Oita Cultural Expo! ʼ24
March 17, 2024

Explore and Savor the Cultural Riches of Oita Prefecture

Oita Cultural Expo! '24

Experience unique regional events including exhibitions of new works and Cultural Tours where art and food intersect!
From April 1 (Mon.) to June 30 (Sun.), Oita Prefecture will host “Oita Cultural Expo! ʼ24” in various locations throughout theregion, in conjunction with the “Fukuoka-Oita Destination Campaign.”
Exhibitions which feature nationally and internationally renowned artists, called “Cultural Events,” will be held in four different
areas within the prefecture. These exhibitions will showcase new works conceptualized by the artists during their stay in each
locality. In addition, we will create and distribute a special “Art Map” in Kunisaki Peninsula, with its renowned collection ofinternational masterpieces, and Taketa City, with its growing number of creatives.
Also offered during the Expo period, in addition to the exhibitions, will be walking tours to visit artistsʼ ateliers, guided by local
residents, and “Cultural Tours” allowing participants to journey via bus to savor the unique food culture of the region.

Project Name: Oita Cultural Expo! ʼ24
Duration: April 1 (Mon.) to June 30 (Sun.), 2024 ※ Dates for individual events may vary.
Venues: Oita Prefecture: Oita City, Beppu City, Saiki City, Usuki City, Taketa City, Kunisaki Peninsula (Bungotakada City,
Kunisaki City)※ Oita City, Beppu City, and Usuki City will host exhibitions of new artworks, as well as Cultural Tours
Taketa City and Kunisaki Peninsula will conduct Cultural Tours to highlight existing initiatives

Organizer: Oita Prefecture
Website: https://oita-cultural-expo.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oitacexpo24/
Planning: Yamaide Art Office Inc.
Official Website

Contact for General Inquiries:
Oita Prefecture Department of Commerce, Industry, Tourism, and Labor - Tourism Division, Tourism Promotion Office
TEL 097-506-2138 E-MAIL kyoyu@oita-dc.com
Contact for Inquiries about Project Details:
Yamaide Art Office Inc.
E-MAIL info@oita-cultural-expo.com

【CULTURAL EVENT ＆ CULTURAL TOUR details Oita】
CULTURAL EVENT Greetings from the Shike

Dates: April 6 (Sat.) to June 30 (Sun.), 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays (outdoor artworks can beviewed on those days)※ The start dates and exhibition periods for each scheduled artwork vary. Please refer to information from venues along with our official social media for details.

Venue: Various locations around central Oita City (venue information to be announced on official social media)
Access: JR Oita Station (Nippō Main Line, Kyūdai Main Line, and Hōhi Main Line).
Fee: Free
Artist: Yotta
About: The works of popular artist duo Yotta come together in Oita City! Visitors are greeted by Hanako, installed in the JR Oita
Station East Exit Plaza. Their works including Kintoki, tanatsu, Parade of whales, and YOTTAʼs karaoke under theblue sky will gradually be unveiled in various locations across central Oita City, such as the Galeria Takemachi
Dome Square.
※ All works are expected to be available by the end of April

Additionally, during the exhibition period, Yotta will offer the public a glimpse into their creation process at ateliers
set up in Funai 5th Avenue. An event presenting new works originating from Oita is scheduled to be held on the
final day.

CULTURAL TOUR A Guided Tour Exploring Yottaʼs Atelier and Exhibition Venues (walking tour)
Dates: April 29 (Mon., a public holiday), May 4 (Sat.), May 6 (Mon., a public holiday), and May 10 (Fri.), from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00
p.m. Limited to 15 participants per session
Fee: 1,500 yen (includes beverage costs at tour locations and a special baked sweet potato from Yotta)※ Fee does not include transportation fees to exhibition venues outside Central Oita City

Tickets: Peatix https://oita-cultural-expo.peatix.com/
About: A guided walking tour to visit works by Yotta that are scattered across central Oita City. In addition tovisiting exhibition venues and the artist duoʼs atelier, the tour will also introduce other attractions in
the city center. Participants will receive baked sweet potatoes made especially in the artwork Kintoki.
They may also encounter an exclusive artwork unique to the tour!

Location information̶Oita City
The city prospered as a trading center in the mid-16th century, during the career of feudal lord Ōtomo Sōrin in the Sengoku(warring states) period. Since then, it has held a prominent position in politics, the economy, and culture. Moreover, the city
offers rich experiences in the realm of arts, with locations such as the Oita Prefectural Art Museum, or OPAM, andarchitectural sites designed by world-renowned architects.

2Participating Artist Profile: Yotta

Formed in 2010, Yotta is a contemporary art duo consisting of Kimitaka Kisaki and Hiromichi Yamawaki.
They present their works on the boundary lines of genres and frameworks, rules and unwritten laws,
seeking to dissolve such boundaries through their practice. Currently, they are working on a series that
reexamines the shape of the world from the perspective of their own identities. In 2015, they received the18th Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art for their work Kintoki. They have also participated innumerous festivals, including Roppongi Art Night (2010, 2012), Osaka Canvas (2011, 2012, 2016),
Reborn-Art Festival 2017, and Setouchi Trieennale 2019. Their diverse activities also include producing
the Noseden Art Line in 2017 and conducting workshop programs at elementary schools.

Hanako, Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture, 2022)

Wonder Ebisumaru (Kagawa Prefecture, 2019)

tanatsu, (2016)©ARTISTSʼ FAIR KYOTO Photo: Kenryou Gu

Artist Statement:
Yotta has highlighted the existence of oni, or demons, within their creative practice. What kind of entity did oni represent forpeople? While the word can be interpreted in many ways, one common thread is their enigmatic nature, which is beyond
human comprehension. The term oni has been used for outsiders bringing new technology, deformities, illnesses or disasters,
and natural phenomena (weather-ruling deities such as the wind god and thunder god have also been depicted in this way).
Thus, it does not refer only to evil beings.

Shike refers to turbulent seas caused by stormy weather. Originating from the fact that rough seas lead to poor fishingconditions, the term has evolved to signify unfavorable circumstances, and the word is used, for example, when describing amelancholic expression or dreary conversation. Shike always arrives without rhyme or reason, and we try to resist andovercome, despite our puzzlement at the sudden turbulence. Is it technological innovation, mental fortitude, or spiritualresilience that we need? As we pursue our transient daily lives, we are constantly faced with extraordinary decisions that elude
our full understanding.
When society faces a tempest, are the oni peering in through the dark clouds good omens or harbingers of misfortune?

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【CULTURAL EVENT ＆ CULTURAL TOUR details Beppu】
CULTURAL EVENT
Two Projects by Takashi Kuribayashi Tanker Project and GENKI-RO Trip
About: This event presents two projects in Beppu by Takashi Kuribayashi, the only Japanese artist invited to the globally
influential international exhibition documenta (Kassel, Germany) in 2022.
Access: JR Beppu Station (Nippō Main Line)
Artist: Takashi Kuribayashi

Tanker Project
Dozens of large tankers were stranded and abandoned in the vast open sea, otherwise empty in every direction. Amidst thissurreal and strange landscape emerges Takashi Kuribayashiʼs vision for the project: “Tankers leave port under the influence ofstorms and typhoons, roaming the seas around the world. Migratory birds stop on them to rest, bringing plants which take root,
gradually enveloping the entirety of the ship, and becoming a forest. Plants and creatures from around the world live and thriveon the tanker, forming one big ecosystem that is a world of its own.”
At the center of the tanker, the audience can listen to a lively conversation between Takashi Kuribayashi and Mami Kataoka,
director of Mori Art Museum. Moreover, there will be a screening of Play with the Earth, a video work that CINEMA CARAVAN
representative Rai Shizuno created by compiling excerpts of documentation from his travels around the world. The event will
also feature a live performance by Play with the Earth Orchestra (this program is hosted by CINEMA CARAVAN).
※ The Live Event by CINEMA CARAVAN is held as a “Pre-Anniversary Celebration Event for the 100th Anniversary of Beppu City.” (organized by the Beppu City 100th
Anniversary Celebration Executive Committee)

Date: April 6 (Sat.) and 7 (Sun.)
Venue: Kitahama Park (1 Kitahama, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture 874-0920)
Fee: Free
Support: CINEMA CARAVAN

Discussion Event
What Can Art Do Now?
Date: April 6 (Sat.), 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Venue: Kitahama Park (1 Kitahama, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture 874-0920)※ In the case of rain: Beppu Bluebird Theater 3rd Floor Flex Hall
(1-12 Kitahama, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture 874-0920)

Tanker Project, FaN Week 2023 (Fukuoka Prefecture)

Photo: Rai Shizuno

Guests: Takashi Kuribayashi and Mami Katoaka (Mori Art Museum Director)

Live Event
Play with the Earth
Date: April 6 (Sat.), 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Venue: Kitahama Park (1 Kitahama, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture 874-0920)※ In the case of rain: Beppu Bluebird Theater 3rd Floor Flex Hall

Appearance: Rai Shizuno (CINEMA CARAVAN)＋Play with the Earth Orchestra
Organizer: Beppu City 100th Anniversary Celebration Executive Committee

Play with the Earth, documenta 15 (Kassel, Germany)
Photo: Rai Shizuno

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GENKI-RO Trip
With the slogan “Making people healthy and vital through art,” the installation work GENKI-RO boils water with herbs in a largekiln, sending steam into specific spaces through pipes. It creates an immersive experience that is akin to enjoying herbal tea
with oneʼs entire body. In the GENKI-RO Trip project, the work will travel to various locations within the city.
Date: April 6 (Sat.) to June 30 (Sun.). Closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and April 8 (Mon.)
Venue: Various locations in Beppu City (more information will be provided on the GENKI-RO Trip Official
social media account)※ On April 6 (Sat.) and 7 (Sun.) the GENKI-RO will run from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Kitahama Park to accompany the Tanker

Project

Fee: 500 yen ＊ Includes a special towel
Production: BEPPU PROJECT (NPO)
Support: Bekki-Hayami Forestry Association; Beppu City Tourism and Industry Division, Section ofAgriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries; Higashiyama Palette Co., Ltd.; Yama no Kakera; Masaru Hayashida (as of April 29, 2024)
CULTURAL TOUR ❶ A Guided Walking Tour with “Beppuʼs Ikkyu,” Junichi Hanada❷ A Guided Walking Tour with Local Artist Masamitsu Katsu
Dates: ❶ April 19 (Fri.), May 11 (Sat.), May 20 (Mon.), 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
❷ April 26 (Fri.), May 17 (Fri.), June 7 (Fri.), 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Fee: ❶ 2,500 yen (including GENKI-RO experience). Limited to 15 participants per session❷ 6,000 yen (includes meal costs and onsen entrance fees, but not drinks). Limited to 15 participants per session
Tickets: Peatix https://oita-cultural-expo.peatix.com/
About: Throughout Beppu, one can find various artistic spots spread throughout the city, reflecting its
development with a focus on contemporary art. These guided walking tours are led by: Beppubased artist Masamitsu Katsu, who knows the town like the back of his hand; and Junya
Hanada, the chairperson of Beppu Hatto Onsendo Association, also known as “Beppuʼs Ikkyu”(after the famous Japanese monk). Participants have the opportunity to experience Takashi
Kuribayashiʼs work GENKI-RO and enjoy unique interactions during meals with local artists.
※ The GENKI-RO does not allow reservations from the general public. However, tour participants are permitted to make a reservation to experience the work.

Local Information̶Beppu
Beppu, a famous hot spring town, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024. Boasting the highest number of hot spring sources
and largest volume of hot spring water in Japan, it has developed as a City of International Tourism and Hot Springs Culture.

Meanwhile, it is continuously introducing exciting new attractions, including art projects such as ALTERNATIVE STATE.

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Participating Artist Profile: Takashi Kuribayashi
Born in 1968, in Nagasaki Prefecture. Since his time in Germany from 1993, shortly after the reunificationof East and West, Takashi Kuribayashi has been exhibiting work in a range of media̶including drawing,
installation, and video̶on the theme of “boundaries.” He currently divides his time between Japan andIndonesia, and has been invited to participate in various exhibitions on the international scene. At
documenta fifteen, held in Kassel, Germany, in 2022, the artist collaborated with CINEMA CARAVAN tohold a series of events based around the out of the mosquito net project. His GENKI-RO / No.4 installation
at that festival was highly acclaimed, receiving the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnologyʼs Art Encouragement Prize.

Tree of Ibuki (Ibukijima, Kagawa Prefecture; 2019)

out of the mosquito net (Kassel, Germany; 2022)

mountain range (Chiyoda, Tokyo; 2022)

Artist Statement
Among my own works,
there are three that travel:
Yatai Trip, GENKI-RO, and Tanker Project.
These are lifelong projects,
each with its own meaning, scale, and size,
large, medium, and small, respectively.

Life is like a journey,as many writers have said.
Without a doubt, life is a journey.
And that journey is full of all kinds of possibilities and adventures.
These three projects
involve the creation of unreal spatial worlds within the real world,allowing us to experience the fun, wondrousness, and comical natureof the world we think of as reality,
as well as how it is just a pretense.
Most of the worldʼs problems are energy problems,
invisible and subject to speculation.
Borders, religion, pandemics, and radiation...
these are all invisible products of our minds.
These are matters of no concern to nature, or other living creatures, which pay them no heed.
The GENKI-RO space and experience, and the human connections,lead us to recall that which we have forgotten, regenerating us from the cellular level.
The large tanker symbolizes carrying energy.
These projects compel the body towards health,leading it to a proper awareness and energy,
moving from the negative to the positive.
6

Yatai Trip, GENKI-RO

Trip, and the Tanker journey,

Let the voyages begin.

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【CULTURAL EVENT ＆ CULTURAL TOUR details Saiki】
CULTURAL EVENT Hikaru Fujii solo exhibition War Is Over
Dates: April 13 (Sat.) to June 16 (Sun.), 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (final entry 4:00 p.m.). Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Venue: Tanga Hodai Park Underground Ammunition Depot (577 Tangaura, Tsurumi, Saiki City, Oita Prefecture 876-1311 577)
Access: JR Saiki Station (Nippō Main Line)
Admission: Entrance to the exhibition is free (although the facility has an entrance fee of 200 yen for adults and 100 yen forchildren)Artist: Hikaru Fujii
Production: BEPPU PROJECT (NPO)
Support: Saiki City, Saiki City Tourism Association, Tanga Battery Preservation Society, Hisako Morikawa (Multicultural
Coexistence Manager).
About: The exhibition of a new video work by video artist Hikaru Fujii. On the day that the war ended, 79 years ago, every
single person had their own emotional response. This exhibition presents War Is Over, a video work in whichcitizens of Saiki have taken on the role of those who must have been filled with emotions beyond description onthat day. The venue is Tanga Hodai Park, where one can still see the scars of an explosion that occurred on
January 11, 1942. We hold this exhibition in the spirit of wishing for world peace from the city of Saiki.
CULTURAL TOUR A trip to view Hikaru Fujiiʼs new work, and feel the birth of the sea (one-day bus tour)
Enjoy a special bouillabaisse prepared by people who live along the bay
Dates: April 14 (Sun.), May 5 (Sun.), May 19 (Sun.), and June 8 (Sat.); 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Fee: 6,000 yen (including lunch), limited to 20 people per tour
Tickets: UNA Labs https://unalabs.jp/tourism/jose01/
About: The theme of the tour is the birth of the sea. Participants will visit the Tsurumi region, with its ria coast, view Hikaru
Fujiiʼs new work War Is Over, engage in dialogue with inlet denizens, and partake in the bounty of the sea todiscover the nature of the marine-human relationship. The art tour evokes the formation of a new
local mythology, suggesting the creation of the sea from the extreme deluge of salty tears. A
specially-made bouillabaisse will also be served.
Local information̶Saiki
The city, in what was historically Bungo Province, has a rich history and culture, with sites such as thetownscape around Saiki Castle and cultural legacies including the kind of ship-launching ceremonies only to
be found in a shipbuilding town, and traces of its wartime development as a military city. Saiki boasts of a diverse range ofattractions for tourists, that make the most of the regionʼs natural resources, such as the spectacular views offered by Bungo
Futamigaura, or wild game and seafood that couldnʼt get any fresher̶treasures from the sea and the mountains.

8Participating Artist Profile: Hikaru Fujii
Born in 1976, Hikaru Fujii earned his DEA (diplôme dʼétudes approfondies, equivalent to a masterʼsdegree) in Aesthetics, Sciences and Technology of the Arts from Paris 8 University. He undertakes indepth research, based on the idea that the creation of art exists in a close relationship with society andhistory, and produces video installations that respond to contemporary social issues.
Fujii received the Nissan Art Award 2017 Grand Prix, and was one of the recipients of the Tokyo
Contemporary Art Award 2020‒2022.
The artist has participated in numerous exhibitions both in Japan and overseas, including the solo show
Special Exhibition Hikaru Fujii: Record of Bombing (Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels, Saitama;2021), and the group exhibition Artists and the Disaster: Imagining in the 10th Year (Art Tower Mito;2021).

Mujō (The Heartless) (2019)

The Japanese War Art 1946 (2022)

Record of the Bombing (2016)

Photo: Tetsuo Ito

Photo: Keizo Kioku

Photo: Shizune Shiigi

Artist Statement
There are records that many of the people in the city of Saiki cried on August 15, 1945, the day the war was over. The peopleof that time, with truly ineffable emotions in their hearts, went on to build a whole new era. Cruel and merciless wars are still
raging around the world today, 79 years later. The long history of mankind is yet to know the day that war is over. This work is
an investigation into our ability to direct our imaginations across time and space, to the enduring pain of the memories of war,and the victims of ongoing slaughter in distant lands. In these uncertain times, and from within a World War II ammunition
depot, it reexamines the possibility of humans someday creating a day when war is over.

9【CULTURAL EVENT ＆ CULTURAL TOUR details Usuki】
CULTURAL EVENT Food and reading event, While stones turn to soil
Dates: May 18 (Sat.), May 19 (Sun.), June 8 (Sat.), June 9 (Sun.)
Doors 12:00 p.m. to 12:20 p.m. / Performance 12:30 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. for all dates.
※ End time is approximate.

Venue: Former Sekibutsu Sansō (835-4 Fukata, Usuki, Oita Prefecture 875-0064)
Access: JR Usuki Station (Nippō Main Line)
Fee: 3,500 yen ※ Tickets also available in combination with the bus tour exploring Creative CIty of Gastronomy of Usuki
Tickets: Peatix https://oita-cultural-expo.peatix.com
Capacity: 40 per performance (20 performance-only guests, 20 bus tour package guests)
Artist: HOO. Landscape and food works
About: “A distant landscape and a spoonful of soup. The world and the palm of my hand are connected.” HOO. Landscape andfood works have created works around this concept, connecting landscape, culture, society, and viewers throughthe medium of food. For the Expo, the unit will hold four performances of While stones turn to soil, an event withfood and a reading, all based on research and interviews conducted in Fukata, and the wider Usuki area. In an
installation that is part of the work, participants will experience a meal and a reading performance by the artists. We
gaze at the landscape we inhabit, shuttling between insignificant fragments of daily life that are never documented,
and the expanse of time that envelopes us. We hope that this performance creates the opportunity for such
reflection.
The installation where the performances will take place is open on the following dates.
Dates: May 18 (Sat.) to June 16 (Sun.)
10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (final entry 4:00 p.m.). Closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and the days of performances (May
18 and 19, June 8 and 9)
Fee: FreeCULTURAL TOUR Learn about Usukiʼs circular gastronomy culture. A journey on the theme of “stones and soil” that
invites you to gaze at the landscape you inhabit (one-day bus tour)
HOO. Landscape and food worksʼ food and reading event While stones turn to soil
Dates: May 18 (Sat.), May 19 (Sun.) June 8 (Sat.), June 9 (Sun.)
All dates 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 20-participant limit for each tour.
Fee: 6,000 yen (Includes ticket for the food and reading event While stones turn to soil).
Tickets: UNA Laboratories https://unalabs.jp/tourism/jous01/
About: The city of Usuki boasts a diverse food culture which includes a brewing industry with a 400-year history that producesmiso, soy sauce, and sake, as well as a local cuisine born from the wisdom of the practice of frugality and simplicity.
These efforts were recognized when, in 2021, the city became the second Japanese city to be designated as a
Creative City of Gastronomy by Unesco. Centered around the theme of “soil and stones,” the tour will start with avisit to a site where Honmamon agricultural products are grown, where everything begins with the soil. Then,
participants will experience While stones turn to soil, a performance event consisting of food and a reading
performance, based on research and interviews conducted in the Fukata, Usuki area by HOO. Landscape and foodworks.

Local information̶Usuki
Enjoy the sense of the past that lives on in Usuki by visiting the National Treasure Usuki Stone Buddhas and the ruins of
Usuki Castle, built by Ōtomo Sōrin, and learning the history of the castle town. Usuki has also been designated as a Creative
City of Gastronomy by UNESCO in recognition of its brewing culture and local cuisine, which have been passed down for 400
years since the Edo period, and its Honmamon agricultural products, which are grown without the use of chemical fertilizers
and synthetic agrochemicals.

10Participating Artist Profile: HOO. Landscape and food works
A distant landscape and a spoonful of soup.
The world and the palm of my hand are connected.
Imagine the future of the landscape and the food, and connect them.
Routine, yet special, an experience of time and space.
̶̶An artist unit consisting of Tomomi Takaoka and Shikino Nagamori.
After working for a landscape design company, they began their activities in March 2012. Notable works include
Fermentation room (Beppu Art Month 2012), Where the Moon Rises, Past and Present (Naka-boso International
Art Festival Ichihara Art x Mix 2014), Invisible gods̶Indigenous belief and food culture of Kasukawa(“Foodscape̶We are what we eat,” Arts Maebashi 2016), The story of the table for life (Culture City of East
Asia 2018 Kanazawa: Altering Home, 2018), Passing Days, what is there (Saitama Triennale 2020), Standing in
the Kitchen, the View from the Lighthouse, (solo exhibition, Kurobe City Art Museum, 2020).

Fermentation room

Invisible gods̶Indigenous belief and food culture of Kasukawa

Passing Days, what is there

Beppu Art Month 2012

Foodscape̶We are what we eat, Arts Maebashi 20116

Saitama Triennale 2020

Artist Statement:
We spoke to women who have lived in Fukata for a long time.
One person said, “twice a year, a special morning light hits the stone buddhas.”
We read somewhere that this planetʼs soil was born from stones.
That they turn to sand over many years, and to soil through the actions of plants and animals.
These are both stories of hope. Stories of a small, modest joy.
We want to find moments like this in nature or in peopleʼs work.
We want to gather what has become dust and shape it once more.

“A distant landscape and a spoonful of soup. The world and the palm of
my hand are connected.” We have created works around this concept,
connecting landscape, culture, society, and viewers through the medium offood. For the Expo, we will present While stones turn to soil, aperformance and installation consisting of food and a reading, based on
research and interviews conducted in Fukata, and the wider Usuki area.
We hope that this work will create an opportunity to gaze at the landscape
we inhabit, shuttling between insignificant fragments of daily life that arenever documented, and the expanse of time that envelopes us.

Concept drawing for While stones turn to soil11

【CULTURAL EVENT ＆ CULTURAL TOUR details Taketa】
CULTURAL EVENT [Information about an existing project]
About: Shared house KURASU living laboratory, whose founders moved to the city in 2017, have created a walking map for
visitors to encounter the artists, craftspeople, and other diverse creators living in Taketa.
Access: JR Bungo-Taketa station (Hohi Main Line)CULTURAL TOUR Guruzubu TABLE at KURASU living laboratory̶A delicious market that connects to the workings ofnature and the land
Dates: May 12 (Sun.), May 26 (Sun.), June 1 (Sat.), June 2 (Sat.); 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Fee: 2,500 yen (includes fee for the food event), 20-person limit for each day
Tickets: Peatix https://oita-cultural-expo.peatix.com/(Food event + self-guided walk)
Production: KURASU living laboratory
About: Live, stay, gather, work, and play. Share in all of these activities at KURASU living laboratory, amultifunctional shared house for experimenting to find lifestyles unique to each person. At
Oita Cultural Expo! ʼ24, KURASU living laboratory will hold a special edition of their Guruzubu
Ichi, a market organized around the theme of “sustainable lifestyles and deep relationships.”
Participants in the Cultural Tour will experience a lunch made with local ingredients and atalk by local producers. They will also follow a map created by KURASU living laboratory andwalk around the town below Oka Castle, one of the 100 most famous castles in Japan, toappreciate the work of Taketaʼs artisans. (Participants can stroll freely and go home as
desired.)Guruzubu Ichi at KURASU living laboratory (Photo from October 22, 2023))

Local information̶Taketa
Taketa is surrounded by magnificent nature, including Mount Sobo, designated as a UNESCO Eco Park, and the Kujū
mountain range. It is also home to Nagayu Onsen, which is among the worldʼs greatest carbonated hot springs, and the Taketa
Springs, named one of Japanʼs 100 best springs. In recent years, artisans working in various genres, such as sculpture andleatherwork, have moved to the city in pursuit of its richness, adding a cultural facet to the city.
Organizer profile: KURASU living laboratory
Located in the castle town of Taketa, Oita Prefecture, this multifunctional space consists of a shared house, guest room, andevent space under the theme of “experimenting with ways of living.” The owners, the Ichiharas, moved to Taketa from
Tokyo in 2017. Here, their family of five, including children, lives a shared lifestyle with eleven other residents. They enjoy theprocess of experimenting to find their own comfortable lifestyle: building the space themselves, growing organic rice, andsharing work. There is also a room for short stays in the space for those who are thinking of moving, so the space allows
people to try out living in Taketa. On the third Sunday of every month, they hold Guruzubu Ichi, a market where farmers
and chefs collaborate. The slightly unusual name comes from the phrases “guru guru circulation” and “zubu zubu
relationships,” which each contain Japanese onomatopoeia: “guru guru” refers to a spinning motion, and “zubu zubu”
describes sinking into mud. When the Ichiharas thought about how they wanted to live, they thought of nature, the town,
and people being connected. KURASU living laboratory proposes a day of activities that will make you want to makechoices that are kinder toward people and nature, and experience moments that touch the heart.

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【CULTURAL EVENT ＆ CULTURAL TOUR details Kunisaki Peninsula】
CULTURAL EVENT［Information about existing projects］
About: Public artworks by internationally renowned artists can be found across Kunisaki Peninsula. Each of these artworks issite specific. Grab a special art map made by BEPPU PROJECT, a non-profit organization that has been involved
with the production of contemporary art in the region, and let the artworks serve as guideposts as you explore
Kunisaki Peninsula in the spring.
Access: JR Usa Station (Nippō Main Line); Approximately one hour from Usa Station by car
Permanently installed artworks: 16 artworks by 12 artists
Bungotakada: Wish tree, Invisible bench, Yoko Ono; Iro Iro Iro, Choi Jeonghwa;
Camel of Kunisaki Peninsula, Yodogawa Technique; Sitting with the Sun, Takahito Kimura; One Wild Day Tomoko
Konoike (above artworks located at Nagasakibana. The Art Museum of Nature and Human Non-Homogeneity isalso located on the cape); Moon Tree, Drops of Light, Saburo Teshigawara (Nameshi Dam Greenland); Flowers
and People, Cannot be Controlled but Live Together ‒ Kunisaki Peninsula, teamLAB (teamLAB Gallery Matama
Beach)
Kunisaki: ANOTHER TIME XX, Anthony Gormley (Sento); Pulpit, Tadashi Kawamata (Kibe);
Hundred Life Houses, Tatsuo Miyajima (Jobutsu); The Glowing Road - A Path without Stairs #1, Necklace:
Carrying Stones Up the Mountain (Asahi), Breath (Raiura), Manose (Manose), SHIMABUKU; Kunisaki House,
Rachel Whiteread (Tsurugawa)
CULTURAL TOUR A tour of Kunisaki Peninsulaʼs art and local ingredients with art director Junʼya Yamaide (1-night, 2day bus tour)
A special dinner by Kunisaki Peninsula resident, chef Ryohei Kawasaki
Dates: April 20 (Sat.) to 21 (Sun.), April 27 (Sat.) to 28 (Sun.); 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. the following day (leaving and arrivingfrom Beppu station)
Fee: 23,500 yen (Includes two lunches, one dinner, one breakfast, and accommodations) limited to 20 people per tour
Tickets: UNA Laboratories https://unalabs.jp/tourism/jokn14/
About: On this two-day, one-night tour, participants will explore the public art of the peninsula, encounter
local ingredients, and experience a special dinner made by Chef Ryohei Kawasaki, who isbased in Kunisaki Peninsula. Junʼya Yamaide (CEO, Yamaide Art Office), who has curated
contemporary artworks in the region, will guide the tour.
Local information: Kunisaki Peninsula
The Kunisaki Peninsula (Bungotakada and Kunisaki) is said to be the birthplace of Shinbutsu-Shūgō, orthe syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism. Visitors can experience the joys of trekking and walking on the Kunisakihantou
Minemichi Long Trail, which adapts the Rokugo Manzan Mineiri-gyo (a harsher trail, used for ascetic training) to allow for
more fun and comfortable walking. The region is also recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System for its
sustainable agriculture and forestry systems, making use of Sawtooth Oak forests and irrigation ponds. In recent years, theregion has become the home to many public artworks by internationally renowned artists, which have become new landmarks
for the peninsula.

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A selection of permanently installed works in Kunisaki Peninsula curated by Junʼya Yamaide

ANOTHER TIME XX, Anthony Gormley

Pulpit, Tadashi Kawamata

The Glowing Road, SHIMABUKU

Kunisaki House, Rachel Whiteread

Hundred Life Houses, Tatsuo Miyajima

Chef Profile: Ryohei Kawasaki

Kawasaki moved to France after seven years of experience working in French restaurants in Tokyo.
He gained further experience in restaurants in Alsace and Paris, France, and Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2016, he
opened a restaurant in Paris with his father, who is also a chef. He became head chef in 2017, and in 2018 therestaurant received a Michelin star.
Kawasaki took over as owner-chef in 2018, and the restaurant received a Michelin star for five consecutive years until
its closure, in 2022.
His experiences in Paris eventually led him to close his restaurant in Paris and return to his home country, as hewanted people to taste his cuisine in the rich nature of Japan.
He has had various opportunities since returning to Japan and is currently preparing to open a small inn in Kunisaki
City, Oita Prefecture.

Previous dishes from Chef Kawasaki

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