A-I-U-E-O Gabun -weaving the memories of3-1-3

ワークショップ実践概要/ Workshop Abstracts

community"A-I-U-E-O Gabun" (“Gabun”, literally “picturesand sentences,” hereafter called ‘gabun’) is a photoand wordplay activity inspired by the tradition ofJapanese word game forms. It is moreover a simple
storytelling project consisting of photographs andsentences aimed at encouraging sustainable local
communication and community building.
Gabun has been continuously implemented through2007 till 2012. First, gabun was developed as aworkshop primarily in 3 different locations acrossJapan; Shonan in Kanagawa prefecture, Toyohashi
city in Aichi prefecture and Bunkyo-ward in Tokyo.
2011, gabun further expanded its breadth by working
in collaboration with Tokyo Cable Network Inc., andBunkyo-ward office.
The current 2011 project will continue until March

メディア・エクスプリモ シンポジウム 2011
「情報があふれかえる社会」から「表現が編みあがる社会」へ(2011 年 10 月 1 日 , 多摩美術大学 ) 発表パネルより .

2012. Here multiple varieties of media are being
designed to converge with one another, such as aregular CATV program, website, flyer, and workshops.
With the help of various media, we aim to bringpeople together, allowing for them to talk and share
their personal memories of the photos, secondly,
create a collaborative gabun story, using their photos,and lastly, display these stories and photos and invite
comment from all participating parties. Concurrently
we’re trying to expand and repeat this process withthe cooperation of multiple media to weave thememories of the community over as many platforms
as possible. (Kiyoko Toriumi)

Gakkan Engawa Workshop“Gakkan Engawa Workshop” is a media expression
workshop utilizing citizen participation. Theworkshop was designed and held to celebrate theopening of Fukutake Hall at Hongo campus of theUniversity of Tokyo in March 2008.
With the completion of Fukutake Hall, we aspired

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to make it an open and connected space, much likeare expected to cooperate with the participants by

the corridor balconies of Japanese traditional houses

listening to their unvoiced voices, helping to generatecalled ‘Engawa’ and thus we decided to name ourstories and video production.

workshop “Gakkan Engawa.” We invited participants
to find a picture or photo image expressing ‘wa’

We then designed workshops that utilize a kind of(‘circle’ in Japanese) followed by sending it to us withcard. Here, children and senior citizens play witha short caption using either mobile phone or PC.

the students within their own pre-story space using

We processed these in real time and projected themvarious cards, allowing them to identify the seeds ofonto a large concrete wall of Fukutake Hall. We set

their stories. From these seeds, stories are formed,

multiple visualizing modes to present images as:transformed, and refined. (Masaaki Ito)

1. Descending cascade-type visualization: thumbnail
images descending in a chronological sequence.

Keitai Trail!

2. Firework-type visualization: thumbnail images withsame keyword gather and made a popping-up motion“Keitai Trail!” is a collaborative media practice,much like a firework.

designed to collect, connect and visualize people’s

3. Additional screen display: showing individual

stories through a game-like activity. We used “keitai

images in their original size with captions (Picture1).

(mobile phone in Japanese)” as a main activity tool,
not only in order to invite people in their most

We collected 361 images and messages, where thefamiliar setting, but also to explore a new way ofvariety of interpretation of “wa” was found from ausing mobile phones for media expression. We

cute ripple of raindrop to a human circle of a groupdeveloped rules for their activity (picture 1). <Rule 1>

dance. The workshop proved to be a great success,Participant should fill in the blank space of question

with many students, faculty members, alumni andwith his/her own word. <Rule 2> Then give a free talkeven people from the local community participating

explaining the word. <Rule 3> From the story, createin this creative activity. (Kim Yonnie and Jun Abe)a new question for the next participant. Storytelling
activities were recorded with the mobile movie kit.
Finally, we created a connected network of people’Media Contés stories and visualized them in a collaborative
expression map.

Media Conté is a digital storytelling project, focusing
on the people who are marginalized and tell their•“Keitai Trail!” in ARS Electronica 2008

untold stories.
We held a “ keitai trail!” workshop in ARSWith the storytelling movement found in theElectronica in 2008 to collect and connect more thanWest, it is often said that “everyone has a story to250 stories on people’s “mobiles”. Please visit thetell,” and so in workshops conducted on this theme,

following website to view whole stories and movie

participants appear to feel like they are expected toclips. http://keitaitrail.ai.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/

prepare stories in advance, just to fulfill this credo.
However, in the case of Japan, many people don't• “Keitai Trail!” in Media literacy workshop

seem conscious of their own opinion or aware of thestories of their own life.

As a collaborative program with Namkai
broadcasting station in Ehime prefecture, we utilized

In order to harvest the seeds of these untold stories,

the “keitai trail!” format in a media literacy workshop

first, we focused on the role of university students

with teenagers in 2008. For more information of theas facilitators, editors, and/or co-creators. They

program, please visit the following websites.

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http:// mahorama.ai.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/

local shopping districts of Kyoto and Kobe, joined(Kim Yonnie and Jun Abe)by students from Yuko Tsuchiya lab at Hiroshima
University of Economics and Akiko Ogawa lab at
Aichi Shukutoku University.

Toyama Photo Senryu
On August 9th-10th, 2010, the first workshop took
“Toyama Photo Senryu” is a media literacy projectplace around Sanjyo-dori in Chukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi,

conducted in collaboration with Tulip Television,

with around 30 students participating. Students werea commercial broadcasting station in Toyama

asked to interview local shop owners about their “lifeprefecture. It was moreover a cross-media activity

philosophies”. These recordings were later edited out

using the TV program and an official website forof which 30 minute long programs were made andboth PC and mobile phone. Alongside this, several

broadcast on Kyoto Sanjyo Radio Café.

workshops were held in Toyama prefecture andTokyo.

The second workshop was held on August 11th-12thof 2011 with the cooperation of a community radio

In this project, we collected “photo senryu”(“Senryu”

station FMYY, pulling a crowd of 27 students. The

is a satirical poem consisting of 17 Japanese

workshop’s theme was here “Memories of Disasters,syllables) on the theme of “Images Toyama television

Relay of Memories.” It was held at a shopping area,

never shows you”. By making the “photo senryu”,

located in the Shinnagata south district of Kobe-

participants discovered the discrepancy between theshi, the site of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.

image of Toyama broadcast by mainstream media

Students asked members of the public what one

and their own actual reality of everyday life. “Toyamaneeds to know about disaster prevention. From thePhoto Senryu” allowed participants to create theirrecorded material, the students crafted a 30 minuteown image of Toyama.

radio program, entitled “Nagata’s messages from theheart – experiences of disaster and reconstruction.”

Through the website and workshops, more than

(Yuko Tsuchiya and Akiko Ogawa)

300 “Toyama Photo Senryu” were collected, of which
46 were made into “Toyama Photo Senryu Karuta”(Karuta is a traditional Japanese playing cards withpictures and words). Finally, we organized a “ToyamaPhoto Senryu Karuta” competition as a closing festivalof the project, held at one of the largest shopping
malls in Toyama prefecture. Now, the project isplanning to move on to the next stage by working
on a collaboration with a local news paper. (KiyokoToriumi)

Radique!
Radique! (Radio Community Quest) is a ‘quest
workshop’, where participants explore local towns
with map and IC recorder in hand, recording
their experiences, cutting and editing and finally
sharing these local stories on community radiostations. Radique! workshops were held so far in2-3. ワークショップ実践概要

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