パフォーマンスのドキュメンテーションリンク(performance documentation link)：bit.ly/ancestral-dreams
筒井さとさまの夢物語・・Ancestral dreams stretch further than this individual life
後藤 歩美
February 19, 2023
In the forest near Ino, Kochi-prefecture, Japan
I came to Ino, Kochi-prefecture to return my Great-Grandmother, 筒井さと to her ancestral land. From a young age, I could hear her voice deep inside, longing to return home. My Great-Grandparents owned a kōzo (mulberry tree) farm in Agawa-Gun. Kōzo (楮) is one of the key plants harvested for making traditional washi (和紙) paper. For the past two months, I had been assisting in the harvesting of kōzo at @kashikiseishi, trying to relearn and replicate my Great-Grandmother’s movements so that she would feel comforted by the familiarity of form. This is what I learned #研究:
楮 ＋ コミュニティ ＝ 和紙
（コミュニティ ＝ コンセプト x 体の動き x 心）
髪 x 紙 x 神 = ?
Kōzo and humans live in a perfectly symbiotic relationship. Without humans kōzo is easily overtaken by other plants and rooted out by wild animals. Without humans, kōzo cannot transform into washi. When I witness this transformation, I wonder what kōzo is assisting humans into becoming. Then I know: communities of makers, dreamers, harvesters, artists…
Please remember her name: Tsutsui, Sato. Share widely…
And please learn, look at their websites and insta-pages and remember this community:
Hamada Hiromasa-Sachō, president of Kashiki Seishi, who looks upon washi as a poet does words
Hamada Ayumi-san, VP of harvesting at Kashiki Seishi, founder of @washiplus theatre, performance artist, she is the guts of the company (@ayumi5127)
Hamada Kayoko-sama and Obaasama, and Mike-chan, they are the spirit keepers of this operation
Mitsuo-senpai, he is the heart of the company, cooks breakfast for his mother every day
Michiko-obaasama, Mitsuo-senpai’s mother, who carries the glee of a five-year-old girl, am certain she is a shape-shifting fox
Kō-chan, washi-maker and company abider, who secretly smiles at everything beneath his mask, you can tell by the crinkling of his eyes
Yamamoto-san, washi-maker and company abider, he can peel up to six branches of steamed kōzo in one go! it’s hard to keep up, also loves japanese curry
Tanaka-sensei, professor of kōzo at Kochi University, he taught the Hamada family how to harvest kōzo
Asami-san, gifted washi artisan and jewelry maker, who worked for a Japanese NGO and traveled to Maharastra, India five times to assist in ensuring the education of Indigenous youth there (@sohka_sha)
Kitaoka-sensei, master washi-maker, developed a method to hand-make washi in Niyodo River, would hand-pick wild plants for us to eat on harvesting days (@longzhibeigang)
Mana-sama, master printmaker, would make the most delicious lunches on peeling days (@riuriu50)
Nakamura-sensei, profoundly gifted traditional Japanese painting artist, is part of a group show in Tosa-city currently (@sora_toniwa)
Mizuka-san, washi-artist, who makes new worlds out of washi, has a solo show currently at the Ino Paper Museum (@mizu___kami, @mizu.ovo)
Kayoko-sama, washi-dealer, used to live in Toronto, currently based in Kochi-city, she did so much for Alexa and me during our stay, what a generous heart (@kayoko.m.ichi)
Takahashi-sensei, middle school art teacher who is fascinated by the kōzo branches hollowed through and through, trying to figure out how to work with this phenomenon creatively
Satoko-san, was a scuba diving instructor for 10 years in Okinawa, now in search of a new path, made the best okonomiyaki I’ve ever tasted in my whole life, so hoka-hoka (@satokonasu)
Achille, artist, wine-barrel maker, he bakes the most amazing lemon meringue pies (@ginjo_the_pig)
Sophia, master baker, her family owns a farm in Normandy, came to spend time with her true love, Achille
Tiphanie, designer, artist, was a turtle roaming the pacific in a past life, is a turtle roaming the pacific in this life (@tifunny.turtle)
Victor, Toronto-based dj whose smile emerges from the depths of his profoundly kind heart, setting out to expansively explore his future paths (@piff.box)
Alexa, magically extraordinary washi-art designer and printmaker, also a Japanese pickle monster with a mofusando glow (@alexahatanaka)
Georgia, designer and scholar, abides deeply by her friends (@georgiamacmac)
Annabel, beautiful flowering German-speaking scholar with a Chinese-feminist flourish (@annabel.zhao)
Noah, wandering scholar, soon motorcycling through SE Asia, makes all the girls swoon (@noahosavage)
Maia, neurobiologist who is interested in studying public health, willing to try the weirdest foods found at the supermarket (@maia140)
Johnny, Berlin-based filmmaker, taught the pleasures of breakfast instant ramen, we have in common our favourite film: In the mood for love by Wong Kar-wai (@jhonny_5)
Theo, circus performer who loved the mill so much that he returned to perform
Yuki-san, fell in love through her love of fishing, major foodie (@world_food_travel)
Aya-san, created the most delicious recipe for kōzo-infused snowball cookies, crazy delicious (@k____2_1)
Mai-san, Tokyo-based translator and interpreter, training as a Buddhist apprentice
Chika-san, modern dancer with an effervescent laugh and energy
Carolin, German-diasporic design scholar, can make the whole room laugh because she’s super weird (@local_scratches)
Elliot, reiki practitioner, multiple martial artist, claims he can meditate uninterrupted but i take this on as a challenge
Nobu-san, lived in Australia, owns an organic farm in Iwate-prefecture with his identical twin brother, seriously, this must be the only organic farm in japan run by identical twins (@harvesttime.tokyo)
Myu-san, magnificent washi paper artist, deep love of washi, member of @washiplus (@papermyu)
Erina-san, works in an office but dreams toward new paths and new futures, loves loves loves baked spaghetti (@ebichani)
Yamato-sama, lived in Senegal for many years, taught all of us how to make bamboo-leaf zōri
Mizuki-san, born in Kyoto, now lives in Osaka, laughs easily at bad jokes, her heart is golden
Ashok, poet, photographer, witness, my multiple lives partner (@ashokphotos2022)
All of the keepers of kōzo
Special thank you to:
後藤 京子, for providing me with the tools to bring my Great-Grandmother home
France Trépanier, for dreaming the “@dreamingtheland2022” residency into being and Breanna Fabbro for ensuring that the artists’ works would be shared (@francetrepanierart, @dreamingtheland2022, @breannafabbro)
Cheryl L’Hirondelle for her master class in performance art, I carry these teachings into every single performance (@ndnsonglines)
Peter Morin, for being my best friend (@peter.morin.morin)
Clayton and Tara Windatt, for emotionally and financially supporting me in this time (@windattclayton)
Jaider Esbell, whose painting, de onde vêm os sonhos, continues to inspire me
The artists at the Banff residency, for lifting me out of a persistent depression with their collective creative spirits so that I could accomplish this life-task (@mot.jp, @inyoungyeo, @alexytf, @sayeshahameed, @xenianemia, @emilio___portal, @lindaduvall_small, @aman.s.sandhu, saharte.com, @almendarez.ab, @chelseayangsmith, @trepidationsss, @sadbirthdays)
This is an intergenerational labour of love, this is performance at work.
Special Thanks to:
Kashiki Seishi
Hamada Family
Washi+ Theatre
後藤 京子
Ashok Mathur
France Trépanier
Cheryl L’Hirondelle
Peter Morin
Jaider Esbell
Clayton and Tara Windatt
This is an intergenerational labour of love, this is performance work.