Trajectory of the Avant-garde
Nishinippon Shinbun Culture section
September 26 - October 8, 1988
Digging silently with a shovel...

The year was 1962. On November 15, with winter approaching, Kyushu-Ha's "Great
Gathering of Heroes" was held at Fukuoka City's Momochi Beach. At night, with various
happenings unfolding beside him, Junnosuke Miyazaki continued digging with a shovel
in the sand at the edge of the waves. There were no spectators, and the six magnificent
holes he had dug from around 7:00 p.m. to midnight disappeared without a trace,
washed away by the waves later that night. Because it was a completely inhumane
activity, it left a particularly strong impression among the "Legend of Kyushu-Ha.

A writer from Tokyo, who was attending the rally, approached Miyazaki, who was quietly
working with a shovel. Who are you?" I felt that "I am Miyazaki of Kyushu-Ha" would not
be sufficient. I felt like I was being asked a more fundamental question, so I couldn't
answer anything. Since then, he has been carving wood while continuing to ask, "Whatam I?

Reflecting on Sculpture AgainAt the time, he was a teacher at Kokura School for the Deaf in Kitakyushu, but "I was
not a good teacher. He was also a union branch president, but "after the Security Treatystruggle, I began to see the underside of the myth of democracy, the union leaders were
not very good, and I was beginning to see the pseudo nature of innovation," he said.
Kyushu-Ha saved his depressed heart. I had joined Kyushu-Ha complaining that it cost a
lot of money and that the people there were always arguing about the wrong things.
But when I returned from Hakata, my colleagues told me that I looked refreshed. AtKyushu-Ha, he recalls, "I painted pictures covered in black paint, imitating others, but I
didn't have the strength or energy. I was feeling half-hearted about everything when hesaid, "Who are you?" It was a powerful blow to my heart.

Miyazaki majored in sculpture at Kyoto University of Arts and Sciences (now Kyoto
University of Education). He was making objects made of rolled newspaper and wire
mesh balls hardened with gypsum, when he thought, "Why don't I make the balls out ofwood? I thought, "Why don't I make the balls out of wood?

The answer began to emerge from the exhibition in Tokyo.

After discovering wood as a material, I suddenly felt energized. One after another,wooden balls were born. The balls were rolled or packed into boxes with compartments,and each was given a different expression: egg-shaped, oval, round, rounded, or evensnarled.

Perhaps it was the gentle nature of the wood that suited my nature," he said. On theother hand, wood has a directional quality, so I can't carve freely. I like the fact that it isso inflexible. He says he was lucky to have found a material that is like his very
personality. Once I started making something, it was as if it was self-propagating, andthere was no end to it," he says.

In 1966, he held his first solo exhibition at Surugadai Gallery in Tokyo. I rolled wooden
balls of various sizes on the floor. The visitors were unexpectedly enthusiastic andenjoyed the show. I felt as if I was gradually beginning to see "what I am. This is why I
often start my biography with this exhibition.

Each Kyushu-Ha

Eventually, corrugated surfaces, a deformation of the sphere, are revealed. The gently
concave and convex surfaces of the planks are used to create human figures with heads
and feet, and corrugated columns are arranged to form a group of figures. The sculptures
are further transformed into moving sculptures, such as seesaws and carts made ofspheres (logs) and planks. These simple and moving sculptures have a primitive grandeurand power, but Miyazaki says, "I long for something pre-modern. His attitude of seeking
an interaction with human society has not changed since his days at Kyushu-Ha.

He exhibited these works at the "Kyushu Contemporary Art" and "Illusion and Emotion"
exhibitions, which included many members of Kyushu-Ha, the Today's Art Exhibition, thecompetition-style Kyushu Exterior Exhibition, and the Contemporary Kyushu Sculpture
Exhibition.
During this period, he moved to Moji Commercial High School, but retired in 1980
when he was fifty years old. My son was in his second year of college. My wife was very
strict, saying, 'At least work until he graduates,' but as for me, I was happy to stay on
until he was a sophomore," he said.

The reason why he retired from the company so forcefully, saying, "In order to do myjob, I have to be 50 years old," was probably because he wanted to find the answer tothe question he had received at the Momochi Beach at night when he was young: "Whoare you? He probably wanted to find an answer to this question as soon as possible. If
this is the case, then Kyushu-Ha has given Miyazaki a great opportunity. Miyazaki refusedto participate in the new works section of the Kyushu-Ha exhibition, saying, "Kyushu-Ha
is over. However, Miyazaki believes that "Kyushu-Ha is still there for each member with abreadth of one person's work.