sculpture” in the country. It may not be a popular place because the village is located far away to the city. However, I am sure it will have a good effect on the Japanese people and cure the troubled society and sick times of Japan, 10 years or 15 years later. Also, I am certain that these exhibition will be done better each time and be grown up to the ideal ones. I feel a positive response from the third exhibition.
P.S.
The 27th of May. I finished taking part in the fourth time exhibition today. I thought of two things. The one being rich in space and landscape of village of Amabiki. As for one, the road accomplishing resolution of artists who gathered Amabiki is far. But, the quiet walking of artists pregnant with sincere passion is stable. It was believed to me so.

KUNIYASU Takamasa

The Fourth Amabiki Village and Sculpture – Document

Message of the Third Amabiki Village and Sculpture

photograph SAITO Sadamu

We have learned a lot from two Amabiki Village exhibitions.
For the artists, the selection of an installation site is an important issue, directly related to the work.
We put ourselves in the midst of nature and envisage the time of the exhibition, considering the lie of the land, the height of the foliage covering it, the amount of light, where the water runs, the direction of the wind, and the balance between sky and land.
By walking around, we discover the points of contact between ourselves and nature, and we have continued exhibiting at Amabiki Village while enjoying the fun of looking for the sites for our work, and feeling the difficulty of getting the right place.
From the start of this year, we have started working towards the third exhibition.
The size of the exhibition will be unprecedented, with a final count of 33 participating artists.
With so many people participating, in the light of lessons we have learned from previous exhibitions, I noticed that our repeated discussions have deepened understanding of the exhibition in Yamato Village as a whole.
In the same way, the heat of our awareness has been growing.
Now we can really feel that Amabiki Village and Sculpture is slowly growing and developing.
That is a great reward for us.
Our goal of rediscovering rural scenery continues in the third exhibition.
We hope you will enjoy seeing how the artists learned from their direct experience of the natural environment of Yamato village to link their works with the scenery.

Executive committee of Amabiki village and sculpture

About the Third Amabiki Village and Sculpture

The exhibition which began three years ago with seven sculptors who were working locally has grown with each successive event. Now, for the third exhibition, there are 38 works from 33 participating artists.
One of the greatest characteristics of this exhibition is that it is not staged by a museum or a local authority, but is instead run independently by the artists. The second key point is that the artists themselves search for the locations where their works will be installed. With the assistance of the village hall, they visit the landowners and obtain their permission for the installation before the location can be determined.
As a result, most of the works are created with a strong awareness of the locations selected for them by the artists.
There are now several public competitions and open-air sculpture exhibitions in Japan, such as those at Ube and Suma, at which sculptures are judged, but the locations in which the works are displayed are decided by the organizers.
The works in this exhibition are displayed in a variety of conditions, against the background of Mt. Tsukuba. Some are in the forests (chestnut forest, thickets, paulownia forests), around rivers (embankments and river beds), in and around reservoirs, in buckwheat and other fields, next to farm tracks, inside shrine precincts, and elsewhere. Some are in relatively enclosed spaces, such as on wooded hillsides, while others stand amid the open scenery of rice paddies.
I think what we create many times when sculpting is “public art” intended for neutral spaces such as art museums and galleries, or for buildings and public spaces. To put it bluntly, the way things are now, those kinds of spaces are the only places where people can come into contact with sculpture and, by extension, with culture.
In holding this exhibition not in a big city but in Yamato, a village, the smallest municipal unit, without art museums or galleries, we hope the idea that sculpture and culture are not special things, but can be encountered much more in daily life, will begin to penetrate gradually into Japan.

Amabiki Village and Sculpture, Executive Committee
SUGAWARA Jiro

Message of the Second Amabiki Village and Sculpture

In the spring of 1996, a group of sculptors having worked on stone at Yamato village held an exhibition “Amabiki Village and Sculpture” with the aim to recognize again the rural scenery.
Succeeding the concept of the 1st exhibition, we started to make a plan for the 2nd exhibition in autumn 1997 with the participation of not only stone sculptors but also artist of various genres.
Such a difficult condition to bear all expenses for the exhibition didn’t shrink artists from participating.
And 27 of them accepted it and we began to from the exhibition.
Having held several conferences with participants, public officials of Yamato village and chiefs of wards, artists looked around the grounds to find out suitable location for their works.
And after fiding the location out, artists directly asked land owners to obtain permission.
Concerning printed posters and invitations cards, designer and printer helped to collaborated with us.
Finally, we could realise the “2nd Amabiki Village and Sculpture”.
Our combined energies to build up this exhibition and through the sculptures playing a part of the rural scene of Amabiki.
that people would start to reconsider the cultural situation of Japan.


Executive Committee of
Amabiki Village and Sculpture

Comments from the artists of the Second Amabiki Village and Sculpture

This is a collection of the participating artists’ ideas about their works, their day-to-day thoughts as they created them, their moods and how they felt about taking part in the 2nd exhibition of Amabiki Village and Sculpture. Click on the name of the artist.

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INOUE Masayuki
I’m interested in the rice paddy as an artificial space that has been passed down from generation to generation as a place of production. I felt a solid challenge as I went about my work. Being in a place where the bonds of shared work are strong and reveal themselves while trying new approaches to art brings more joy than we expect.

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OHGURI Katsuhiro
Birds, fish and other small creatures gather in and around the water. A watchtower is a tall building or defensive tower for seeing into the distance, but I wanted to use my carving as a starting point for watching the color of the sky and the level of the water changing in the lake in the background ? for viewing the abundant workings of nature and smaller creatures. During the exhibition, the reflection of red-stained autumnal sunsets on the surface of the water made a lasting impression on me.

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OTSUKI Takayuki
The appeal of this exhibition is that the venue is not something like an art museum or a park established on the periphery of everyday life. The old railway line is a place where trains used to run, carrying people and goods and linking the village to other places. It now it exists in people’s memories. The fields, paddies and forests are living spaces that generate life through natural growth and the harvesting of crops. The way the carvings entered into the life of Yamato Village was extremely innovative. Above all, the question, What is a sculpture? is asked of us a, like an echo.

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OKAMOTO Atsuo
There’s a relaxed rural ambience here. I feel that the processes of urbanization and modernization have destroyed something we should have kept and in a sense led to a step backward. Whether it was the scenery, or the farming methods, or the content of daily life, we are not thinking of trying to hold back the waves of change with our own hands. We just want to take the things that are disappearing and mark them in our own hearts one more time.

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KAIZAKI Saburo
The interior of the chestnut forest was a beautiful space, where the leaves block off the sky and the light filters down. Sweeping away the fallen leaves with a bamboo broom gradually revealed the firm surface of the ground, so that in the end it looked like a limitless earth-floored room. My choice of a low-lying space, and the way the fallen leaves catch the snow, comes from my consideration of the way the work and the soil connect, and I wanted to start my outdoor space from there.

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KOGUCHI Kazuya
The participants were 27 people with differing ways of expressing their sensibilities. They came into contact with each other in a time and space where they searched for coexistence with their works, struggling with the harsh surface of the materials and the natural environment materials. They have left us with something precious. I have taken ‘being alive’ as my theme for a number of years, and I intended to carry on a dialog with the soil and the living things of the universe around me, in the world of myth. But after the unforgiving aspect of nature broke me down several times, making me keenly aware of my own naivete.
The visitors must have loved this countryside, with the sculptures dotted around the rice paddy landscape, and enjoyed their fill of it. I want to thank the many people who came to view the exhibition, the people who guided us and worked with us, and the land that gave us this environment.

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SAJI Masahiro
This exhibition made a bold start with the statement “everything done with our own hands.” This was a key principle for an event managed by the artists themselves. In fact, the time required of us was a much bigger investment than the cost of a hand-made box lunch. I take my hat off to the core members who propelled us forward with their passion. The kind of “fast-breeder reactor” that led to a rise in everyone’s energy was truly of value in the creative process.

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TAKADA Satoru
It is the irrational nature of humanity that prevents us from unraveling silent spaces and lost time, but there was a hot moment of something here.

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SHIGA Masao
The platform of the former Amabiki Station evokes events of long ago that can still be heard on the rushing wind.
I go back through distant memories to listen to people’s murmuring voices.
The wind gently deposits color in its wake.
Rain, wind, snow. I lived here for 80 days in winter.
The artwork entitled “Color of the wind” (Murmurs of Many People) was cremated on 21st January 1998.
It sleeps in Amabiki Village, in Yamato.

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SHIBATA Tsugio
They say the chestnut forest chosen for the exhibition area is ten years old. If you’re in this young forest around sunset on a clear day, you can see the long shadows of thin branches, bare of leaves, reaching across the ground. The tree shadows, given their direction by the light of the sun, join natural beauty to a strange kind of orderly pattern.

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SUGAWARA Jiro
The Second Amabiki Village and Sculpture was an encounter between people and 27 sculptures in the rural setting of Yamato Village. I got the feeling that new things not seen in the first exhibition came into view. Perhaps we were able to get village people, who have few opportunities to view works of art and the like, to experience sculptures, and various genres of modern art, both figurative and abstract. Perhaps other viewers were those who frequent art museums and galleries, and maybe they discovered new potential for art in the contrast between sculpture and scenery.

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SUZUKI Norio
I’ve visited Amabiki Kannon many times when I was a child. The character of the approach path gives one a feeling of its history. I never thought my own work would stand in this place. Taking part in this exhibition has brought me into contact with a variety of works, people and nature, and given me a new awareness of the land of Amabiki, and of myself, as one born and raised here. Now that the exhibition is over, I find that I have a new desire to find out what I can do here, what potential is here.

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TANAKA Tsuyoshi
Snow also falls on Amabiki Village, making the works stand out. With the help of many others, I was able to put some ideas into play in Amabiki Village. It led to success in overcoming inner difficulties.

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TSUCHIYA Kimio
I have felt an affinity with mountain scenery since I was a child, so I fell in love with the scenery of Yamato Village from the first time I saw it. I am delighted to have been able to exhibit my own work against the background of these mountains and forests.

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TSUNEMATSU Daijun
My creative process began with looking for “the place” amid the pastoral landscape. There was no judging, no prizes. There wasn’t even any money. My heart was set free. Tranquil sculpting. The energy that comes from encountering “the place.” The firing of unknown potential. The pleasure and fascination of discovering one’s unknown self. Handcrafted show of sculpture. It was a meeting of 27 unique individuals, and of forming new ties with a good group of friends.

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NAKAIGAWA Yuki
The passion and tension of the people gathered at the meeting on a slightly muggy afternoon in early summer was different from that in an art museum with event planners. The one reason I decided to participate was that I wanted to look at where I stood from a slightly offset place. Because I make three-dimensional works from ceramics, I am asked all kinds of questions every time I exhibit, and participating in this exhibition was a rare and valuable experience to help me to find the right answers to those questions inside myself.

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NAGASHIMA Eiji
I seem to have been a little naive in choosing the image of harmony with nature as one element in my work. The path of the railway line and the rice fields in winter have a hard face to them, harsh enough to chill such emotions. On the other hand, the gently rolling mountains and the trees around the area were more soothing than I expected, gently enfolding the work. I understood the reason amid the snow. Next time I want to work at a time when the buds are swelling or in the broiling heat. Finally, I want to thank the people who gave me this opportunity.

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HATTA Takashi
The exhibition was a good opportunity for me to look again at what it means for people to gather together. Given a place to put passion into the work, an artist can concentrate his entire mind on that one essential thing. An artist can come to a place like this to place his work, not for the good of the exhibition as a whole, but for his own sake alone. I think the energies of the individual artists fused together to take the overall image of this exhibition in an excellent direction, which was conveyed to the people who came to see it.

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HIRAI Kazuyoshi
I was allowed to exhibit my work in front of the mountain gate of Amabiki Kannon temple. I use a car myself and can’t be too critical, but most people drive to the temple, rather than pass through the gate that is the proper entrance. What did people long ago think as they visited the temple? I came to the realization that walking can lead to the rediscovery of nature, something we have forgotten in our pursuit of convenience.

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HIROSE Hikaru
Thinking (the idea), creating (the work) and showing (presentation) are each vitally important and inseparably related. The Amabiki Village and Sculpture exhibition in particular includes experimental elements in the act of showing the work. Twenty-seven pieces of modern art, representing an entirely alien culture, have been placed in Yamato Village, which was supported by farming and quarrying, and still retains some traditional Japanese rural scenery. I want to watch the village through the two-and-a-half months of the exhibition, to see what changes in the usual scenery and what stays the same.

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FUJIKURA Kumiko
In truth, it might already be too late. Nevertheless, now is a good time to start, and you can start from whenever you notice. If we don’t start doing something, the world could end. With that kind of idea filling my head, I placed my work amid the pastoral scenery with a sense of looking back on the arrogance of humankind and apologizing to the seas and mountains that humans have sullied.

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FUJIMOTO Hitoshisadanari
The structure of society has become complex and types of work have been diversified. The world of art, which should not really be divided into genres, has begun to diversify in a parallel way. Audiences have become able to choose the plan for exhibitions, so that their mode of viewing has already been organized, even when there is no point of departure for the viewer to encounter the work of art. The Second Amabiki Village and Sculpture took the bold step of not organizing the sculptures by genre. This enabled viewers to return to the starting point of initial recognition.

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MATSUDA Bumpei
When a pebble is thrown into water, waves radiate out from a single point, then move back to the point where the pebble hit. I think that resembles the creative process. Even if this kind of creative work is not necessary in real life, everybody has it in their life, to a greater or lesser extent. The act of showing my art in Amabiki, a place where real life goes on, moved me in a new way.

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MIYAZAWA Izumi
Placing the sculpture there somehow made the ordinary things around seem fresh, so that people walked over, looked, and felt the height of the sky as if it was only normal to do so.

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MURAI Shingo
On 23rd January, after the artwork had been removed, the site became a commonplace scene in which the surrounding chestnut trees, now leafless, blended into the winter background where they had stood in contrast in greener times. The black freshness of the excavated earth, dug out of the slope in a trapezoidal shape, showed how short the two and a half months of the event had been.

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MURAKAMI Tsukumo
Even if we retain the awe of nature in our hearts, nature itself cannot be expected to remain in the place we enter. The scenery in the places where we lead our daily lives is an artificial kind of nature. Whether it is urban or rural, we must fully recognize that there is a constant, sleepless gaze on us, and be prepared. I pay attention to everything as I search for expression, as proof of an action, driven by a momentary impulse to intrude. Outdoor space is always experimental space.

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MOCHIZUKI Hisaya
I’d experienced outdoor shows before, but this time I was compelled to feel the diversity of the site, its multiple layers (of time as well).