Narrative and photographs by Suzanne Kamata
In Japan, autumn is notably a time for celebrating culture. Although artists are busy year-round, and one can see theatrical productions, concerts, dance, and art exhibits at any time, November 3 is officially Culture Day. Schools and municipalities typically hold culture festivals around this time.
I asked my Japanese husband why Culture Day is in autumn. He didn’t really know, but he guessed that it was because of the weather. To be sure, most cultural events are held inside climate-controlled buildings, but when I asked my question, we were in a Tokushima Central Park. In summer, it would have been too hot and humid to stroll around the park; winter would be too cold. On that afternoon, it was just the right temperature to enjoy the roses blooming in the garden. Also, the golden and scarlet leaves were aesthetically pleasing. Nature, too, is an artist.
Later, when I looked up the holiday’s origins, I learned that November 3 was Emperor Meiji’s birthday. He was the one to oversee Japan’s transition from isolated island nation to the modern, Westernised country we know today. His wish was that Japan honor culture and intellect rather than the imperial family.
Tokushima Central Park, once the site of a castle, is surrounded by a moat. When my daughter attended school nearby, I used to accompany her on field trips to the park. The children fed pigeons and hunted for crabs in rock crevices. On this day, my husband and I had come to the park to check out an annual open-air exhibition of sculptures. From early October to late November, artwork is displayed on the grounds – and in the water. The first one we came across appeared to be two figures, one pink (Caucasian?), one black, on a pedestal in a pond. To me, the sculptures were reminiscent of African figures I had seen in other museums. The title of the work was “Aru de nai de?” (“Is it or isn’t it?”) Artist Shinichi Nakagawa’s statement reads that this expression “is one of my favorite words in the Tokushima dialect. I created this piece to express the meaning and sound of that word.”
I was also drawn to Masaru Shimazaki’s “Like a Fairy Sprouting from the Earth,” which reminded me of Ghibli characters, perhaps the tree spirits from Princess Mononoke, and the spooky, shroud-like “Streaks” by Hiroaki Narita.
I noticed that people of all ages had come to the park, and many were hunched over their smartphones. I assumed that they were reading descriptions of the artwork scanned via QR codes, but my husband informed me otherwise: “They’re trying to capture Pokemon characters. This is a hotspot for Pokemon Go.”
“People still do that?” I asked.
I moved on to my favorite piece, “Are!” (“Huh!”) by Masayoshi Kitagawa, an array of realistic-looking handbags, replete with metal zippers. At first, I thought they were repurposed luxury purses. Amazingly, they were not leather, but stone. The crisp fallen leaves scattered across the table added that little extra something that only the season could provide.
Suzanne Kamata was born and raised in Grand Haven, Michigan. She now lives in Japan with her husband and two children. Her short stories, essays, articles and book reviews have appeared in over 100 publications. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize five times, and received a Special Mention in 2006. She is also a two-time winner of the All Nippon Airways/Wingspan Fiction Contest, winner of the Paris Book Festival, and winner of a SCBWI Magazine Merit Award.
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