Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale: Abandoned Fields and Closed Schools Bloom with New Vitality, Part 1
Editor's note: The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, held once every three years, is taking place in Niigata, Japan right now. The author of this article (secretary-general of the Taiwan Historical Resources Management Association) has written a detailed account, especially for readers unable to attend the event in person, of the context from which the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale and the Setouchi Triennale emerged, what they exhibit, and the impact such artistic actions have had on the local area and on Japanese society. To read other articles in the series, please see the appendix at the end of this article.
In the midst of social transformation, reviving the vitality of the snow country
Yasunari Kawabata (1899-1972), Japan's first Nobel Prize laureate in literature, set his famous work "Snow Country" in Yuzawa Town, Minamiuonuma District, Niigata Prefecture, where heavy snowfall in midwinter is the norm. Kawabata's elegant prose flows with a deep grounding in traditional Japanese literature, and "Snow Country" has become an introductory work for understanding and studying Japanese culture. The famous opening passage reads: "The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country. The earth lay white under the night sky. The train pulled up at a signal stop." Thus begins a love story in the snow country, and through Kawabata's deeply evocative and beautiful writing, the world came to know the snow-white, tranquil land of Niigata and the people who struggle to survive in a harsh environment.
Niigata Prefecture is located in central Honshu, Japan, facing the Sea of Japan. The Shinano River, which flows through the mountains of the prefecture to the Sea of Japan, is the longest river in Japan. The Shinano River basin forms a fertile plain, and a collection of flame-shaped pottery from the Jomon period (Note 1) was excavated in the Shinano River basin, proving that people already lived in the area 4000 years ago during the Jomon period. Niigata belongs to Japan's heavy snow zone, with an average snow season of five months each year. The melted snow provides high-quality water for the area, and this natural cycle nourishes the local rice, vegetables and fish, making Niigata a major rice-producing region in Japan, famous worldwide for Niigata Koshihikari rice and ginjo sake.
This special natural environment nurtures Niigata's abundant agricultural produce, yet the heavy snows year after year also test the daily lives of rural residents. In an era of Japanese industrial transformation, Niigata faces the problems of an aging population, a declining birthrate and outward migration. The life of subsistence farming that generations here have relied on has gradually become difficult to sustain, and young people, seeking work and educational opportunities, have had to leave these fields and farming villages for the cities, resulting in many abandoned terraced fields, vacant houses and closed schools. How to restore vitality to the area through its history, industry, environment and culture - this is the context in which the Echigo-Tsumari (Note 2) Art Triennale was conceived.
Notes:
(1) Presumed to be an ancient artifact from the Jomon period 4000 to 5000 years ago, it has been designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as a National Treasure and Important Cultural Property, and is currently displayed at the Tokamachi City Museum.
(2) Echigo-Tsumari is the old local name. Four hundred years ago, samurai in exile during the Sengoku period fled here. Although they were not suited to the harsh environment, it was an excellent hiding place. In particular, the area had high-quality snow water, and residents opened up terraced fields and planted rice in large quantities, making it a granary.
(3) In order to strengthen the administrative efficiency of municipalities, deepen local autonomy, and respond to fiscal difficulties, Japan has continuously promoted the merger of municipalities over the past 120 years, with three major waves of large-scale municipal mergers: the Meiji Great Merger, the Showa Great Merger and the Heisei Great Merger.
(4) Quoted from the content of this study's interview with Fram Kitagawa in February 2012.
(5) The original scenery of Japan generally refers to the scenery of mountain forests and rural villages across Japan from the Meiji era to before World War II, carrying a nostalgic feeling for traditional Japanese life.
(6) On April 1, Heisei 17 (2005), the five municipalities of Tokamachi City, Kawanishi Town, Nakasato Village, Matsudai Town and Matsunoyama Town merged into the new "Tokamachi City."
(7) According to Japan's national census statistics during the Heisei era, the population of the Echigo-Tsumari area continued to decline year by year from 1990 to 2010.
(8) According to Mr. Fram Kitagawa, the Art Triennale was originally scheduled to be held in 1999, but because approval was not obtained at the local administrative meeting until June 15, 2000, the first Art Triennale was postponed and held from July 20 to September 10, 2000.
(9) Quoted from the content of an interview with Fram Kitagawa by Huang Shan-shan in the October 2009 issue of Artco Contemporary Art magazine.
(10) The Art Triennale volunteer team, named after the small snake linking six municipalities in the Art Triennale logo