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The future that fascinated me
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has become a ruin.
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People believed in the beauty
of technological progress.
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It carried the expectations of
the era, the nation and so on.
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00:03:51,481 --> 00:03:56,278
It represented
primitive human nature.
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00:03:56,403 --> 00:04:00,949
The tower was right in the center of
the huge Expo site,
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00:04:01,116 --> 00:04:04,286
Like a god of the festival.
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00:04:04,411 --> 00:04:08,582
It was made in 1970
when Expo "70-Osaka was held.
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. There you saw
things you had never seen before,
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Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
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Taro Okamoto Museum of
ART Curator going on and on.
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00:04:51,291 --> 00:04:51,625
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
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Taro Okamoto Museum of ART Curator
It was like a futuristic city with many pavilions.
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00:04:55,462 --> 00:04:55,504
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
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00:04:55,587 --> 00:04:59,132
That image struck me vividly.
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00:05:07,724 --> 00:05:10,519
People in Japan were blown away.
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00:05:10,769 --> 00:05:10,852
Kids were still playing with tops.
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00:05:10,852 --> 00:05:13,104
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum Director
Kids were still playing with tops.
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00:05:13,104 --> 00:05:13,230
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum
Director
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00:05:13,230 --> 00:05:16,024
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum
Director We poor kids suddenly saw
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00:05:16,024 --> 00:05:16,107
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum
Director
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spaceships, robots, computers,
laser beams, moving sidewalks,
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00:05:20,779 --> 00:05:24,866
and dome screen movies,
with their own eyes.
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00:05:24,991 --> 00:05:29,538
Those things belonged to
the TV world. It was Sci-Fi.
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00:05:29,663 --> 00:05:30,121
In the 21st century,
technology would progress,
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Art Critic In the 21st century,
technology would progress,
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Art Critic
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Art Critic and all problems of the
20th century, like poverty and wars,
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and all problems of the 20th century,
like poverty and wars,
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would be perfectly solved by technology.
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00:05:42,676 --> 00:05:48,181
People said that
the entrance to this new century
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would be Expo “To.
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00:05:54,104 --> 00:05:59,401
I was a kid, purely and
innocently astonished, but
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00:05:59,526 --> 00:06:03,154
I'm sure that even adults were
quite amazed.
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An adult man asked a foreigner
who just happened to walk by
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00:06:07,534 --> 00:06:09,077
for an autograph.
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00:06:09,202 --> 00:06:12,581
Foreign countries existed only on TV.
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00:06:12,706 --> 00:06:16,751
That's why 64 million Japanese
visited the event.
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00:06:21,965 --> 00:06:25,343
Japan held the Expo
to jump ahead of the world.
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00:06:25,468 --> 00:06:28,680
The time of technology and
space was coming.
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00:06:28,805 --> 00:06:32,517
In other words,
old was bad and new was good.
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To represent the concept,
they needed not “established art',
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but "never-seen art”.
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You had to show art that
didn't exist in Europe.
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The only choice was avant-garde.
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00:06:48,783 --> 00:06:53,747
For example, Tadanori Yokoo
produced the Textiles Pavilion
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00:06:53,872 --> 00:06:58,752
and Katsuhiro Yamaguchi
produced the Mitsui Group Pavilion.
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00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:05,550
All the pavilions were so extraordinary
that they didn't look like buildings.
49
00:07:07,552 --> 00:07:10,055
It was still the Cold War era.
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00:07:10,180 --> 00:07:14,309
The USSR made the tallest pavilion,
at 109 meters.
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00:07:14,476 --> 00:07:16,770
On the contrary, the USA made
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00:07:16,895 --> 00:07:21,149
a very flat pavilion
with an air-inflated structure.
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00:07:21,274 --> 00:07:24,569
The theme of both was space development.
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00:07:25,070 --> 00:07:30,825
The USA focused on the Apollo Program,
exhibiting a moon rock.
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00:07:30,951 --> 00:07:33,995
That was an icon of the Expo.
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00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:39,960
The USSR showed a bunch of
spaceships hung in a huge room.
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00:07:40,085 --> 00:07:43,630
The fight for dominance
between the two countries
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took the form of Expo exhibitions.
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00:07:47,175 --> 00:07:47,384
Expo was a place to show
how modern civilization had
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00:07:47,384 --> 00:07:51,471
Anthropologist Expo was a place
to show how modern civilization had
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00:07:51,471 --> 00:07:51,513
Anthropologist
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00:07:51,596 --> 00:07:55,684
invented wonderful things
one after another.
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00:07:55,850 --> 00:07:59,688
It was like a trade show
for industrial technology,
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00:07:59,813 --> 00:08:03,650
but the visitors were
the general public.
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00:08:05,068 --> 00:08:10,031
Previous Expos made villages and
put indigenous people there.
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00:08:10,156 --> 00:08:14,494
Visitors watched them
Like a safari tour.
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00:08:14,619 --> 00:08:19,332
People also saw
educated indigenous people,
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00:08:19,457 --> 00:08:22,127
wearing uniforms and working.
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00:08:22,252 --> 00:08:26,548
They were showcased next to
naked people with spears.
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00:08:26,715 --> 00:08:29,300
As a result of modern education,
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00:08:29,426 --> 00:08:34,889
savage people became semi-civilized.
Before and after.
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00:08:35,348 --> 00:08:39,060
Industrialization and
technical progress were
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00:08:39,185 --> 00:08:44,816
the best way for human beings
to be happy.
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00:08:44,941 --> 00:08:47,527
To make the general public
understand this
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00:08:47,902 --> 00:08:51,531
was the big hidden purpose of Expo.
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00:08:51,656 --> 00:08:56,703
So "Progress and evolution
are virtue and justice
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00:08:56,828 --> 00:08:57,912
was the concept.
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00:08:58,038 --> 00:09:02,709
New development will start
in the 21st century.
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00:09:03,376 --> 00:09:09,340
We must build our high-standard
culture and ideal lifestyle.
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00:09:09,466 --> 00:09:13,344
In the urban areas,
Skyscrapers will rise up,
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00:09:13,470 --> 00:09:17,515
and completely overwhelm
the old century's cityscape.
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00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:22,562
. The theme of Expo '70 was
Progress and Harmony for Mankind.
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00:09:22,687 --> 00:09:28,568
It suggested that we think about
the subject together.
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00:09:28,735 --> 00:09:28,943
Art Historian
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00:09:28,943 --> 00:09:32,197
Art Historian Taro
Okamoto rebelled against it.
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00:09:32,197 --> 00:09:32,280
Art Historian
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00:09:34,532 --> 00:09:40,121
Progress functions backwards.
We are losing our real lives,
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00:09:40,246 --> 00:09:44,459
the integrity of our lives,
our bodies and physicality.
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00:09:44,584 --> 00:09:47,921
I myself have deep doubts
about progress.
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00:09:48,046 --> 00:09:52,217
You say Apollo ls progress.
Progress to what?
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00:09:53,134 --> 00:09:59,140
- There are many bad effects,
Like pollution, caused by progress,
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00:09:59,307 --> 00:10:01,476
but Taro thought
the theme ignored them.
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00:10:01,643 --> 00:10:07,440
They said “harmony” but ignored
civil wars and ethnic conflicts.
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00:10:07,565 --> 00:10:12,821
Harmony in Japan had also been
made with compromises.
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00:10:12,946 --> 00:10:16,658
Everyone compromised
for superficial harmony.
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00:10:17,117 --> 00:10:21,329
Taro didn't reject the theme,
but used it ironically.
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00:10:21,454 --> 00:10:25,792
Mankind hadn't achieved
progress or harmony -
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00:10:25,917 --> 00:10:28,920
Taro used that as his theme.
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00:10:29,462 --> 00:10:31,965
There was no harmony at that time.
100
00:10:32,257 --> 00:10:38,138
Values were overturned in the midst
of turbulent times.
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00:10:38,263 --> 00:10:42,350
Many things in society were upset.
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00:10:42,892 --> 00:10:50,024
Scholar of Japanese Fine Arts
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00:11:16,259 --> 00:11:18,678
Optimistic futurism.
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00:11:19,095 --> 00:11:20,889
The cult of technology.
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00:11:21,097 --> 00:11:24,058
The only thing that completely opposed
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00:11:24,601 --> 00:11:29,647
those ideas in the history of Expo
was the Tower of the Sun.
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00:11:29,772 --> 00:11:30,982
The only one.
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00:11:57,550 --> 00:11:59,886
The incongruity of the Tower of the Sun
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is overwhelming.
It's still standing out there,
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00:12:04,933 --> 00:12:05,183
Social Designer
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Social Designer and families have
picnics around that strange tower.
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00:12:11,189 --> 00:12:11,272
Social Designer
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I first thought
"What the heck is it?”
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00:12:15,902 --> 00:12:17,111
Indescribable.
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00:12:17,278 --> 00:12:20,698
I couldn't tell if it was
sculpture, architecture or art.
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00:12:20,823 --> 00:12:27,288
A strange mixture, like
future and ancient times colliding.
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00:12:27,455 --> 00:12:29,624
Absolutely useless.
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00:12:29,791 --> 00:12:30,208
It's not symmetrical,
it's kind of twisted.
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00:12:30,208 --> 00:12:34,587
Explorer
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00:12:34,587 --> 00:12:34,796
Explorer
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00:12:34,796 --> 00:12:37,799
Explorer
Somehow it looks joyful.
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00:12:37,799 --> 00:12:37,924
Explorer
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00:12:38,258 --> 00:12:38,883
The arms are like this,
welcoming something.
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00:12:38,883 --> 00:12:41,803
Dancer The arms are like
this, welcoming something.
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00:12:41,803 --> 00:12:42,345
Dancer
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00:12:42,345 --> 00:12:43,763
Dancer
The arms go...
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00:12:43,763 --> 00:12:46,641
Dancer
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00:12:46,641 --> 00:12:46,975
Dancer , Upward. That's
why it gives a good aura.
129
00:12:46,975 --> 00:12:50,311
, Upward.
That's why it gives a good aura.
130
00:12:50,478 --> 00:12:54,274
If they were I inward,
the aura would be negative.
131
00:12:55,525 --> 00:12:57,277
Like this, you know.
132
00:12:58,194 --> 00:12:59,153
It's alright!
133
00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:01,656
It stands majestically.
134
00:13:01,823 --> 00:13:03,616
It's always looking at me.
135
00:13:03,741 --> 00:13:06,160
Some kids are scared to go in.
136
00:13:06,452 --> 00:13:12,125
A mom? A dad?
Maybe I'm thinking too much.
137
00:13:12,375 --> 00:13:16,587
The curved lips are a bit funny.
138
00:13:16,713 --> 00:13:19,173
It looks like it's sulking.
139
00:13:19,299 --> 00:13:21,926
Maybe because it's alone now.
140
00:13:22,427 --> 00:13:25,847
The Tower of the Sun was the pavilion
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00:13:26,014 --> 00:13:29,350
which hosted
the main exhibition of Expo '70.
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00:13:29,517 --> 00:13:30,101
Taro was appointed to create
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00:13:30,101 --> 00:13:33,354
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator Taro was appointed to create
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00:13:33,354 --> 00:13:33,521
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
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00:13:33,521 --> 00:13:37,650
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART Curator
the facility for the theme exhibition.
146
00:13:37,650 --> 00:13:37,692
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
147
00:13:37,775 --> 00:13:38,276
I read a book about how Taro
was appointed for the role.
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00:13:38,276 --> 00:13:43,031
Design Engineer for the Tower of the Sun I read a book about how Taro was appointed for the role.
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00:13:43,031 --> 00:13:43,114
Design Engineer for
the Tower of the Sun
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00:13:43,573 --> 00:13:47,535
The Ministries didn't avoid
choosing him,
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00:13:47,702 --> 00:13:50,496
daring to take a risk.
152
00:13:50,913 --> 00:13:57,378
Maybe, society itself was
young and vital in a way.
153
00:13:59,714 --> 00:14:02,550
Ordinary ways wouldn't catch the West.
154
00:14:02,675 --> 00:14:06,387
They chose Taro,
not based on solid reasoning,
155
00:14:06,554 --> 00:14:10,058
but more like a gamble, I guess.
156
00:14:10,475 --> 00:14:11,017
What Taro actually did was
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00:14:11,017 --> 00:14:14,729
Professor of French Philosophy
What Taro actually did was
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00:14:14,729 --> 00:14:14,854
Professor of
French Philosophy
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00:14:14,854 --> 00:14:19,901
Professor of French Philosophy far
beyond the bureaucrats' intentions.
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00:14:19,901 --> 00:14:20,401
Far beyond the bureaucrats' intentions.
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00:14:21,069 --> 00:14:25,073
As an avant-garde artist,
he had stood against
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00:14:25,406 --> 00:14:30,870
, power and authority. so
I'm sure he felt conflicted to work
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00:14:30,995 --> 00:14:32,538
for the state.
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00:14:32,830 --> 00:14:36,876
Everyone around him
tried to dissuade him.
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00:14:37,251 --> 00:14:40,838
I assume he thought it over and over,
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00:14:40,963 --> 00:14:43,549
and decided to go one step further.
167
00:14:43,758 --> 00:14:47,845
He thought he could make
a myth strong enough
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00:14:47,970 --> 00:14:51,682
to control scientific/technological
civilization.
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00:14:51,808 --> 00:14:54,018
That was his aim, I think.
170
00:14:54,143 --> 00:14:59,232
To surpass the progress
of science and technology,
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00:14:59,357 --> 00:15:01,567
imagination or vision
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00:15:01,692 --> 00:15:06,364
can be created only by artists.
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00:15:06,531 --> 00:15:11,411
This incredible idea
came to Taro's mind.
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00:15:21,921 --> 00:15:26,467
The Tower of the Sun is
70 meters high,
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00:15:26,592 --> 00:15:30,596
so it's a huge structure,
not just an art piece.
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00:15:30,721 --> 00:15:30,972
The architect in charge was...
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00:15:30,972 --> 00:15:35,226
Sub-Producer for Expo 70 Theme
Exhibition The architect in charge was...
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00:15:35,226 --> 00:15:35,351
Sub-Producer for
Expo 70 Theme Exhibition
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00:15:35,351 --> 00:15:37,145
Sub-Producer for Expo 70 Theme
Exhibition a fairly meticulous person.
180
00:15:37,145 --> 00:15:38,479
A fairly meticulous person.
181
00:15:38,604 --> 00:15:39,105
I received, at the office,
182
00:15:39,105 --> 00:15:41,315
Design Engineer for the Tower of
the Sun I received, at the office,
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00:15:41,315 --> 00:15:41,441
Design Engineer for
the Tower of the Sun
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00:15:41,441 --> 00:15:42,275
Design Engineer for the Tower of the
Sun a 1/100th scale model of the tower.
185
00:15:42,275 --> 00:15:44,485
A 1/100th scale model of the tower.
186
00:15:44,652 --> 00:15:47,613
How should I make blueprints?
187
00:15:48,739 --> 00:15:48,781
Design Engineer for
the Tower of the Sun
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00:15:48,781 --> 00:15:50,324
Design Engineer for the Tower
of the Sun I made a replica,
189
00:15:50,324 --> 00:15:50,450
Design Engineer for
the Tower of the Sun
190
00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:55,121
Design Engineer for the Tower of the Sun and had a model maker slice It IN one—-centimeter Increments.
191
00:15:55,121 --> 00:15:55,163
Design Engineer for
the Tower of the Sun
192
00:15:55,705 --> 00:15:59,333
I made a cast of the shape,
193
00:15:59,459 --> 00:16:02,920
to outline the tower.
194
00:16:03,671 --> 00:16:08,259
This curve was different from
one familiar to the Japanese.
195
00:16:08,384 --> 00:16:12,346
For example, the curve of temple roofs
196
00:16:12,472 --> 00:16:17,685
is dynamically natural,
but the tower wasn't typical.
197
00:16:17,810 --> 00:16:17,852
It wasn't structurally beautiful
at all in the drawing.
198
00:16:17,852 --> 00:16:21,772
Design Engineer for the Tower of the Sun It wasn't structurally beautiful at all in the drawing.
199
00:16:21,772 --> 00:16:21,856
Design Engineer for
the Tower of the Sun
200
00:16:21,898 --> 00:16:22,607
I thought the form wasn't beautiful,
201
00:16:22,607 --> 00:16:25,860
Shotcrete Engineer for the Tower of the
Sun I thought the form wasn't beautiful,
202
00:16:25,860 --> 00:16:25,985
Shotcrete Engineer for
the Tower of the Sun
203
00:16:25,985 --> 00:16:28,863
Shotcrete Engineer for the Tower
of the Sun but quite grotesque.
204
00:16:28,863 --> 00:16:28,988
Shotcrete Engineer for
the Tower of the Sun
205
00:16:29,030 --> 00:16:33,534
Back then, Kisho Kurokawa and
Arata Isozaki were in their 30s.
206
00:16:33,701 --> 00:16:37,872
They were talented emerging architects.
207
00:16:38,039 --> 00:16:42,460
Their assistants were mostly
mid and late 20s.
208
00:16:42,585 --> 00:16:46,881
So, there was an energetic mood
among US.
209
00:16:47,048 --> 00:16:50,218
A “we were selected” kind of atmosphere
210
00:16:50,343 --> 00:16:54,055
filled the office at that time.
211
00:16:54,222 --> 00:17:00,228
We were inspired by each other
and went full throttle.
212
00:17:00,353 --> 00:17:03,689
The entire society was full of energy.
213
00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:10,404
Taro wanted the surface bumpy.
214
00:17:10,571 --> 00:17:17,328
Like you threw some mud balls
at the surface.
215
00:17:17,453 --> 00:17:22,250
Not an industrial surface,
but a more natural texture
216
00:17:22,416 --> 00:17:24,752
was what he pursued.
217
00:17:26,671 --> 00:17:30,591
It was huge. Massive.
218
00:17:31,259 --> 00:17:37,014
I realized that we were making
something extraordinary.
219
00:17:37,139 --> 00:17:39,684
Even then, it was a special feeling.
220
00:17:39,809 --> 00:17:42,270
When I looked up at it on the site,
221
00:17:42,728 --> 00:17:45,856
the perspective was very close.
222
00:17:45,982 --> 00:17:50,444
The 20-meter body and
the 12. 5-meter face looked
223
00:17:50,695 --> 00:17:54,448
enormously huge, but the top
224
00:17:54,615 --> 00:17:57,076
looked extremely small.
225
00:17:57,243 --> 00:18:00,621
It was like an unknown monster.
226
00:18:09,463 --> 00:18:12,300
Taro proposed the Tower of the Sun,
227
00:18:12,425 --> 00:18:16,304
which punched a hole in
Kenzo Tange's Big Roof.
228
00:18:17,013 --> 00:18:17,430
Big Roof was a prototype
of a mid-air city
229
00:18:17,430 --> 00:18:21,642
Architect/ Expo " 70-Osaka General Producer
Big Roof was a prototype of a mid-air city
230
00:18:21,642 --> 00:18:21,767
Architect/
Expo '70-Osaka General Producer
231
00:18:21,767 --> 00:18:24,478
Architect/ Expo '70-Osaka General
Producer created by Tange's imagination.
232
00:18:24,478 --> 00:18:24,562
Architect/
Expo '70-Osaka General Producer
233
00:18:24,604 --> 00:18:29,483
It was made using a new structure
called “space frame.
234
00:18:29,609 --> 00:18:32,945
With that technique,
you could extend the roof
235
00:18:33,070 --> 00:18:34,655
as far as you wanted.
236
00:18:34,822 --> 00:18:39,327
A new city could be born in mid-air.
237
00:18:39,785 --> 00:18:44,457
The abstract urbanization idea
showcased at Expo 70 was
238
00:18:44,582 --> 00:18:49,587
from the architectural movement
cal led Metabolism.
239
00:18:49,712 --> 00:18:52,798
As Japan is an island nation,
240
00:18:53,049 --> 00:18:55,926
unlike Europe, China and the USA,
241
00:18:56,052 --> 00:19:01,349
it's impossible to develop a city
Just as you draw it up.
242
00:19:01,599 --> 00:19:04,477
The architects thought of
making a space.
243
00:19:04,602 --> 00:19:08,314
Making artificial flat land
in the air would
244
00:19:08,439 --> 00:19:11,484
make pure urban planning possible.
245
00:19:11,734 --> 00:19:15,863
Big Roof is the apotheosis of
the Metabolist movement,
246
00:19:16,030 --> 00:19:19,033
and the Tower of the Sun
penetrated the roof.
247
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,704
It was like a
"polaristic" explosion.
248
00:19:23,871 --> 00:19:27,333
It's very meaningful to make a hole.
249
00:19:27,458 --> 00:19:31,545
Because a hole connects
the top and the bottom.
250
00:19:31,712 --> 00:19:34,882
I think it means that
values are overturned.
251
00:19:35,049 --> 00:19:41,555
Taro won when the hole was made,
because there was no top or bottom.
252
00:19:41,722 --> 00:19:46,727
Three levels:
underground, surface and mid-air.
253
00:19:47,269 --> 00:19:50,481
Underground was the past world.
254
00:19:50,606 --> 00:19:52,983
Surface was the present.
255
00:19:53,442 --> 00:19:56,195
Big Roof in the air was the future.
256
00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:02,660
The theme zone was divided
into these three worlds.
257
00:20:02,785 --> 00:20:08,040
First you went underground and
saw the birth of life.
258
00:20:08,165 --> 00:20:12,086
The first one was life.
Substances making life.
259
00:20:12,253 --> 00:20:16,757
Taro first showed
substances in blood, and
260
00:20:16,924 --> 00:20:20,511
the moment when life is born.
261
00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,098
He began the story of the theme
from there.
262
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:25,850
Next was...
263
00:20:25,975 --> 00:20:27,935
the zone of humans.
264
00:20:28,060 --> 00:20:33,607
Human beings lived their proud lives
in harmony with nature.
265
00:20:34,108 --> 00:20:39,113
The exhibition captured a moment
of those lives in
266
00:20:39,238 --> 00:20:41,782
the time of hunting and gathering.
267
00:20:42,158 --> 00:20:45,619
The third area was about prayer.
268
00:20:45,786 --> 00:20:49,039
Things Taro collected
from all over the world,
269
00:20:49,623 --> 00:20:53,794
like masks and statues of gods,
were hanging
270
00:20:53,919 --> 00:20:55,087
in the air.
271
00:20:55,546 --> 00:21:01,302
The main mask in the center
was the Underground Sun,
272
00:21:01,469 --> 00:21:05,222
but it had no nose or mouth, just eyes.
273
00:21:06,474 --> 00:21:09,643
Passing it, you went into the tower.
274
00:21:09,935 --> 00:21:15,232
There was the "Tree of Life”,
a 45-meter tree-shape object,
275
00:21:15,357 --> 00:21:21,947
with creatures, from ameba to human,
describing the evolution of life.
276
00:21:22,072 --> 00:21:25,659
292 creatures were attached to the tree.
277
00:21:26,118 --> 00:21:26,160
Sub-Producer for
Expo 70 Theme Exhibition
278
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:30,831
Sub-Producer for Expo '7O Theme Exhibition Taro drew the I image of the "Tree of Life" on a big canvas,
279
00:21:30,831 --> 00:21:31,457
Taro drew the image of
the "Tree of Life on a big canvas,
280
00:21:31,582 --> 00:21:34,668
and told us to glue images of creatures.
281
00:21:34,835 --> 00:21:39,340
So everyone cut images
from magazines or posters.
282
00:21:39,507 --> 00:21:45,304
An elephant, or others.
And the entire work was made.
283
00:21:45,429 --> 00:21:50,017
He often said,
like he was talking to himself:
284
00:21:50,184 --> 00:21:56,023
"This is a tree, but the shape is
the same as blood vessels.'
285
00:21:56,148 --> 00:22:00,861
I learned that
the entire tower was life.
286
00:22:00,986 --> 00:22:04,615
The tree was veins, arteries
and lymph glands.
287
00:22:04,740 --> 00:22:10,663
The red folds were like a brain,
called "intellectual folds”.
288
00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:11,163
Artist/Fashion Designer
289
00:22:11,163 --> 00:22:16,794
Artist/Fashion Designer
For Taro, red symbolized blood.
290
00:22:16,794 --> 00:22:16,877
Artist/Fashion Designer
291
00:22:17,086 --> 00:22:21,882
Especially, he meant bright red blood.
292
00:22:22,007 --> 00:22:27,012
The impression from it is
like fresh blood, right?
293
00:22:27,137 --> 00:22:28,514
The symbol of life.
294
00:22:28,973 --> 00:22:30,683
You look down from the top,
295
00:22:30,808 --> 00:22:35,479
and you see various creatures
memorized in your blood,
296
00:22:35,604 --> 00:22:40,484
reaching to a single cell.
It's all one line.
297
00:22:41,026 --> 00:22:45,072
All lives are connected,
deriving from one root.
298
00:22:45,197 --> 00:22:47,241
All is one.
299
00:22:47,449 --> 00:22:52,204
Actually the amebas were huge,
but human was like this.
300
00:22:53,497 --> 00:22:57,668
- Human was the smallest,
which represented Taro's view.
301
00:22:58,085 --> 00:23:00,421
He said, "Look at ameba".
302
00:23:00,754 --> 00:23:03,257
"They stretch and shrink.”
303
00:23:03,424 --> 00:23:08,554
“Unite and separate.
They can move so freely.
304
00:23:08,679 --> 00:23:12,766
"Don't you envy them?”
305
00:23:12,933 --> 00:23:18,898
Humans are unhappy, dirty and poor
because of self-consciousness.
306
00:23:19,023 --> 00:23:22,776
If you reduce yourself to
a single-celled creature,
307
00:23:22,902 --> 00:23:26,280
you'll feel that your life is fulfilled.
308
00:23:27,364 --> 00:23:32,119
You up the escalator,
looking at the Tree of Life.
309
00:23:32,244 --> 00:23:36,790
You go through the arms,
and get to Big Roof.
310
00:23:37,124 --> 00:23:43,297
In Big Roof, there was a future city.
311
00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:48,302
It was the future,
but had the “Wall of Contradiction”.
312
00:23:48,552 --> 00:23:54,224
A collage of various contradictions,
ugliness like wars was displayed there.
313
00:23:54,808 --> 00:23:59,480
A piece about a nuclear bomb, too.
After seeing those works,
314
00:23:59,605 --> 00:24:02,149
a photo exhibition was on the ground.
315
00:24:02,441 --> 00:24:07,071
It was titled "The Common Man -
Mainstay of Today's World”.
316
00:24:07,196 --> 00:24:12,952
Nameless common citizens supported
society and the human world.
317
00:24:13,077 --> 00:24:16,664
Taro said this, I heard.
What he created was
318
00:24:16,830 --> 00:24:22,336
the complete opposite
of the idea and values of Expo.
319
00:24:22,962 --> 00:24:27,257
"You have to expose
the desires and aesthetics...”
320
00:24:27,633 --> 00:24:30,678
“That humans originally have
in themselves."
321
00:24:30,803 --> 00:24:35,975
"Otherwise, there's no progress
or harmony, he often said.
322
00:24:36,350 --> 00:24:38,185
Taro said,
323
00:24:38,978 --> 00:24:44,024
"If we can't complete
the Tower of the Sun,”
324
00:24:44,274 --> 00:24:49,446
"I will stand and open my arms
out there.'
325
00:24:49,571 --> 00:24:51,865
He actually said that.
326
00:24:52,116 --> 00:24:59,456
Scholar of Japanese Fine Arts
327
00:25:17,224 --> 00:25:20,185
The Tower of the Sun is interesting.
328
00:25:22,521 --> 00:25:23,397
I don't know...
329
00:25:24,231 --> 00:25:28,569
What does the tower mean to us?
330
00:25:33,699 --> 00:25:37,369
Giving up flesh and blood,
you are a slave to machines.
331
00:25:37,494 --> 00:25:42,916
Harmony ls a collision. .
You need to throw in something opposite.
332
00:25:43,083 --> 00:25:47,921
That's why I created it.
I don't mind if people hate it
333
00:25:48,088 --> 00:25:52,009
If people are not happy with it.
That's fine.
334
00:26:53,445 --> 00:26:57,407
His father, Ippei, was a cartoonist.
335
00:26:57,533 --> 00:27:01,495
His mother, Kanoko, was
a poet and novelist.
336
00:27:01,620 --> 00:27:04,331
Taro was born into an artistic family.
337
00:27:04,456 --> 00:27:09,628
This is a well-known story:
When Kanoko did her work,
338
00:27:09,753 --> 00:27:14,758
in order to focus,
she tied Taro to a pillar with her belt.
339
00:27:15,300 --> 00:27:17,511
Of course, Taro cried.
340
00:27:17,636 --> 00:27:21,682
No matter how much he cried,
Kanoko didn't look back.
341
00:27:22,391 --> 00:27:25,310
And Taro, being left alone,
342
00:27:25,435 --> 00:27:28,438
kept staring at his mother's back.
343
00:27:28,730 --> 00:27:34,862
Later Taro said he understood
his mother even when he was little.
344
00:27:35,028 --> 00:27:39,491
The way artists create their work,
and their devotion.
345
00:27:39,616 --> 00:27:41,201
He learned this from his mother.
346
00:27:41,326 --> 00:27:46,832
Toshiko, who was Taro's partner,
was my aunt.
347
00:27:47,124 --> 00:27:52,004
So, I've known Taro and Toshiko
since I was little.
348
00:27:52,921 --> 00:27:56,550
Toshiko often said that
Taro's parents did not
349
00:27:56,675 --> 00:27:59,219
treat Taro as a small child.
350
00:27:59,386 --> 00:28:02,389
They treated him as an individual.
351
00:28:02,890 --> 00:28:08,312
Before Taro moved to Paris,
Ippei went to London for work.
352
00:28:08,437 --> 00:28:09,730
Kanoko went with him.
353
00:28:09,855 --> 00:28:14,234
Taro entered university
Just six months before,
354
00:28:14,401 --> 00:28:18,488
but he left Japan with his parents,
but not for a trip.
355
00:28:18,739 --> 00:28:23,160
He was going to live in Paris,
using that opportunity.
356
00:28:23,493 --> 00:28:25,162
He decided that.
357
00:28:25,495 --> 00:28:30,083
In Paris, he looked around museums
and studied painting.
358
00:28:30,209 --> 00:28:30,542
He was shocked when he saw
Picasso's work.
359
00:28:30,542 --> 00:28:33,587
He was shocked when he saw
Artist Picasso's work.
360
00:28:33,587 --> 00:28:33,712
Artist
361
00:28:34,004 --> 00:28:38,425
In abstract art, it doesn't matter
if you are from Japan,
362
00:28:38,592 --> 00:28:42,554
or what style you have done previously.
363
00:28:42,888 --> 00:28:44,264
Then, he was in.
364
00:28:44,681 --> 00:28:44,890
Paris led the established
Western world,
365
00:28:44,890 --> 00:28:49,186
Professor of French Philosophy Paris
led the established Western world,
366
00:28:49,186 --> 00:28:49,269
Professor of
French Philosophy
367
00:28:49,311 --> 00:28:51,605
which led the whole planet.
368
00:28:51,772 --> 00:28:57,611
But the World War was about to begin,
and society was in chaos.
369
00:28:57,778 --> 00:29:02,616
It was a time of extreme pressure
in society
370
00:29:02,741 --> 00:29:07,037
when Taro joined
the edgiest group of artists,
371
00:29:07,329 --> 00:29:09,623
avant-garde artists.
372
00:29:09,790 --> 00:29:12,209
But he reached an impasse soon.
373
00:29:12,584 --> 00:29:16,296
Finally, when he was 25,
he couldn't hold back from
374
00:29:16,672 --> 00:29:18,966
painting "Wounded Arm”.
375
00:29:19,091 --> 00:29:22,594
It wasn't categorized as
an abstract work.
376
00:29:22,719 --> 00:29:25,973
But when Andre Breton looked at it,
377
00:29:26,431 --> 00:29:26,807
he suggested Taro show it
at a Surrealist exhibition.
378
00:29:26,807 --> 00:29:30,269
He suggested Taro show it
Poet/Author at a Surrealist exhibition.
379
00:29:30,269 --> 00:29:30,477
Poet/Author
380
00:29:30,477 --> 00:29:33,397
Breton was the leader of
Poet/Author the movement.
381
00:29:33,397 --> 00:29:33,480
Poet/Author
382
00:29:33,730 --> 00:29:35,816
The Surrealist artists
383
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:38,819
invited him to join them.
384
00:29:39,319 --> 00:29:40,821
But he didn't join.
385
00:29:41,363 --> 00:29:43,782
Abstraction and Surrealism,
both were fine,
386
00:29:44,700 --> 00:29:48,495
but after all, they were in
a world of art and artists.
387
00:29:48,662 --> 00:29:52,499
It was not important to pick
your group, left or right.
388
00:29:52,791 --> 00:29:55,168
Meanwhile, he realized that
389
00:29:55,335 --> 00:30:00,299
he had to study not only technique
but human existence.
390
00:30:00,716 --> 00:30:02,634
He entered the University of Paris.
391
00:30:02,759 --> 00:30:08,849
He happened to see
some old folkloric artifacts.
392
00:30:08,974 --> 00:30:10,350
He was shocked.
393
00:30:11,184 --> 00:30:14,646
It was not high art,
but used for daily life.
394
00:30:14,771 --> 00:30:20,777
Something created not by artists,
but by people living there.
395
00:30:20,902 --> 00:30:23,530
It caught his eye very strongly,
396
00:30:23,655 --> 00:30:29,286
and he entered the Institute
of Ethnology in the university.
397
00:30:29,411 --> 00:30:30,078
The famous professors included
Marcel Mauss.
398
00:30:30,078 --> 00:30:34,291
Anthropologist The famous
professors included Marcel Mauss.
399
00:30:34,291 --> 00:30:34,374
Anthropologist
400
00:30:34,416 --> 00:30:36,460
Mauss is interesting because
he was good at discovering
401
00:30:36,460 --> 00:30:40,213
Mauss is interesting because I I
he was good at discovering Sociologist
402
00:30:40,213 --> 00:30:40,380
Sociologist
403
00:30:40,380 --> 00:30:41,965
cultures and thoughts passed on from
ancient Celtic and Paleolithic Eras, Sociologist
404
00:30:41,965 --> 00:30:46,845
cultures and thoughts passed on from
ancient Celtic and Paleolithic Eras,
405
00:30:46,970 --> 00:30:50,891
in our modern lives.
They have survived and
406
00:30:51,475 --> 00:30:55,062
appear in different shapes.
407
00:30:55,145 --> 00:30:55,354
Ethnologist
408
00:30:55,354 --> 00:30:57,314
Ethnologist Mauss is known
for his theory of "The Gift”.
409
00:30:57,314 --> 00:30:59,191
Mauss is known for
his theory of "The Gift”.
410
00:30:59,316 --> 00:31:02,486
A mask from an “uncivilized” society,
for example.
411
00:31:02,611 --> 00:31:04,988
When you see it, the mask
412
00:31:05,113 --> 00:31:08,909
reflects the maker's view of the world,
413
00:31:09,076 --> 00:31:12,871
and his/her inner spirit.
414
00:31:12,996 --> 00:31:14,539
Therefore, if you learn
the method of interpretation,
415
00:31:14,539 --> 00:31:19,419
Ethnologist Therefore, if you
learn the method of interpretation,
416
00:31:19,419 --> 00:31:19,586
Ethnologist
417
00:31:19,586 --> 00:31:20,545
Ethnologist
you will be able to interpret it.
418
00:31:20,545 --> 00:31:23,090
You will be able to interpret it.
419
00:31:23,548 --> 00:31:25,675
Mauss first advocated this.
420
00:31:26,218 --> 00:31:31,390
You have a goal you are aiming at,
and visvalize it,
421
00:31:31,515 --> 00:31:35,852
and project it toward the future,
which is called “vision”.
422
00:31:35,977 --> 00:31:41,400
Myths embrace the power of vision.
423
00:31:41,858 --> 00:31:44,611
That is Marcel Mauss's theory.
424
00:31:44,778 --> 00:31:48,198
Taro had a similar idea
425
00:31:49,449 --> 00:31:52,452
to what Mauss said. I mean,
426
00:31:52,619 --> 00:31:57,124
he also believed in the power of myths.
427
00:32:21,314 --> 00:32:28,113
Being an artist is not just
being someone who paints.
428
00:32:28,238 --> 00:32:34,661
Artists need to live as
integrated and free beings.
429
00:32:34,828 --> 00:32:41,168
So, we must know everything
that happens in the world.
430
00:32:41,626 --> 00:32:55,307
That is why Marcel Mauss's
ethnology fascinates me.
431
00:32:55,682 --> 00:33:00,353
The person who influenced Taro
the most,
432
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:05,692
or for whom he had a sympathy
was Georges Bataille.
433
00:33:05,817 --> 00:33:08,528
I think that's wild.
434
00:33:09,112 --> 00:33:11,406
Bataille, at that time, said
435
00:33:11,406 --> 00:33:12,199
Bataille, at that time, said Philosopher
436
00:33:12,199 --> 00:33:12,741
Philosopher
437
00:33:12,741 --> 00:33:18,330
we should destroy all systems
and established aesthetics, Philosopher
438
00:33:18,330 --> 00:33:18,371
Philosopher
439
00:33:18,538 --> 00:33:21,541
10 release our senses for new creation.
440
00:33:21,666 --> 00:33:24,211
He said "Beauty is shit.”
441
00:33:24,586 --> 00:33:31,343
“If you can't say shit is beautiful,
you are trapped by old aesthetics.
442
00:33:31,468 --> 00:33:36,181
This is called "Base Materialism”.
443
00:33:36,306 --> 00:33:39,309
Ideologies are useless.
Actual things.
444
00:33:39,434 --> 00:33:43,063
Living things, which can rot.
445
00:33:43,188 --> 00:33:49,069
And they are not sophisticated.
No theory.
446
00:33:49,194 --> 00:33:54,157
"This stinky rotten thing”
IS what we need.
447
00:33:54,282 --> 00:33:57,244
So, Bataille
448
00:33:58,703 --> 00:34:03,083
horrified all his fellow philosophers.
449
00:34:03,250 --> 00:34:05,210
Actually, they hated him.
450
00:34:05,335 --> 00:34:09,005
But in fact, his idea can
451
00:34:09,422 --> 00:34:12,092
go beyond the modern era.
452
00:34:12,509 --> 00:34:13,134
The clue is that you shouldn't
have anthropocentric ideas.
453
00:34:13,134 --> 00:34:17,097
Literary Critic The clue is that you
shouldn't have anthropocentric ideas.
454
00:34:17,097 --> 00:34:17,222
Literary Critic
455
00:34:17,222 --> 00:34:20,600
Literary Critic
Bataille obviously thought that
456
00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:20,725
Literary Critic
457
00:34:20,725 --> 00:34:22,352
Literary Critic the humans who made
cave paintings lived on in himself.
458
00:34:22,352 --> 00:34:25,438
The humans who made cave paintings
lived on in himself.
459
00:34:26,356 --> 00:34:28,567
The motifs were animals.
460
00:34:29,067 --> 00:34:33,113
Mixtures of humans and animals
were also found.
461
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:38,368
It can be human and animal
at the same time.
462
00:34:38,493 --> 00:34:43,623
In nature, humans are not
a special existence,
463
00:34:43,748 --> 00:34:46,251
they are a part of nature.
464
00:34:46,835 --> 00:34:51,715
Taro followed Bataille,
465
00:34:51,923 --> 00:34:57,971
and he even joined a kind of
secret society.
466
00:34:58,096 --> 00:35:03,810
It was like Taro's destiny, I guess.
467
00:35:04,894 --> 00:35:10,817
From that point,
he was not a mere painter.
468
00:35:16,072 --> 00:35:19,784
Not only as a painter, but
469
00:35:19,909 --> 00:35:22,120
not ordinary as a person.
470
00:35:36,134 --> 00:35:39,846
Taro was Japanese.
471
00:35:40,013 --> 00:35:43,600
As the war escalated,
Taro returned to Japan.
472
00:35:43,725 --> 00:35:48,146
He came back, but Japan still had
old rules from the 19th century,
473
00:35:48,146 --> 00:35:49,439
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum Director He came back,
but Japan still had old rules from the 19th century,
474
00:35:49,439 --> 00:35:49,564
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum
Director
475
00:35:49,564 --> 00:35:54,778
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum Director and
the art world carried this old mentality.
476
00:35:54,778 --> 00:35:54,861
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum
Director
477
00:35:54,903 --> 00:35:59,616
If you turned away even a little,
you'd be ignored.
478
00:35:59,866 --> 00:36:01,660
When Taro realized,
479
00:36:01,785 --> 00:36:07,666
I'm sure it was a big shock for him.
480
00:36:08,041 --> 00:36:11,211
“Is my country like this?”
481
00:36:11,544 --> 00:36:12,629
After returning to Japan,
482
00:36:12,629 --> 00:36:13,713
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator After returning to Japan,
483
00:36:13,713 --> 00:36:14,756
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
484
00:36:14,756 --> 00:36:19,719
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART Curator Taro
wondered what real art Is. And he tried to
485
00:36:19,844 --> 00:36:23,223
provoke that question in Japan.
486
00:36:23,390 --> 00:36:28,395
What we had thought was art
might be not art.
487
00:36:28,728 --> 00:36:32,399
Across the Japanese islands,
488
00:36:32,565 --> 00:36:36,236
Taro visited many places.
489
00:36:36,403 --> 00:36:40,907
He visited Tohoku in the north
and Okinawa in the south, where
490
00:36:41,032 --> 00:36:45,412
they still have cultures
passed on from the Jomon era.
491
00:36:45,537 --> 00:36:50,917
He encountered them, and explored where
492
00:36:51,042 --> 00:36:53,420
he was standing.
493
00:36:53,545 --> 00:36:56,881
In his words at that time,
494
00:36:57,006 --> 00:36:59,551
"We must be covered
in the mud of Japan.”
495
00:37:00,260 --> 00:37:05,765
“We Japanese can't go to the world
without the mud of Japan.
496
00:37:05,890 --> 00:37:10,562
"Otherwise we can't face
the latest ideas and art.”
497
00:37:10,687 --> 00:37:16,401
He strongly felt that.
498
00:37:16,693 --> 00:37:18,403
So, my roots.
499
00:37:18,778 --> 00:37:23,783
Where are they?
What is the origin of Japan?
500
00:37:24,534 --> 00:37:29,873
Where Is the real Japan?
He began to look for it.
501
00:37:39,424 --> 00:37:42,051
It was in 1952.
502
00:37:42,177 --> 00:37:47,807
Archaeologist Taro saw Jomon
pottery at the National Museum in Ueno.
503
00:37:47,807 --> 00:37:47,891
Archaeologist
504
00:37:47,932 --> 00:37:52,061
When he saw it,
he shouted “What is it?”
505
00:37:54,105 --> 00:37:58,276
What were the makers thinking?
506
00:37:58,610 --> 00:38:01,905
What did they imply with it?
507
00:38:02,030 --> 00:38:05,158
Taro was attracted by those ideas.
508
00:38:08,453 --> 00:38:11,581
- The Jomon era was
a hunting and gathering society.
509
00:38:11,706 --> 00:38:16,419
They didn't adopt mass agriculture.
510
00:38:16,544 --> 00:38:20,590
It is clear if you compare
Jomon and Yayoi pottery.
511
00:38:20,715 --> 00:38:25,428
Yayoi pottery has no features.
512
00:38:25,804 --> 00:38:31,684
With no decoration,
it was purely practical.
513
00:38:32,060 --> 00:38:38,149
Taro saw “Kaen-doki”,
the flame-rimmed earthen vessel.
514
00:38:38,274 --> 00:38:42,362
It was a big extraordinary vessel.
515
00:38:42,529 --> 00:38:44,948
Like “What is it?”
516
00:38:45,073 --> 00:38:50,036
The spirit of the Jomon people
was reflected in it.
517
00:38:50,286 --> 00:38:56,000
Especially, it expresses
their state of mind while hunting.
518
00:38:56,125 --> 00:39:00,547
When hunting, you hide yourself,
holding a spear.
519
00:39:00,713 --> 00:39:05,343
You jump out and Kill
when the opportunity comes.
520
00:39:05,468 --> 00:39:11,224
The process, how they felt:
their excitement,
521
00:39:11,349 --> 00:39:17,355
or their calmness. This was all
described in the Jomon curves.
522
00:39:17,772 --> 00:39:21,860
Taro remembered what he learned
from Marcel Mauss.
523
00:39:21,985 --> 00:39:27,031
Those various magical things
from an "uncivilized" world,
524
00:39:27,156 --> 00:39:32,036
including masks and tools.
I'm sure he remembered it all.
525
00:39:32,662 --> 00:39:35,248
"Wabi sabi” in Japan,
526
00:39:35,373 --> 00:39:39,586
was characteristic in art
from the Yayoi era.
527
00:39:39,711 --> 00:39:43,423
It was simple and functionally neat,
528
00:39:43,673 --> 00:39:49,429
but it doesn't seem to have
an explosive power,
529
00:39:49,637 --> 00:39:54,183
which may destroy even itself.
530
00:39:54,517 --> 00:40:01,274
I think Japanese people have
the spirit of the primitive
531
00:40:01,399 --> 00:40:06,070
somewhere deep within us.
532
00:40:06,195 --> 00:40:12,076
Taro was aware of this.
He wanted to bring it out.
533
00:40:12,201 --> 00:40:16,289
He wanted to disturb
the pre-established harmony
534
00:40:16,456 --> 00:40:21,920
found in the quiet and motionless
Japanese culture.
535
00:40:22,045 --> 00:40:26,049
I think he believed
that would be possible
536
00:40:26,174 --> 00:40:31,554
if he awakened and brought out
our inner primitivity.
537
00:40:31,846 --> 00:40:31,888
Archaeologist
538
00:40:31,888 --> 00:40:35,224
Archaeologist Yayoi is the
culture of the Chinese continent.
539
00:40:35,224 --> 00:40:35,350
Archaeologist
540
00:40:35,350 --> 00:40:38,102
Archaeologist
The Japanized continental culture.
541
00:40:38,102 --> 00:40:38,144
Archaeologist
542
00:40:38,227 --> 00:40:43,316
When Yayoi came to Japan,
the Jomon culture was subdued.
543
00:40:43,441 --> 00:40:46,611
Completely conquered, culturally.
544
00:40:46,736 --> 00:40:52,283
The Yayoi culture brought
rice farming and iron.
545
00:40:52,408 --> 00:40:55,411
These were new techniques.
546
00:40:55,536 --> 00:40:59,415
Agrarian civilization
and techniques dominated
547
00:40:59,540 --> 00:41:04,504
all of Japan, and
that made what we are now.
548
00:41:04,671 --> 00:41:08,591
As Taro wrote in his thesis,
549
00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:15,098
from the time humanity emerged,
cognition has been unchanged.
550
00:41:15,223 --> 00:41:19,477
It's not true that primitives
or children are inferior.
551
00:41:19,602 --> 00:41:24,357
It's a fantasy to think science helps
us understand the world better.
552
00:41:24,524 --> 00:41:29,028
Even before physics or math was
established, human beings
553
00:41:29,153 --> 00:41:31,781
recognized the world as we do.
554
00:41:32,240 --> 00:41:38,871
From Yayoi, bureaucracy and
hierarchy were established.
555
00:41:39,038 --> 00:41:41,332
People live routinely,
556
00:41:41,791 --> 00:41:43,501
and hoard their gains.
557
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:49,674
In the pet it bourgeois society,
people lose the purpose of life,
558
00:41:50,008 --> 00:41:53,845
and become like machines.
559
00:41:54,137 --> 00:41:56,889
This has lasted for 2000 years.
560
00:41:57,015 --> 00:42:00,727
The Jomon era lasted
over ten thousand years.
561
00:42:00,852 --> 00:42:05,231
It was an alternative to
capitalist society.
562
00:42:05,565 --> 00:42:06,065
A hunting society seems
competitive, but it is not.
563
00:42:06,065 --> 00:42:10,403
Explorer A hunting society
seems competitive, but it is not.
564
00:42:10,403 --> 00:42:10,528
Explorer
565
00:42:10,528 --> 00:42:12,363
Explorer
They never brag when they kill.
566
00:42:12,363 --> 00:42:14,032
They never brag when they kill.
567
00:42:14,407 --> 00:42:17,160
It is an equal society.
568
00:42:17,285 --> 00:42:22,915
Things are hand-made with natural
materials, all freely available.
569
00:42:23,374 --> 00:42:26,044
No inequality on a material level.
570
00:42:26,169 --> 00:42:31,340
If you are given something
from others, you owe them, right?
571
00:42:31,466 --> 00:42:34,427
But a hunting society avoids this.
572
00:42:34,594 --> 00:42:40,892
One binge eats
while the other goes hungry.
573
00:42:41,017 --> 00:42:44,896
In their society,
even a child knows this is wrong.
574
00:42:45,021 --> 00:42:49,108
They try to be equal
on both material and ethical levels.
575
00:42:49,358 --> 00:42:55,406
The population of hunter-gatherers
is now almost zero.
576
00:42:55,531 --> 00:43:00,411
In the world we are in,
there are eight rich people,
577
00:43:00,536 --> 00:43:06,459
who have the same amount of money
that 3.8 billion people have.
578
00:43:06,626 --> 00:43:10,254
This insane society is what we have got.
579
00:43:10,838 --> 00:43:13,633
Farming has been industrialized.
580
00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:17,970
The owners hire farmers,
and become rich.
581
00:43:18,096 --> 00:43:20,473
Someone who has never touched soil
582
00:43:20,890 --> 00:43:27,271
- hires many people to do
farming efficiently., which Is wrong.
583
00:43:27,396 --> 00:43:31,234
People should own their land,
584
00:43:31,359 --> 00:43:36,155
and grow what they eat themselves.
585
00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:38,825
I believe that is an ideal society.
586
00:43:38,950 --> 00:43:41,911
After the Jomon era ended,
587
00:43:42,036 --> 00:43:46,624
People from the continent arrived
in the southwest, and moved north.
588
00:43:46,749 --> 00:43:50,586
They pushed the Jomon people
to the north and south,
589
00:43:50,711 --> 00:43:57,009
probably interacting, but forcefully,
to the outskirts.
590
00:43:57,176 --> 00:44:00,930
That's why it's said
Ainu and Okinawans are alike.
591
00:44:01,055 --> 00:44:02,306
On the periphery of Japan,
not the center,
592
00:44:02,306 --> 00:44:04,183
Art Historian On the periphery
of Japan, not the center,
593
00:44:04,183 --> 00:44:04,308
Art Historian
594
00:44:04,308 --> 00:44:08,855
Art Historian Taro hoped to
find the remnants of Jomon culture.
595
00:44:08,855 --> 00:44:09,021
Art Historian
596
00:44:09,021 --> 00:44:09,981
Art Historian
So, he explored Tohoku and Okinawa.
597
00:44:09,981 --> 00:44:12,108
So, he explored Tohoku and Okinawa.
598
00:44:29,041 --> 00:44:33,713
Ainu Vocal Group
599
00:44:49,562 --> 00:44:53,983
Jomon culture's front line
was east Japan,
600
00:44:54,108 --> 00:44:57,737
although Taro didn't know.
601
00:44:57,862 --> 00:45:03,326
Ancient Emishi or Ezo people,
and the Ainu,
602
00:45:03,451 --> 00:45:08,873
those people might be connected with
the Jomon culture.
603
00:45:08,998 --> 00:45:13,211
Taro was certain of this.
604
00:45:46,577 --> 00:45:50,957
Iwate Traditional Dance
Deer Dance
605
00:45:50,957 --> 00:45:51,249
Iwate Traditional Dance Deer Dance Taro began
photographing old people in rural Tohoku,
606
00:45:51,249 --> 00:45:55,127
Taro began photographing
old people in rural Tohoku,
607
00:45:55,294 --> 00:46:00,299
as well as the old rituals
and festivals.
608
00:46:00,424 --> 00:46:05,471
What he felt about
modern Japanese society was...
609
00:46:05,596 --> 00:46:09,642
economic development was
worshipped as an idol,
610
00:46:09,809 --> 00:46:15,147
which destroyed old things,
made roads and buildings.
611
00:46:15,314 --> 00:46:19,902
Taro was repulsed by that. So,
612
00:46:20,027 --> 00:46:24,782
when he found Tohoku and Okinawa,
613
00:46:24,907 --> 00:46:27,994
he was completely absorbed.
614
00:46:29,203 --> 00:46:33,332
He wanted to look into
what remained there.
615
00:46:33,457 --> 00:46:37,503
In contrast with a hot society
with energetic progress,
616
00:46:37,628 --> 00:46:42,591
Taro tried to find what human beings
had thought, hoped and dreamed,
617
00:46:42,717 --> 00:46:45,678
in a context of a cold static society.
618
00:46:48,806 --> 00:46:51,475
Taro watched the traditional deer dance,
619
00:46:51,475 --> 00:46:53,978
Ethnologist
Taro watched the traditional deer dance,
620
00:46:53,978 --> 00:46:54,103
Ethnologist
621
00:46:54,103 --> 00:46:57,273
Ethnologist
in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture.
622
00:46:57,273 --> 00:46:57,356
Ethnologist
623
00:46:57,523 --> 00:47:02,945
Local farmers were disguised as deer.
624
00:47:03,070 --> 00:47:09,201
Taro joined them dancing,
and took great photos.
625
00:47:09,827 --> 00:47:13,831
When the deer dance was born,
626
00:47:13,956 --> 00:47:18,961
people faced animals one on one,
627
00:47:19,420 --> 00:47:23,466
one kills and the other is killed -
they meet with their [lives.
628
00:47:23,591 --> 00:47:28,304
That memory is included in the dance.
629
00:47:28,888 --> 00:47:33,225
Taro always photographed
the dancers faces,
630
00:47:33,392 --> 00:47:35,561
after taking off their masks.
631
00:47:35,728 --> 00:47:39,231
The dancers showed their relaxed faces.
632
00:47:39,648 --> 00:47:43,819
Human beings transform themselves
into animals,
633
00:47:44,028 --> 00:47:49,158
and back to humans again.
He captured that moment.
634
00:47:49,408 --> 00:47:53,913
This dynamism or transformation
635
00:47:54,080 --> 00:47:57,875
is an indicator of shamanism.
636
00:47:58,125 --> 00:48:01,921
I think Taro thought that way.
637
00:48:12,598 --> 00:48:14,600
In relation to the deer dance,
638
00:48:14,725 --> 00:48:18,729
Ainu in Hokkaido have a ritual
cal led lomante.
639
00:48:18,854 --> 00:48:23,859
When they kill a bear which has a cub,
640
00:48:24,026 --> 00:48:29,532
the women in the village raise
the cub for a year or two.
641
00:48:29,657 --> 00:48:34,954
Then later, they sacrifice the cub.
642
00:48:35,079 --> 00:48:39,625
Iomante literally means
"to send something off".
643
00:48:39,792 --> 00:48:45,131
When Taro learned about
this lomante ritual, he saw
644
00:48:45,297 --> 00:48:48,217
a similarity with the deer dance.
645
00:48:48,342 --> 00:48:54,098
The direct relationships between
humans and animals or wildlife,
646
00:48:54,223 --> 00:48:58,269
and their interactions.
647
00:49:00,980 --> 00:49:03,065
Living with wild animals
648
00:49:03,190 --> 00:49:08,320
right next to you,
you naturally have the skills
649
00:49:08,946 --> 00:49:12,741
to kill bears or deer,
and to dismember them.
650
00:49:12,867 --> 00:49:15,119
They are arts of living.
651
00:49:15,244 --> 00:49:19,999
Killing, eating, skinning
and tanning animals are
652
00:49:20,124 --> 00:49:21,750
just natural acts.
653
00:49:21,876 --> 00:49:28,924
In western Japan, people who skin
dead horses or cows have been
654
00:49:29,049 --> 00:49:33,179
historically discriminated against.
655
00:49:33,345 --> 00:49:36,098
But it's not true in Tohoku.
656
00:49:36,223 --> 00:49:42,480
The human-animal relationships based on
the hunting culture from Jomon
657
00:49:42,605 --> 00:49:44,982
has affected this.
658
00:49:45,566 --> 00:49:46,108
Ainu in Hokkaido have tattoos
on our hands and mouths.
659
00:49:46,108 --> 00:49:49,695
MAREWREW Vocalist Ainu in Hokkaido
have tattoos on our hands and mouths.
660
00:49:49,695 --> 00:49:49,820
MAREWREW Vocalist
661
00:49:49,820 --> 00:49:50,529
MAREWREW Vocalist In Okinawa, they also
have the tattoo tradition called Hajichi,
662
00:49:50,529 --> 00:49:54,617
In Okinawa, they also have
the tattoo tradition called Hajichi,
663
00:49:54,742 --> 00:49:58,037
in which women's hands
are tattooed, like Ainu.
664
00:49:58,204 --> 00:50:01,707
So that, at least,
can be said to be similar.
665
00:50:01,999 --> 00:50:06,045
Many people have a fascination
for Jomon culture,
666
00:50:06,212 --> 00:50:10,716
and they say it was passed on
to Ainu culture.
667
00:50:10,841 --> 00:50:16,222
It's partly correct.
For example, the respect for animals.
668
00:50:16,347 --> 00:50:19,558
They had rituals after they ate animals.
669
00:50:19,683 --> 00:50:23,979
If you dig into it,
everything must be connected,
670
00:50:24,104 --> 00:50:29,401
so I don't think
you should stick only to Jomon.
671
00:50:29,693 --> 00:50:31,403
Taro went
672
00:50:31,570 --> 00:50:32,488
to Okinawa around 1960.
673
00:50:32,488 --> 00:50:35,074
Professor of French Philosophy
to Okinawa around 1960.
674
00:50:35,074 --> 00:50:35,199
Professor of
French Philosophy
675
00:50:35,199 --> 00:50:39,745
Professor of French Philosophy There he
responded deeply 10 old folkways and such.
676
00:50:39,745 --> 00:50:39,828
Professor of
French Philosophy
677
00:50:39,870 --> 00:50:43,707
One island, or one human society
678
00:50:43,958 --> 00:50:50,172
is woven into people's lives.
There was an actual example.
679
00:50:50,297 --> 00:50:53,008
He intuitively sensed it.
680
00:50:53,342 --> 00:50:56,845
Things, which for people
in Okinawa, Japan,
681
00:50:56,971 --> 00:51:01,559
are not meant for show,
were interesting to Taro.
682
00:51:01,684 --> 00:51:06,855
He dug up some old festivals
and other customs.
683
00:51:07,147 --> 00:51:11,694
You're not supposed 10 take photos
of the rituals in Okinawa,
684
00:51:11,819 --> 00:51:15,614
because they are solemn and ephemeral.
685
00:51:15,781 --> 00:51:19,451
Photographing can be
a kind of violent act.
686
00:51:19,618 --> 00:51:22,204
But Taro still decided to take photos.
687
00:51:23,998 --> 00:51:26,709
The way of living itself is expression.
688
00:51:27,084 --> 00:51:31,797
The appearances of old women,
and how they walked are
689
00:51:32,089 --> 00:51:34,967
art, as we call it now.
690
00:51:35,134 --> 00:51:41,432
When a group of people
performed something,
691
00:51:41,724 --> 00:51:47,938
Taro found some fundamental
similarities of expression.
692
00:51:57,781 --> 00:52:02,911
As found many times in his book,
693
00:52:03,037 --> 00:52:06,498
what the occupation
by the US army meant.
694
00:52:06,624 --> 00:52:10,669
Was a topic that he clearly understood.
695
00:52:10,794 --> 00:52:15,507
I think it is very important.
696
00:52:16,050 --> 00:52:19,678
What he wrote was not
how wonderful Okinawa is.
697
00:52:19,845 --> 00:52:22,181
He didn't merely write about that.
698
00:52:22,556 --> 00:52:25,434
He knew of
the situation in Okinawa,
699
00:52:26,101 --> 00:52:29,647
and how severe it had been.
700
00:52:29,772 --> 00:52:33,609
Understanding that,
he wrote about Okinawa.
701
00:52:33,734 --> 00:52:38,489
Although we don't doubt
that Okinawa is part of Japan,
702
00:52:38,614 --> 00:52:40,115
it's not true.
703
00:52:40,240 --> 00:52:43,452
Taro had empathy for
people in Okinawa,
704
00:52:43,744 --> 00:52:46,205
and embraced
their issues.
705
00:52:47,289 --> 00:52:50,542
In the same way that
he felt for Okinawa,
706
00:52:50,668 --> 00:52:54,380
Taro had a strong sympathy for
707
00:52:54,880 --> 00:52:58,717
oppressed people. On the other hand,
708
00:52:58,842 --> 00:53:03,722
he didn't like that
some oppressed people have
709
00:53:03,847 --> 00:53:09,728
allowed themselves 10 be
spiritually castrated over time.
710
00:53:10,020 --> 00:53:12,231
He strongly criticized that.
711
00:53:12,481 --> 00:53:17,069
I think it was his love.
With his deep love and sympathy,
712
00:53:17,236 --> 00:53:23,409
he didn't want to see
a castrated way of being.
713
00:53:23,534 --> 00:53:25,744
In our times,
714
00:53:26,036 --> 00:53:30,582
“voluntary servitude”
is becoming a key word.
715
00:53:30,749 --> 00:53:34,086
And that's exactly
what Taro pointed out.
716
00:53:34,211 --> 00:53:37,256
With anger,
717
00:53:37,381 --> 00:53:40,843
he wanted to provoke the question.
718
00:53:41,176 --> 00:53:45,055
I think Tohoku has been
a colony for 1000 years,
719
00:53:45,180 --> 00:53:51,937
over these 1000 years,
people have been castrated and
720
00:53:52,396 --> 00:53:56,066
have forgotten that
they are colonized. To them,
721
00:53:56,358 --> 00:54:00,404
Taro didn't say .
Hey, it's voluntary servitude.
722
00:54:00,821 --> 00:54:05,284
Without those words,
he just encouraged people.
723
00:54:05,451 --> 00:54:10,456
“Create a more intense,
more lively culture.
724
00:54:10,622 --> 00:54:12,958
"Now and here.”
725
00:54:13,250 --> 00:54:18,589
"If you don't do that,
you will be fake.”
726
00:54:18,714 --> 00:54:21,925
Incitingly but encouragingly.
727
00:54:31,101 --> 00:54:36,774
. There is a phrase
voluntary servitude.
728
00:54:36,899 --> 00:54:41,320
Taro had uncomfortable feelings
about Japanese society,
729
00:54:41,487 --> 00:54:45,949
which I think were rooted in this idea.
730
00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:48,160
In 16th-century France,
it was posited by Etienne de La Boetie.
731
00:54:48,160 --> 00:54:50,662
Humanist In 16th-century France, it
was posited by Etienne de La Boetie.
732
00:54:50,662 --> 00:54:50,829
Humanist
733
00:54:50,829 --> 00:54:57,252
Humanist He died early. He
wrote this when he was still young.
734
00:54:57,252 --> 00:54:57,336
Humanist
735
00:54:57,377 --> 00:55:01,507
The ordinary idea is like this:
there is a tyrant.
736
00:55:01,632 --> 00:55:05,511
He asserts power,
and his people have 10
737
00:55:05,677 --> 00:55:09,264
obey in servitude.
738
00:55:09,389 --> 00:55:15,854
So, there is power and
the oppressed people.
739
00:55:16,021 --> 00:55:21,693
This was the basic structure
of society from the modern era.
740
00:55:21,902 --> 00:55:23,529
But La Boetie said no.
741
00:55:23,654 --> 00:55:27,157
A tyrant has great power.
742
00:55:27,449 --> 00:55:33,872
Some people offer to serve him,
acting as his surrogates,
743
00:55:34,039 --> 00:55:39,044
and use his power instead of him.
744
00:55:40,045 --> 00:55:45,050
There are four or five people like that
745
00:55:45,217 --> 00:55:46,677
around a tyrant.
746
00:55:46,969 --> 00:55:50,806
When they function, they use his power.
747
00:55:50,931 --> 00:55:55,227
And then, under those people,
748
00:55:55,352 --> 00:55:58,564
four or five people
come to each one of them,
749
00:55:58,689 --> 00:56:01,525
and they act as surrogates.
750
00:56:01,733 --> 00:56:05,696
Many of these structures are connected
751
00:56:05,821 --> 00:56:08,407
to form a large system.
752
00:56:08,574 --> 00:56:14,746
La Boetie said this was the mechanism
of power and domination.
753
00:56:15,038 --> 00:56:19,918
He revealed the secret of power,
different from previous ideas.
754
00:56:20,085 --> 00:56:24,423
So, what if you want to escape from it?
755
00:56:24,631 --> 00:56:28,051
Each person becomes free.
756
00:56:28,176 --> 00:56:32,180
Like, "I don't want this anymore.”
757
00:56:32,306 --> 00:56:35,267
As soon as someone says this,
it will end.
758
00:56:35,392 --> 00:56:38,395
The system of power will collapse.
759
00:56:38,520 --> 00:56:42,190
It is said that pressure for consensus
is strong in Japan,
760
00:56:42,316 --> 00:56:48,238
and it is because people
themselves surrogate each other,
761
00:56:48,697 --> 00:56:53,410
and can't move freely in this structure.
762
00:56:53,535 --> 00:56:59,374
For example, after the Second World War,
there has been one system.
763
00:56:59,499 --> 00:57:05,464
- Post-war Japan approached
America to act as surrogate for them,
764
00:57:05,589 --> 00:57:09,968
because Japan lost the war.
The behavior of Japan was
765
00:57:10,093 --> 00:57:13,722
voluntary servitude to America.
Because of that,
766
00:57:13,847 --> 00:57:18,560
we want to say that Japan is
one of the most advanced nations.
767
00:57:18,685 --> 00:57:22,981
These words are backed up by
the relationship.
768
00:57:23,106 --> 00:57:28,820
This can be found in many
aspects of the Japanese society.
769
00:57:29,154 --> 00:57:32,157
Probably, if Taro read
770
00:57:32,324 --> 00:57:36,328
"Discourse on Voluntary Servitude”,
771
00:57:36,495 --> 00:57:38,914
he would say “Wow!”
772
00:57:39,039 --> 00:57:42,459
“This is what I think.”
I'm quite sure.
773
00:57:42,584 --> 00:57:46,421
Control systems have become
much tighter than before.
774
00:57:46,546 --> 00:57:51,176
They are reinforced
by "morality” and " justice”.
775
00:57:51,343 --> 00:57:56,807
So, they can't be criticized.
One example is corporate compliance.
776
00:57:56,932 --> 00:57:59,351
What is called justice
777
00:57:59,518 --> 00:58:05,190
secretly connects with
current society's control systems.
778
00:58:05,857 --> 00:58:06,900
The Japanese mentality -
why don't the Japanese argue?
779
00:58:06,900 --> 00:58:11,363
Social Designer The Japanese
mentality - why don't the Japanese argue?
780
00:58:11,363 --> 00:58:11,530
Social Designer
781
00:58:11,530 --> 00:58:15,117
Social Designer Why do the
Japanese avoid arguments?
782
00:58:15,117 --> 00:58:16,159
Why do the Japanese
avoid arguments?
783
00:58:16,368 --> 00:58:19,329
After Japan lost the war,
784
00:58:19,454 --> 00:58:24,209
Japan was supposed to reassess
the wartime experience,
785
00:58:24,334 --> 00:58:29,131
and try to create a new identity
and philosophy for the future,
786
00:58:29,256 --> 00:58:34,886
overcoming the wartime trauma.
It was supposed to be essential.
787
00:58:35,053 --> 00:58:40,475
However, Japan had such a rapid
economic boom,
788
00:58:40,600 --> 00:58:45,147
we didn't have to look back on
our miserable experiences.
789
00:58:45,397 --> 00:58:50,902
But now, it has plateaued.
When we look back at our own path,
790
00:58:51,069 --> 00:58:53,321
the reassessment is missing.
791
00:58:53,447 --> 00:58:58,368
The nation has always shown
constant growth
792
00:58:58,493 --> 00:59:01,371
of the economy for the people.
793
00:59:01,496 --> 00:59:06,835
- But now, people, ,
especially the young generation,
794
00:59:06,960 --> 00:59:11,256
don't want anything anymore.
795
00:59:11,506 --> 00:59:12,758
I see this.
796
00:59:12,924 --> 00:59:17,054
Every desire has been
797
00:59:18,221 --> 00:59:21,892
popularized in a way.
798
00:59:22,350 --> 00:59:26,688
If you go over there,
you will get better food,
799
00:59:26,813 --> 00:59:30,942
cooler things, more fun
and more pleasure.
800
00:59:31,276 --> 00:59:37,282
This kind of framework doesn't
work anymore in this society.
801
00:59:37,866 --> 00:59:42,370
The social foundation
that has been built up,
802
00:59:42,496 --> 00:59:45,415
some call it social common capital,
803
00:59:45,540 --> 00:59:51,463
Is being destroyed now.
I have this feeling.
804
00:59:51,588 --> 00:59:53,465
It's a dead end.
805
00:59:53,632 --> 00:59:59,096
We should reassess
and reform society, focusing not on
806
00:59:59,221 --> 01:00:02,808
economic growth, .
but try to create a mature society.
807
01:00:02,974 --> 01:00:08,105
If we don't do that,
when young people like you
808
01:00:08,230 --> 01:00:09,606
become old,
809
01:00:09,981 --> 01:00:11,650
society will be a mess.
810
01:00:15,445 --> 01:00:18,448
We must avoid this.
811
01:00:18,698 --> 01:00:21,618
My grandchildren may say that
812
01:00:21,743 --> 01:00:26,832
we messed up the entire society,
and made their lives harder.
813
01:00:27,249 --> 01:00:30,961
I don't want them to say that.
814
01:00:31,878 --> 01:00:36,258
I want to leave something solid
for them.
815
01:00:36,383 --> 01:00:39,010
What can I do?
816
01:00:39,261 --> 01:00:41,346
I think...
817
01:01:04,828 --> 01:01:08,290
The Great East Japan Earthquake
occurred on March 11.
818
01:01:08,415 --> 01:01:12,711
I experienced a deep helplessness
in a single moment.
819
01:01:23,388 --> 01:01:23,555
The images showed that tsunami
was so powerful and massive.
820
01:01:23,555 --> 01:01:28,560
Artist Group The images showed that
tsunami was so powerful and massive.
821
01:01:28,560 --> 01:01:28,643
Artist Group
822
01:01:28,685 --> 01:01:32,063
We saw it was really
destroying everything,
823
01:01:32,230 --> 01:01:34,900
and we were just speechless.
824
01:01:35,066 --> 01:01:39,362
It changed my sense of values.
Plus, we had Fukushima.
825
01:01:39,487 --> 01:01:44,409
With the Hiroshima, Nagasaki and
Daigo Fukuryu Maru cases,
826
01:01:44,576 --> 01:01:47,662
why did Japan have
this nuclear accident?
827
01:01:48,163 --> 01:01:52,876
The atomic bombs traumatized
the Japanese people,
828
01:01:53,001 --> 01:01:59,007
and we have a horrible fear
of nuclear power.
829
01:01:59,507 --> 01:02:02,761
But we made nuclear power plants.
830
01:02:03,220 --> 01:02:07,432
We haven't sincerely faced
831
01:02:07,682 --> 01:02:10,894
this contradiction at all.
832
01:02:12,437 --> 01:02:14,356
We have...
833
01:02:15,023 --> 01:02:16,900
left things ambiguous.
834
01:02:17,025 --> 01:02:19,945
We went to Fukushima
10 create some art pieces.
835
01:02:20,320 --> 01:02:24,783
Back in Tokyo,
we talked about Fukushima.
836
01:02:24,950 --> 01:02:28,286
It was in Shibuya, I remember.
837
01:02:28,411 --> 01:02:31,873
While talking, Taro's mural in Shibuya
came to our minds.
838
01:02:31,998 --> 01:02:35,126
Then, we went to see
the "Myth of Tomorrow”.
839
01:02:35,877 --> 01:02:37,963
While I looked at the painting,
840
01:02:38,088 --> 01:02:42,467
whose theme is nuclear power
and horrible disasters,
841
01:02:42,592 --> 01:02:48,473
tens of thousands of people
passed by. but no one looked at it.
842
01:02:48,598 --> 01:02:49,975
At that time,
843
01:02:50,141 --> 01:02:55,105
the entire Shibuya area was dim
in order to save electricity.
844
01:02:55,230 --> 01:02:59,734
The city looked different,
due to nuclear power,
845
01:03:00,110 --> 01:03:04,990
but people just ignored it.
It seemed that way to us.
846
01:03:05,156 --> 01:03:06,157
The "Myth of Tomorrow” was made
847
01:03:06,157 --> 01:03:08,827
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART Curator
The "Myth of Tomorrow” was made
848
01:03:08,827 --> 01:03:08,952
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
849
01:03:08,952 --> 01:03:13,999
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART Curator
for the lobby of the hotel e Mexico Olympics.
850
01:03:13,999 --> 01:03:15,417
for the lobby of the hotel
built for the Mexico Olympics.
851
01:03:15,542 --> 01:03:19,170
People from all over the world
would go there.
852
01:03:19,296 --> 01:03:21,756
So, Taro decided to choose
853
01:03:21,881 --> 01:03:25,844
a symbolic image of Japan for the motif.
854
01:03:25,969 --> 01:03:27,345
What was it?
855
01:03:27,512 --> 01:03:32,976
Taro had been exploring what Japan is,
and what the Japanese have
856
01:03:33,101 --> 01:03:36,021
in the core of their minds.
857
01:03:36,146 --> 01:03:40,525
Then, Taro, as a Japanese person,
came to the idea that
858
01:03:40,650 --> 01:03:44,029
he must tackle the atomic issue.
859
01:03:44,154 --> 01:03:46,114
Who else could?
860
01:03:46,239 --> 01:03:51,786
One of the most important themes
of Taro's art, including
861
01:03:51,911 --> 01:03:55,707
the Tower of the Sun, was nuclear power.
862
01:03:55,874 --> 01:04:01,713
I felt that people didn't notice that.
863
01:04:01,921 --> 01:04:07,218
So, in the chronicle of
nuclear disasters that Taro made,
864
01:04:07,344 --> 01:04:11,056
adding the new incident
in Taro's style
865
01:04:11,389 --> 01:04:15,560
seemed like a natural act for us.
866
01:04:15,852 --> 01:04:18,646
A baton from Taro
867
01:04:18,772 --> 01:04:24,152
is relayed to us.
We had that kind of feeling.
868
01:04:24,277 --> 01:04:29,366
We thought "Myth of Tomorrow”
was still ongoing.
869
01:04:29,991 --> 01:04:32,869
That's why we took action.
870
01:04:32,994 --> 01:04:35,246
Nuclear image added”
871
01:04:35,372 --> 01:04:37,248
Mural vandalized”
872
01:04:37,415 --> 01:04:40,502
"Art group claims responsibility”
873
01:04:40,627 --> 01:04:42,170
"Myth of Tomorrow”
874
01:04:42,295 --> 01:04:45,006
Art Historian
had been long missing.
875
01:04:45,006 --> 01:04:45,256
Art Historian
876
01:04:45,256 --> 01:04:47,425
Art Historian Taro's long-time partner
Toshiko searched for it in Mexico.
877
01:04:47,425 --> 01:04:51,763
Taro's long-time partner Toshiko
searched for it in Mexico.
878
01:04:51,971 --> 01:04:54,391
Toshiko told me
the "Myth of Tomorrow” was in Mexico.
879
01:04:54,391 --> 01:04:56,226
Copywriter Toshiko told me the
"Myth of Tomorrow” was in Mexico.
880
01:04:56,226 --> 01:04:57,060
Copywriter
881
01:04:57,060 --> 01:04:59,270
Copywriter
I said, "That's big news!”
882
01:04:59,270 --> 01:04:59,396
Copywriter
883
01:04:59,646 --> 01:05:04,526
She absorbed everything and
gained more and more energy.,
884
01:05:04,651 --> 01:05:08,696
and worked faithfully
like a martyr.
885
01:05:09,072 --> 01:05:13,410
Toshiko met Taro
at the beginning of his career,
886
01:05:13,535 --> 01:05:16,246
and they started working together.
887
01:05:16,579 --> 01:05:17,539
After that, she was his personal
and professional partner
888
01:05:17,539 --> 01:05:20,625
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART Curator After that.
she was his personal and professional partner
889
01:05:20,625 --> 01:05:20,750
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
890
01:05:20,750 --> 01:05:23,461
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator throughout her life.
891
01:05:23,461 --> 01:05:23,586
Taro Okamoto Museum of ART
Curator
892
01:05:23,628 --> 01:05:26,381
Then, finally the mural was found,
893
01:05:26,506 --> 01:05:30,385
and when it was about to
be returned to Japan,
894
01:05:30,510 --> 01:05:35,598
Toshiko passed away.
It was really meaningful timing.
895
01:05:38,184 --> 01:05:40,228
My first time.
896
01:05:41,229 --> 01:05:43,398
No one is looking.
897
01:05:45,108 --> 01:05:46,734
I don't know...
898
01:05:50,405 --> 01:05:53,992
It's dancing, really.
899
01:05:56,411 --> 01:05:58,329
The "Myth of Tomorrow” and the “Tower
of the Sun” were concurrent works.
900
01:05:58,329 --> 01:06:03,001
Art Critic The "Myth of Tomorrow” and the
“Tower of the Sun” were concurrent works.
901
01:06:03,001 --> 01:06:03,084
Art Critic
902
01:06:03,126 --> 01:06:06,004
In the mid-air exhibition at the tower,
903
01:06:06,546 --> 01:06:11,759
There was a section of
mushroom cloud from the beginning.
904
01:06:11,885 --> 01:06:18,349
So, the Tower of the Sun is
clearly related to the atomic cloud.
905
01:06:18,641 --> 01:06:22,645
The "Tower of the Sun” and
the "Myth of Tomorrow” -
906
01:06:22,770 --> 01:06:26,691
We can see them as a set.
907
01:06:26,858 --> 01:06:32,280
The works themselves are
the questions given by Taro.
908
01:06:32,739 --> 01:06:34,282
That's all I can say.
909
01:06:34,574 --> 01:06:38,953
The tower has several faces,
including the front sun.
910
01:06:39,078 --> 01:06:44,042
"The Black Sun” on the back is the sun,
scientifically analyzed by humans.
911
01:06:44,209 --> 01:06:47,295
It symbolizes nuclear energy.
912
01:06:47,420 --> 01:06:50,715
It's cool that he made the face
on the back.
913
01:06:50,840 --> 01:06:52,717
We were told that
914
01:06:53,593 --> 01:06:57,388
Nuclear power generation meant
that human beings
915
01:06:57,555 --> 01:07:02,894
gained an artificial sun.
It was a man-made sun.
916
01:07:03,061 --> 01:07:08,191
With this artificial sun,
we could freely modify nature.
917
01:07:08,316 --> 01:07:12,487
We could make anything possible.
918
01:07:12,612 --> 01:07:15,740
The scientists stated their dreams.
919
01:07:15,865 --> 01:07:18,576
That was a human-made
920
01:07:18,868 --> 01:07:21,204
artificial sun.
921
01:07:28,920 --> 01:07:31,047
The power of nature can be
922
01:07:31,172 --> 01:07:31,464
good or evil,
creation or destruction.
923
01:07:31,464 --> 01:07:35,426
Literary Critic good or
evil, creation or destruction.
924
01:07:35,426 --> 01:07:35,510
Literary Critic
925
01:07:35,552 --> 01:07:40,765
Genuine artists have to
acknowledge and embrace dichotomy.
926
01:07:41,057 --> 01:07:46,396
Probably Taro kept trying to
see the origin of life.
927
01:07:46,521 --> 01:07:52,569
So he couldn't avoid dealing with
the issue of nuclear energy.
928
01:07:52,694 --> 01:07:57,615
Taking his proposal positively
or negatively is a question
929
01:07:57,740 --> 01:08:00,243
that he left to us.
930
01:08:00,326 --> 01:08:07,750
Scholar of Japanese Fine Arts
931
01:08:33,109 --> 01:08:34,402
Progress in science and technology
doesn't care about ideology.
932
01:08:34,402 --> 01:08:39,157
Anthropologist Progress in science and
technology doesn't care about ideology.
933
01:08:39,157 --> 01:08:39,324
Anthropologist
934
01:08:39,324 --> 01:08:42,827
Anthropologist
Separate from values or ideology,
935
01:08:42,827 --> 01:08:44,078
Separate from values or ideology,
936
01:08:44,203 --> 01:08:46,789
It progresses and changes people.
937
01:08:46,914 --> 01:08:51,252
In fact, miniaturized computers
have changed us
938
01:08:51,377 --> 01:08:56,674
on every level of our lives,
communication and relationships.
939
01:08:56,799 --> 01:09:00,345
Things are altered, impossible to undo.
940
01:09:00,470 --> 01:09:05,016
Science and technology are
driven to progress by something
941
01:09:05,183 --> 01:09:07,977
inherent in human brains,
so it just goes on.
942
01:09:08,102 --> 01:09:12,690
But a bigger principle
which can enfold science
943
01:09:14,108 --> 01:09:18,488
might be found in and taken from myth.
944
01:09:18,613 --> 01:09:23,201
I think Taro envisioned that.
945
01:09:23,368 --> 01:09:27,789
He wanted to settle the contradiction,
946
01:09:27,914 --> 01:09:31,709
the contradiction that
he had wrestled with,
947
01:09:31,834 --> 01:09:34,879
and created the Tower of the Sun
as the result.
948
01:09:35,421 --> 01:09:37,048
The world and human beings
never progress.
949
01:09:37,048 --> 01:09:40,134
Ethnologist The world and
human beings never progress.
950
01:09:40,134 --> 01:09:40,259
Ethnologist
951
01:09:40,259 --> 01:09:44,889
Ethnologist
I'm sure Taro sensed that.
952
01:09:44,889 --> 01:09:45,056
Ethnologist
953
01:09:45,056 --> 01:09:46,224
Ethnologist
So he was driven to express it.
954
01:09:46,224 --> 01:09:48,017
So he was driven to express it.
955
01:09:48,768 --> 01:09:55,024
I think people at that time
didn't understand what the tower meant.
956
01:09:55,149 --> 01:09:59,070
And when it comes to us today,
957
01:09:59,237 --> 01:10:02,031
I think we don't understand, either.
958
01:10:02,865 --> 01:10:06,077
"Progress and Harmony of Mankind”
959
01:10:06,244 --> 01:10:09,372
was the theme of Expo '70-Osaka.
960
01:10:10,331 --> 01:10:11,833
The theme sounded mundane.
961
01:10:11,833 --> 01:10:12,250
Artist Group
The theme sounded mundane.
962
01:10:12,250 --> 01:10:12,375
Artist Group
963
01:10:12,375 --> 01:10:16,087
Artist Group It sounded too
straight, almost like a joke.
964
01:10:16,087 --> 01:10:16,254
Artist Group
965
01:10:16,254 --> 01:10:18,172
Artist Group
But now,
966
01:10:18,172 --> 01:10:18,256
Artist Group
967
01:10:18,381 --> 01:10:22,677
the world situation has become
worse since then, so...
968
01:10:23,261 --> 01:10:25,513
Progress and harmony?
969
01:10:25,638 --> 01:10:30,685
Obviously, “harmony” sounds like...
you know.
970
01:10:31,310 --> 01:10:36,357
It sounds like an easy excuse
that you shouldn't even use,
971
01:10:36,482 --> 01:10:38,776
at least for me.
972
01:10:40,194 --> 01:10:42,530
Nuclear Energy for a Bright Future”
973
01:10:42,655 --> 01:10:47,744
The freedoms of speech and
expression have become more restricted.
974
01:10:48,286 --> 01:10:52,957
Public I institutions require
us to not use certain terms:
975
01:10:53,124 --> 01:10:56,711
Nuclear energy, radiation, Fukushima,
976
01:10:56,961 --> 01:11:00,965
Korea, North Korea
and wartime comfort women.
977
01:11:01,090 --> 01:11:07,138
They say that artwork using
those key words won't be subsidized.
978
01:11:07,305 --> 01:11:11,392
I feel that mainstream
contemporary art in Japan
979
01:11:12,185 --> 01:11:17,774
is facing a very serious situation.
980
01:12:01,567 --> 01:12:05,988
The principles which
this society is based on
981
01:12:06,113 --> 01:12:08,282
contain many contradictions,
982
01:12:08,574 --> 01:12:13,663
but we are not allowed to
think about it.
983
01:12:13,788 --> 01:12:16,040
That's what society demands.
984
01:12:16,165 --> 01:12:20,211
So, media, education
and such things force us to
985
01:12:20,378 --> 01:12:24,340
not think. If they see
people thinking, they give us
986
01:12:24,465 --> 01:12:26,551
TV comedies, and we laugh.
987
01:12:26,676 --> 01:12:31,389
Celebrity commentators who pretend
to think appear on TV,
988
01:12:31,514 --> 01:12:35,017
and people just swallow
their “opinions”.
989
01:12:35,142 --> 01:12:40,356
I don't reject our time now,
but I don't understand this...
990
01:12:40,648 --> 01:12:45,903
this emptiness of reality.
And people like that.
991
01:12:48,906 --> 01:12:50,575
I think it's weird.
992
01:12:50,741 --> 01:12:56,581
For 3.11, however, it didn't work.
People couldn't escape from thinking.
993
01:12:56,747 --> 01:13:00,751
About energy. About agriculture.
994
01:13:00,960 --> 01:13:07,091
Also about human relationships.
Are these okay as they are?
995
01:13:07,216 --> 01:13:13,389
But after a few years, we regress
We don't have to think critically.
996
01:13:13,514 --> 01:13:17,894
The message that we can't live
without nuclear energy
997
01:13:18,644 --> 01:13:22,440
is constantly delivered to us.
998
01:13:22,607 --> 01:13:25,526
So we have stopped thinking again.
999
01:13:25,985 --> 01:13:29,280
Somehow, we regressed and forgot.
1000
01:13:29,906 --> 01:13:36,120
Why we forgot is partly because
we were forced to do so.
1001
01:13:36,787 --> 01:13:39,790
The Fukushima nuclear plant was said
1002
01:13:39,916 --> 01:13:42,460
to be 200 percent safe.
1003
01:13:43,210 --> 01:13:45,254
We were persuaded so.
1004
01:13:45,379 --> 01:13:50,092
But the people in charge of
controlling the plants
1005
01:13:51,052 --> 01:13:55,306
did not take safety measures
1006
01:13:55,473 --> 01:13:56,933
to protect people.
1007
01:13:57,475 --> 01:14:02,229
They said it would cost
billions of yen for safety measures.
1008
01:14:02,355 --> 01:14:05,149
It's nothing, isn't it?
1009
01:14:05,274 --> 01:14:11,238
I think many things were
exposed at that time.
1010
01:14:11,364 --> 01:14:12,990
One of them is that
1011
01:14:14,158 --> 01:14:19,747
we Japanese are not qualified
10 possess nuclear power plants.
1012
01:14:20,289 --> 01:14:22,750
Morally, technically,
1013
01:14:22,875 --> 01:14:27,171
and on a societal level.
1014
01:14:27,546 --> 01:14:31,968
We are not qualified to
handle such huge things
1015
01:14:32,093 --> 01:14:35,346
that we can't even control.
1016
01:14:35,805 --> 01:14:39,266
They dropped water from
a helicopter like pissing.
1017
01:14:39,392 --> 01:14:42,478
We witnessed, with our own eyes
1018
01:14:42,603 --> 01:14:45,189
an unbelievable catastrophe.
1019
01:14:45,314 --> 01:14:47,483
But we are
1020
01:14:48,484 --> 01:14:52,613
not able to take responsibility.
1021
01:14:52,738 --> 01:14:57,034
We don't have the fortitude
to take responsibility.
1022
01:14:57,368 --> 01:15:00,871
So we want to pretend
as if it didn't happen.
1023
01:15:00,997 --> 01:15:05,334
To make that possible,
everybody tried to
1024
01:15:05,626 --> 01:15:08,212
hide, lie and cover up the facts.
1025
01:15:08,337 --> 01:15:12,508
I think a huge moral hazard
was created.
1026
01:15:38,284 --> 01:15:41,662
Difficult-to-return zone ahead.
Detour here.
1027
01:15:41,787 --> 01:15:44,915
"Local nuclear emergency response
headquarters, Futaba Town"
1028
01:16:36,133 --> 01:16:38,094
It reminds me that
1029
01:16:38,344 --> 01:16:44,642
the Soviet Union imploded six years
after the Chernobyl accident.
1030
01:16:44,934 --> 01:16:47,394
Chernobyl was one of the causes.
1031
01:16:48,395 --> 01:16:52,274
The nuclear power plant accidents
1032
01:16:52,399 --> 01:16:58,823
left a massive negative legacy for us.
1033
01:16:58,948 --> 01:17:01,826
It's impossible to run away,
1034
01:17:01,951 --> 01:17:08,833
but we are trying to run away
and to erase what happened.
1035
01:17:44,743 --> 01:17:49,165
When you see a building
knocked over by tsunami,
1036
01:17:49,623 --> 01:17:54,211
They are making a big coastal barrier.
It is really huge.
1037
01:17:54,336 --> 01:17:57,798
Stunningly huge. That thing
1038
01:17:57,923 --> 01:18:03,888
will really save
the coastal towns and villages?
1039
01:18:04,221 --> 01:18:09,852
When the next disaster happens,
that concrete wall will fall apart.
1040
01:18:09,977 --> 01:18:14,064
We don't have enough financial power
1041
01:18:14,190 --> 01:18:16,567
to maintain the wall.
1042
01:18:17,026 --> 01:18:22,990
It will not protect the future of
towns and villages in the region.
1043
01:18:23,115 --> 01:18:25,910
Everybody knows that.
1044
01:18:29,413 --> 01:18:34,501
I like Taro's saying
Art is an explosion!
1045
01:18:35,336 --> 01:18:39,757
Now, maybe our society is exploding.
1046
01:18:41,175 --> 01:18:45,554
Humankind hasn't progressed at all,
but is losing humanity.
1047
01:18:45,679 --> 01:18:49,934
There is no human who
lives like a human today.
1048
01:18:50,059 --> 01:18:53,187
With your entire body,
even shedding blood,.
1049
01:18:53,312 --> 01:18:56,607
Your life energy blasts off
into the world,
1050
01:18:56,732 --> 01:19:01,779
like a soundless explosion.
Grabbing the moment is
1051
01:19:01,904 --> 01:19:06,033
how you live as a human.
That's what I think.
1052
01:19:26,095 --> 01:19:26,679
A mountain of problems is
right in front of us.
1053
01:19:26,679 --> 01:19:31,392
Social Designer A mountain of
problems is right in front of us.
1054
01:19:31,392 --> 01:19:31,600
Social Designer
1055
01:19:31,600 --> 01:19:33,811
Social Designer We need to figure
out how our society will deal with it.
1056
01:19:33,811 --> 01:19:36,313
We need to figure out
how our society will deal with it.
1057
01:19:36,438 --> 01:19:40,317
Under these circumstances,
what art can do as a social message
1058
01:19:40,567 --> 01:19:44,405
is really significant. But,
1059
01:19:45,030 --> 01:19:46,824
so far,
1060
01:19:47,992 --> 01:19:53,497
historically, we haven't faced
our own problems.
1061
01:19:55,708 --> 01:19:59,795
We are not used to dealing with them.
1062
01:20:00,337 --> 01:20:03,424
Everyone restrained themselves
after the disaster.
1063
01:20:03,549 --> 01:20:06,969
They couldn't do
what they really want to do.
1064
01:20:07,469 --> 01:20:12,182
But we wanted to say,
even when times are like that,
1065
01:20:12,349 --> 01:20:16,603
you can create and do what you want.
1066
01:20:16,854 --> 01:20:17,980
Art has a kind of mysterious feeling,
1067
01:20:17,980 --> 01:20:20,691
TV Producer/Film Director
Art has a kind of mysterious feeling,
1068
01:20:20,691 --> 01:20:20,816
TV Producer/Film Director
1069
01:20:20,816 --> 01:20:23,527
TV Producer/Film Director
which allures people.
1070
01:20:23,527 --> 01:20:23,652
TV Producer/Film Director
1071
01:20:23,652 --> 01:20:27,448
TV Producer/Film Director The "Myth of
Tomorrow” inspired ChimlPom to take action.
1072
01:20:27,448 --> 01:20:29,491
The "Myth of Tomorrow” inspired
ChimlPom to take action.
1073
01:20:30,034 --> 01:20:34,663
I think it's because art is living.
1074
01:20:34,788 --> 01:20:38,292
The existence of the mural in that place
1075
01:20:38,417 --> 01:20:40,878
definitely stimulates us.
1076
01:21:57,871 --> 01:22:01,750
After 3.11, money was not
the standard of value.
1077
01:22:01,875 --> 01:22:05,629
That standard was pushed aside.
1078
01:22:06,463 --> 01:22:09,133
What people do in the situation is...
1079
01:22:09,299 --> 01:22:14,388
For example, a cardboard company
suddenly began cardboard art.
1080
01:22:14,513 --> 01:22:18,100
People do whatever they want to do.
Usually,
1081
01:22:18,225 --> 01:22:21,895
they get feedback like
it be profitable?”
1082
01:22:22,020 --> 01:22:25,899
That makes them hesitate immediately.
1083
01:22:26,024 --> 01:22:30,571
But at that time, everyone was like,
"Great!” "I like it!”
1084
01:22:30,696 --> 01:22:35,659
"Life is great!” Positive feedback
made everybody happy.
1085
01:22:35,784 --> 01:22:41,165
So, many people began
their own activities, which are
1086
01:22:41,498 --> 01:22:46,295
art activities, in a real sense.
1087
01:22:46,420 --> 01:22:51,967
I always say that you should do
something absolutely useless,
1088
01:22:52,468 --> 01:22:55,512
or something absolutely unimportant.
1089
01:22:55,637 --> 01:22:58,474
Whether it's useful or not,
1090
01:22:58,599 --> 01:23:02,186
just do what you really want to do.
1091
01:23:02,436 --> 01:23:05,689
I think art is something that
1092
01:23:05,814 --> 01:23:10,861
doesn't fill your stomach,
but fulfills your spirit.
1093
01:23:11,028 --> 01:23:11,737
Taro said that
art was determination.
1094
01:23:11,737 --> 01:23:16,158
Art Historian Taro said
that art was determination.
1095
01:23:16,158 --> 01:23:16,283
Art Historian
1096
01:23:16,283 --> 01:23:18,994
Art Historian When you
are determined, art is born.
1097
01:23:18,994 --> 01:23:19,328
Art Historian
1098
01:23:19,328 --> 01:23:21,371
Art Historian It may be embarrassing
to show your drawing to someone,
1099
01:23:21,371 --> 01:23:23,540
It may be embarrassing to show
your drawing to someone,
1100
01:23:23,665 --> 01:23:28,545
but the determination to show It
Is art, according to Taro.
1101
01:23:28,712 --> 01:23:32,174
You will change a bit
when you are determined.
1102
01:23:32,883 --> 01:23:32,966
As a performing artist,
1103
01:23:32,966 --> 01:23:37,012
Dancer
As a performing artist,
1104
01:23:37,012 --> 01:23:37,137
Dancer
1105
01:23:37,137 --> 01:23:40,390
Dancer
let's say in front of me
1106
01:23:40,390 --> 01:23:41,141
Dancer
1107
01:23:41,391 --> 01:23:42,893
IS a picture.
1108
01:23:44,102 --> 01:23:45,812
Thinking about it,
1109
01:23:45,938 --> 01:23:50,651
I express it as dance right here now.
1110
01:23:51,401 --> 01:23:53,862
That's art. That and this, both.
1111
01:23:55,989 --> 01:23:59,993
There is no correct answer
for “what is art?
1112
01:24:00,118 --> 01:24:02,996
But, something reaches me,
1113
01:24:03,872 --> 01:24:05,916
and I can convey it. Like...
1114
01:24:06,583 --> 01:24:09,836
I can have the same emotion
that the picture has.
1115
01:24:10,796 --> 01:24:14,591
Feeling the same as a performer,
1116
01:24:14,800 --> 01:24:19,930
and intercommunicating
is art, I think.
1117
01:24:27,771 --> 01:24:27,938
Artist/Fashion Designer
1118
01:24:27,938 --> 01:24:31,358
Artist/Fashion Designer Making
things for me IS communication.
1119
01:24:31,358 --> 01:24:31,858
Artist/Fashion Designer
1120
01:24:31,858 --> 01:24:34,903
Artist/Fashion Designer It
needs other people to receive it.
1121
01:24:34,903 --> 01:24:35,279
It needs other people
to receive it.
1122
01:24:35,404 --> 01:24:39,950
I, as a creator, need someone
who sees or has it.
1123
01:24:40,075 --> 01:24:44,538
Without those people,
even if I make something,
1124
01:24:44,663 --> 01:24:49,126
I can't call it my work.
1125
01:24:49,251 --> 01:24:50,961
Drawing a picture, or
1126
01:24:50,961 --> 01:24:52,754
Professor of French
Philosophy Drawing a picture, or
1127
01:24:52,754 --> 01:24:52,879
Professor of
French Philosophy
1128
01:24:52,879 --> 01:24:56,633
Professor of French Philosophy
making a sculpture or other thing.
1129
01:24:56,633 --> 01:24:56,800
Professor of
French Philosophy
1130
01:24:56,800 --> 01:25:00,637
Professor of French Philosophy Is
it really the creator's personal work?
1131
01:25:00,637 --> 01:25:02,139
Is it really the creator's
personal work?
1132
01:25:02,556 --> 01:25:04,057
Thinking more widely,
1133
01:25:04,349 --> 01:25:07,144
when did human beings
become human beings?
1134
01:25:07,269 --> 01:25:10,814
It is when human beings
began drawing.
1135
01:25:11,273 --> 01:25:15,152
You can't find any drawings
in monkey caves.
1136
01:25:15,319 --> 01:25:18,780
Human beings began with drawing.
1137
01:25:19,197 --> 01:25:23,327
Of course, they spoke. Words existed.
1138
01:25:23,702 --> 01:25:27,164
With words and images,
1139
01:25:27,331 --> 01:25:30,334
human beings built connections
with the world,
1140
01:25:30,500 --> 01:25:34,963
designed and realized their lives.
1141
01:25:35,088 --> 01:25:37,674
Humans, of course, exist plurally.
1142
01:25:37,799 --> 01:25:43,180
And humans sustain the species
by giving birth.
1143
01:25:43,388 --> 01:25:47,851
The process of sustaining the species
includes drawing.
1144
01:25:48,018 --> 01:25:53,857
So the whole act of drawing is
1145
01:25:54,024 --> 01:25:56,026
not a personal act at all.
1146
01:25:56,193 --> 01:25:58,654
Taro believed,
1147
01:25:58,779 --> 01:26:02,866
Like economics by Marx or
biology by Darwin,
1148
01:26:03,033 --> 01:26:08,205
art can have a strong
equivalent vision.
1149
01:26:08,372 --> 01:26:10,165
I think.
1150
01:26:10,415 --> 01:26:14,711
- We have this current
science and technology, and
1151
01:26:14,878 --> 01:26:18,340
we also need a myth to enfold it,
1152
01:26:18,799 --> 01:26:22,219
and to guide it to a vision
for the future.
1153
01:26:22,386 --> 01:26:25,555
Taro thought we needed
to create that myth.
1154
01:26:25,722 --> 01:26:31,478
Actually, computer engineers
and scientists
1155
01:26:31,603 --> 01:26:35,232
are well aware of this.
1156
01:26:35,565 --> 01:26:38,485
That's what we need for the future.
1157
01:26:38,694 --> 01:26:39,569
Quantum theory and
super string theory
1158
01:26:39,569 --> 01:26:42,072
Literary Critic Quantum
theory and super string theory
1159
01:26:42,072 --> 01:26:42,239
Literary Critic
1160
01:26:42,239 --> 01:26:45,742
Literary Critic are methods
for recognizing the world.
1161
01:26:45,742 --> 01:26:45,826
Literary Critic
1162
01:26:45,867 --> 01:26:50,247
Even before physics
or mathematics were developed,
1163
01:26:50,414 --> 01:26:54,418
I assume humans viewed the world
in such ways.
1164
01:26:54,543 --> 01:26:58,088
As Daisetsu Suzuki said,
people tend to think dualistically.
1165
01:26:58,088 --> 01:26:59,089
Buddhist Philosopher As Daisetsu Suzuki
said, people tend to think dualistically.
1166
01:26:59,089 --> 01:26:59,214
Buddhist Philosopher
1167
01:26:59,214 --> 01:27:02,926
Buddhist Philosopher Like mind and
material, because it's easier to understand.
1168
01:27:02,926 --> 01:27:03,051
Buddhist Philosopher
1169
01:27:03,051 --> 01:27:07,764
Buddhist Philosopher But it is very
different from what you experience
1170
01:27:07,764 --> 01:27:07,889
Buddhist Philosopher
1171
01:27:08,056 --> 01:27:09,766
in your real life.
1172
01:27:09,891 --> 01:27:12,936
Taro tried to not separate
mind from material,
1173
01:27:13,061 --> 01:27:17,941
and to manifest the idea
in a concrete form.
1174
01:27:18,066 --> 01:27:20,610
And that was the same with
1175
01:27:20,736 --> 01:27:24,364
Daisetsu Suzuki and
Kumagusu Minakata.
1176
01:27:25,157 --> 01:27:26,950
It's not easy to profile
Minakata briefly.
1177
01:27:26,950 --> 01:27:31,455
Naturalist/Biologist/Ethnologist It's
not easy to profile Minakata briefly.
1178
01:27:31,455 --> 01:27:31,621
Naturalist/Biologist/Ethnologist
1179
01:27:31,621 --> 01:27:35,876
Naturalist/Biologist/Ethnologist He was called
“the ultimate potential of the Japanese”.
1180
01:27:35,876 --> 01:27:35,959
Naturalist/Biologist/Ethnologist
1181
01:27:36,001 --> 01:27:36,251
Natural historian.
Ethnologist.
1182
01:27:36,251 --> 01:27:39,463
Buddhism Researcher Natural
historian. Ethnologist.
1183
01:27:39,463 --> 01:27:39,629
Buddhism Researcher
1184
01:27:39,629 --> 01:27:42,257
Buddhism Researcher
Also a slime mold expert.
1185
01:27:42,257 --> 01:27:42,299
Buddhism Researcher
1186
01:27:42,382 --> 01:27:46,219
I think he was an artist
in a way.
1187
01:27:46,344 --> 01:27:46,887
Taro and Kumagusu.
1188
01:27:46,887 --> 01:27:48,764
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
Taro and Kumagusu.
1189
01:27:48,764 --> 01:27:49,181
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
1190
01:27:49,181 --> 01:27:53,977
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism When it comes to what
they found from their experiences in the West,
1191
01:27:53,977 --> 01:27:54,102
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
1192
01:27:54,102 --> 01:27:56,438
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
there might be some similarities.
1193
01:27:56,438 --> 01:27:56,480
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
1194
01:27:56,563 --> 01:28:02,736
They both went overseas from
their early 20s until their 30s.
1195
01:28:02,861 --> 01:28:07,824
Taro lived in Paris, and
Kumagusu in the US and Britain.
1196
01:28:07,991 --> 01:28:12,496
With the knowledge and
techniques they gained,
1197
01:28:12,954 --> 01:28:19,169
they looked into themselves
after they returned to Japan.
1198
01:28:19,377 --> 01:28:21,755
They found something missing.
1199
01:28:22,005 --> 01:28:28,094
They decided to restart from
their origins, their roots.
1200
01:28:28,220 --> 01:28:31,431
Maybe that's something in common
for them.
1201
01:28:31,556 --> 01:28:34,017
Slime mold for Kumagusu.
1202
01:28:34,309 --> 01:28:39,606
The more you look into
primitive life forms,
1203
01:28:40,732 --> 01:28:44,528
the more you'll find something new.
1204
01:28:44,653 --> 01:28:47,864
Maybe both Kumagusu and Taro
knew it.
1205
01:28:47,989 --> 01:28:50,158
How you view the world,
1206
01:28:50,367 --> 01:28:52,536
and the universe.
1207
01:28:53,036 --> 01:28:58,834
They tried to see them
in an Asian way, I think.
1208
01:28:58,959 --> 01:29:04,381
Kumagusu, a scientist, took
a scientific approach.
1209
01:29:04,548 --> 01:29:04,631
He said that he can see beyond
the macrocosm with a microscope.
1210
01:29:04,631 --> 01:29:11,012
Buddhism Researcher He said that he can
see beyond the macrocosm with a microscope.
1211
01:29:11,012 --> 01:29:11,137
Buddhism Researcher
1212
01:29:11,137 --> 01:29:14,558
Buddhism Researcher He saw
the macrocosm in slime mold.
1213
01:29:14,558 --> 01:29:14,850
Buddhism Researcher
1214
01:29:14,850 --> 01:29:15,725
Buddhism Researcher He was
able to find macro in micro.
1215
01:29:15,725 --> 01:29:20,564
He was able to find
macro in micro.
1216
01:29:20,689 --> 01:29:23,191
Time, for instance.
1217
01:29:23,483 --> 01:29:27,320
It's said that there are
past, present and future,
1218
01:29:27,445 --> 01:29:31,741
but Kumagusu thought
everything is in the present.
1219
01:29:32,200 --> 01:29:37,581
This interpretation can never be
possible in three dimensions.
1220
01:29:37,706 --> 01:29:43,753
He thought the world must be
higher-dimensional.
1221
01:29:43,962 --> 01:29:46,756
Three dimensions and the Arrow of Time.
1222
01:29:46,923 --> 01:29:53,430
Kumagusu always tried to see the world
as a higher-dimensional time-space.
1223
01:29:53,597 --> 01:29:53,680
His perspective went further.
1224
01:29:53,680 --> 01:29:58,351
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
His perspective went further.
1225
01:29:58,351 --> 01:29:58,476
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1226
01:29:58,476 --> 01:30:02,105
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism He had great
expectations for Buddnism, and believed
1227
01:30:02,105 --> 01:30:03,523
He had great expectations
for Buddhism, and believed
1228
01:30:03,773 --> 01:30:09,613
it was capable of developing
a larger academic system,
1229
01:30:10,447 --> 01:30:15,911
more inclusive than the Western one.
He saw the potential in Buddhism,
1230
01:30:16,036 --> 01:30:19,247
and tried to dig it out.
1231
01:30:19,497 --> 01:30:23,710
His idea was expressed in
the Minakata Mandala.
1232
01:30:33,845 --> 01:30:35,639
Mandala is sort of
a description of the universe.
1233
01:30:35,639 --> 01:30:38,099
Scholar of Tibetan Philology Mandala is
sort of a description of the universe.
1234
01:30:38,099 --> 01:30:38,224
Scholar of
Tibetan Philology
1235
01:30:38,224 --> 01:30:41,895
Scholar of Tibetan Philology
The universe in three dimensions.
1236
01:30:41,895 --> 01:30:42,896
The universe in three dimensions.
1237
01:30:43,021 --> 01:30:47,317
That is mandala.
When you look at it from the top,
1238
01:30:47,442 --> 01:30:53,990
and draw it on the flat surface,
that is the mandala chart.
1239
01:30:57,118 --> 01:30:59,996
It's an expression of the world,
1240
01:31:00,163 --> 01:31:04,751
or a view of the universe.
That is mandala.
1241
01:31:07,754 --> 01:31:12,968
Minakata Mandala expresses
everything connecting,
1242
01:31:13,093 --> 01:31:16,680
and interweaving in the world.
1243
01:31:16,805 --> 01:31:21,810
Not merely in a linear manner,
but flexibly and freely,
1244
01:31:22,352 --> 01:31:27,691
things interfuse with each other
in Minakata Mandala.
1245
01:31:29,901 --> 01:31:36,032
Taro often wrote that
the Tower of the Sun was a mandala,
1246
01:31:36,199 --> 01:31:38,451
at the beginning of the project.
1247
01:31:40,203 --> 01:31:46,209
Taro's view of the universe
was expressed in the tower.
1248
01:31:46,334 --> 01:31:49,379
Past, present and future.
1249
01:31:49,629 --> 01:31:52,298
The tower embraces them all.
1250
01:31:55,885 --> 01:32:00,223
He saw a mandala while writing
Mysterious Japan,
1251
01:32:00,348 --> 01:32:04,561
and said that the concept of
mandala was important.
1252
01:32:05,812 --> 01:32:06,438
It's the idea of
dependent origination.
1253
01:32:06,438 --> 01:32:08,481
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
lt's the idea of dependent origination.
1254
01:32:08,481 --> 01:32:08,606
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1255
01:32:08,606 --> 01:32:13,528
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
Nothing exists independently.
1256
01:32:13,528 --> 01:32:13,653
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1257
01:32:13,653 --> 01:32:17,073
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
Everything exists in dependence on others.
1258
01:32:17,073 --> 01:32:17,240
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1259
01:32:17,240 --> 01:32:20,326
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism This,
basically, is dependent origination.
1260
01:32:20,326 --> 01:32:20,410
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1261
01:32:20,535 --> 01:32:23,246
All nature is mutually related,
1262
01:32:23,371 --> 01:32:27,333
Things are different,
but that makes them the same.
1263
01:32:27,625 --> 01:32:32,005
The simplest idea may be
"Muge" in Japanese,
1264
01:32:32,672 --> 01:32:35,592
meaning "freedom".
1265
01:32:35,759 --> 01:32:40,764
It means "no obstacles”,
no barrier.
1266
01:32:40,930 --> 01:32:45,935
Everything interfuses
and connects freely.
1267
01:32:46,269 --> 01:32:49,606
Breaking a wall, or
1268
01:32:49,773 --> 01:32:54,110
- removing a wall
is probably the key for
1269
01:32:55,320 --> 01:33:00,533
Eastern philosophy, I believe.
1270
01:33:00,658 --> 01:33:05,622
It is important to make walls
to categorize and analyze things,
1271
01:33:06,247 --> 01:33:09,959
but that idea is facing a dead end.
1272
01:33:10,085 --> 01:33:13,630
Breaking those walls,
1273
01:33:13,880 --> 01:33:16,800
making them permeable,
1274
01:33:16,966 --> 01:33:22,806
and connecting things freely
are truly Eastern ways of thinking.
1275
01:33:22,931 --> 01:33:26,643
It can be said to be
the Kumagusu-ish way.
1276
01:33:26,935 --> 01:33:30,647
When you make the walls permeable,
1277
01:33:30,814 --> 01:33:35,401
you'll have a different
a speculative system.
1278
01:33:36,236 --> 01:33:40,824
You can obtain a new view
of the world.
1279
01:33:41,032 --> 01:33:45,995
Kumagusu and Taro were
sending a message
1280
01:33:46,121 --> 01:33:48,665
to us living today.
1281
01:33:48,957 --> 01:33:51,084
The concept of mandala is
1282
01:33:51,209 --> 01:33:54,504
closely related to the view of
the Avatamsaka Sutra.
1283
01:33:58,341 --> 01:34:04,013
The Avatamsaka Sutra has its core idea,
which was born in India.
1284
01:34:04,472 --> 01:34:05,098
Buddha is ubiquitous across
the whole universe.
1285
01:34:05,098 --> 01:34:09,352
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
Buddha is ubiquitous across the whole universe.
1286
01:34:09,352 --> 01:34:09,769
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1287
01:34:09,769 --> 01:34:13,356
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism It
exists in everything in the universe.
1288
01:34:13,356 --> 01:34:13,439
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1289
01:34:13,565 --> 01:34:16,442
At the same time,
the universe
1290
01:34:16,568 --> 01:34:21,197
exists in Buddha.
Even each pore embraces
1291
01:34:21,322 --> 01:34:24,701
the whole universe.
1292
01:34:24,826 --> 01:34:28,830
This grand ontology was developed
in the Avatamsaka Sutra.
1293
01:34:32,167 --> 01:34:34,794
Where was the Avatamsaka Sutra
developed?
1294
01:34:34,919 --> 01:34:38,882
A place where various ethnicities,
languages, and
1295
01:34:39,007 --> 01:34:42,302
people interacted,
to the west of China,
1296
01:34:42,427 --> 01:34:45,805
so it probably developed
in Central Asia.
1297
01:34:47,515 --> 01:34:47,599
People in Tibet didn't think
about farming,
1298
01:34:47,599 --> 01:34:51,728
People in Tibet didn't
think about farming,
1299
01:34:51,728 --> 01:34:52,020
Scholar of
Tibetan Philology
1300
01:34:52,020 --> 01:34:57,025
Scholar of Tibetan Philology
incereasing harvests and selling The extra produce to earn money.
1301
01:34:57,025 --> 01:34:57,066
Scholar of
Tibetan Philology
1302
01:34:57,984 --> 01:35:03,198
The fundamental conditions
of feudalism didn't exist.
1303
01:35:04,616 --> 01:35:10,163
They lived well enough
by hunting and gathering.
1304
01:35:10,288 --> 01:35:13,082
Uneven distribution of wealth
1305
01:35:13,583 --> 01:35:15,251
seldom happened there.
1306
01:35:15,543 --> 01:35:21,007
In an area like that,
people had to think about how to coexist
1307
01:35:21,132 --> 01:35:23,092
with other people.
1308
01:35:23,259 --> 01:35:28,097
That led to the birth of
the idea of mandala.
1309
01:35:28,264 --> 01:35:34,103
The mandala-esque way of thinking
was a view of the universe,
1310
01:35:34,270 --> 01:35:38,399
born in Asia
where various cultures mingled.
1311
01:35:42,362 --> 01:35:44,906
Kumagusu Minakata found mandala,
1312
01:35:45,031 --> 01:35:48,868
a living mandala, in slime mold.
1313
01:35:49,118 --> 01:35:55,041
Taro displayed ameba-shaped objects
at the base of the Tower of the Sun,
1314
01:35:55,166 --> 01:36:00,964
which made me think that
Taro had the same vision as Kumagusu.
1315
01:36:02,382 --> 01:36:07,762
The Tower of the Sun had to be
a tower, a tree of life,
1316
01:36:07,971 --> 01:36:10,932
and a mandala all in one.
1317
01:36:15,979 --> 01:36:19,315
All nature Is blended Into one.
1318
01:36:19,607 --> 01:36:23,736
A human becomes
an animal, plant or mineral.
1319
01:36:23,861 --> 01:36:28,283
A human can be a sacred tree itself,
1320
01:36:28,408 --> 01:36:32,829
to connect heaven and earth.
1321
01:36:32,954 --> 01:36:36,916
I think Taro lived with
1322
01:36:37,041 --> 01:36:40,670
this sense in himself.
1323
01:36:43,923 --> 01:36:48,428
"Torma" is an offering to the Gods.
1324
01:36:48,553 --> 01:36:52,181
The Tower of the Sun has
a torma shape.
1325
01:36:52,348 --> 01:36:56,185
The concept of Torma
isn't from Buddhism.
1326
01:36:56,352 --> 01:37:00,023
It originated in the Neolithic Age
or earlier.
1327
01:37:00,189 --> 01:37:04,152
It was originally an offering
to the God of the Sun.
1328
01:37:05,069 --> 01:37:08,781
There are various stories.
Originally they offered lives,
1329
01:37:08,906 --> 01:37:12,952
sacrificing humans or living animals.
1330
01:37:13,077 --> 01:37:17,874
In northern Tibet, for instance,
sacrificing animals
1331
01:37:18,249 --> 01:37:18,416
was quite common.
They still do this at times.
1332
01:37:18,416 --> 01:37:23,046
Was quite common. They
still do this at times.
1333
01:37:23,046 --> 01:37:23,129
Scholar of
Tibetan Philology
1334
01:37:23,171 --> 01:37:29,510
When Buddhism came in,
unnecessary killings were banned,
1335
01:37:29,635 --> 01:37:31,888
including sacrifice.
1336
01:37:32,096 --> 01:37:34,140
When they stopped sacrificing,
1337
01:37:34,265 --> 01:37:38,686
they used barley flour to make
conical cakes,
1338
01:37:38,811 --> 01:37:41,981
and offered them to the gods
instead of sacrifices.
1339
01:37:42,106 --> 01:37:45,068
It's like "Yorishiro",
a residence for spirits.
1340
01:37:45,193 --> 01:37:45,276
It is said that mandala is a sanctuary
and torma is a god.
1341
01:37:45,276 --> 01:37:52,575
Bon Monk It is said that mandala
is a sanctuary and torma is a god.
1342
01:37:52,575 --> 01:37:52,700
Bon Monk
1343
01:37:53,034 --> 01:37:53,117
Taro wanted to make a mandala and
made the tower with that in mind.
1344
01:37:53,117 --> 01:37:58,247
Tibetan Buddhist Monk Taro wanted to make a
mandala and made the tower with that in mind.
1345
01:37:58,247 --> 01:37:58,414
Tibetan Buddhist Monk
1346
01:37:58,414 --> 01:38:00,666
Tibetan Buddhist Monk
It's very interesting.
1347
01:38:00,666 --> 01:38:00,750
Tibetan Buddhist Monk
1348
01:38:01,084 --> 01:38:07,340
If he created the tower like that
without a knowledge of torma,
1349
01:38:07,465 --> 01:38:12,595
we can say he was
an excellent craftsman.
1350
01:38:12,929 --> 01:38:15,556
It's incredible.
1351
01:38:16,015 --> 01:38:21,771
He created the torma-like tower
unintentionally, I assume,
1352
01:38:23,064 --> 01:38:25,858
because the archetype was deep
in his consciousness.
1353
01:38:26,109 --> 01:38:26,859
Torma is an offering for Buddhas.
1354
01:38:26,859 --> 01:38:30,113
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
Torma is an offering for Buddhas.
1355
01:38:30,113 --> 01:38:30,279
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1356
01:38:30,279 --> 01:38:34,367
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
If the Tower of the Sun has
the same purpose, It's very interesting.
1357
01:38:34,367 --> 01:38:34,492
Scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism
1358
01:38:34,492 --> 01:38:36,285
Scholar of Tibetan Buddhism
I really would like to know
1359
01:38:36,285 --> 01:38:37,120
I really would like to know
1360
01:38:37,245 --> 01:38:42,291
what it was for and
who it was offered to.
1361
01:38:42,583 --> 01:38:42,792
Buddhism Researcher
1362
01:38:42,792 --> 01:38:45,461
Buddhism Researcher
Is the Tower of the Sun an offering?
1363
01:38:45,461 --> 01:38:46,087
Buddhism Researcher
1364
01:38:46,087 --> 01:38:49,465
Buddhism Researcher
I think it may be so.
1365
01:38:49,465 --> 01:38:49,590
Buddhism Researcher
1366
01:38:50,049 --> 01:38:52,969
And who is it offered to?
1367
01:38:53,219 --> 01:38:56,139
I think it was to humanity.
1368
01:38:57,014 --> 01:39:01,978
- Our ancestors, and
we living In the present time,
1369
01:39:02,103 --> 01:39:06,441
and our descendants who will
live in the future.
1370
01:39:06,566 --> 01:39:09,318
The tower was
1371
01:39:09,735 --> 01:39:15,324
an offering to humanity
across all time.
1372
01:39:15,491 --> 01:39:16,993
This is my opinion.
1373
01:39:33,801 --> 01:39:36,429
So what is the tower?
1374
01:39:36,762 --> 01:39:40,516
If other pavilions at Expo '70
had remained,
1375
01:39:40,683 --> 01:39:45,313
they would have all aged,
but the Tower of the Sun remained,
1376
01:39:45,438 --> 01:39:48,024
and never changed or aged.
1377
01:39:48,149 --> 01:39:52,862
The tower is philosophically strong
SO its messages endure.
1378
01:39:53,029 --> 01:39:58,826
It's not a sculpture of anger.
It's not about love.
1379
01:39:59,368 --> 01:40:02,163
It is beyond words.
1380
01:40:02,413 --> 01:40:08,669
Japan, or all human beings who
created civilization:
1381
01:40:09,504 --> 01:40:13,049
The tower looks so determined to
carry their history,
1382
01:40:13,216 --> 01:40:16,469
and just keep standing there.
1383
01:40:34,820 --> 01:40:38,741
I feel like the tower can
see everything.
1384
01:40:38,866 --> 01:40:41,702
Those eyes.
1385
01:40:42,078 --> 01:40:46,999
Like, the words and excuses
that we make just to...
1386
01:40:47,625 --> 01:40:51,420
to justify what we want to do
are not overlooked.
1387
01:40:51,546 --> 01:40:54,090
Taro wouldn't overlook those things.
1388
01:40:54,757 --> 01:40:56,926
They couldn't tear down the tower.
1389
01:40:57,093 --> 01:41:03,933
Everything else on the huge site
was torn down,
1390
01:41:04,058 --> 01:41:08,104
but they couldn't tear down
the Tower of the Sun.
1391
01:41:08,563 --> 01:41:12,942
Maybe they were scared of
that unknown thing.
1392
01:41:14,318 --> 01:41:15,778
That...
1393
01:41:16,320 --> 01:41:20,741
chaotic thing.
You can't really interpret
1394
01:41:21,075 --> 01:41:22,952
the meaning of it, can you?
1395
01:41:23,119 --> 01:41:26,455
Japanese society couldn't
understand and accept it,
1396
01:41:26,581 --> 01:41:30,376
and began to reject Taro.
1397
01:41:30,501 --> 01:41:35,590
But still, they couldn't tear down
the Tower of the Sun.
1398
01:41:36,048 --> 01:41:40,469
The tower keeps testing us,
1399
01:41:40,803 --> 01:41:45,766
or keeps doubting us.
1400
01:41:46,726 --> 01:41:49,729
The tower stands there for that purpose.
1401
01:41:50,062 --> 01:41:53,816
I live my life earnestly today
for tomorrow.
1402
01:41:53,983 --> 01:41:58,654
And next day I'll think anew.
Every moment is
1403
01:41:58,904 --> 01:42:02,617
simply wonderful.
1404
01:42:02,742 --> 01:42:04,660
That I'm living today.
1405
01:42:05,286 --> 01:42:09,332
Are you, or is the present society
okay as is?
1406
01:42:09,498 --> 01:42:12,251
What is important for humanity?
1407
01:42:13,252 --> 01:42:16,672
What is the essence of humanity?
1408
01:42:16,797 --> 01:42:21,969
It's nothing but
an infinite question. So,
1409
01:42:22,094 --> 01:42:26,432
what the Tower of the Sun meant
in 1970, and
1410
01:42:26,557 --> 01:42:29,185
what it means today are
1411
01:42:29,477 --> 01:42:32,772
completely different.
1412
01:42:32,980 --> 01:42:37,985
As long as the tower stands there,
the meaning changes,
1413
01:42:38,110 --> 01:42:41,030
although it doesn't change physically.
1414
01:42:41,155 --> 01:42:42,698
I feel...
1415
01:42:43,908 --> 01:42:48,704
the meaning will change a lot
in the future.
1416
01:42:48,829 --> 01:42:52,708
Now, it stands in the
Expo 70 Commemorative Park,
1417
01:42:52,875 --> 01:42:57,672
and it was made for Expo '70-Osaka
in 1970,
1418
01:42:58,339 --> 01:43:04,345
and is preserved after the Expo.
We know the background.
1419
01:43:04,470 --> 01:43:09,558
But someday, the facts will be
forgotten,
1420
01:43:09,725 --> 01:43:14,397
maybe due to a huge war or disaster.
1421
01:43:14,563 --> 01:43:17,483
Or by an unpredictable incident.
1422
01:43:17,608 --> 01:43:22,697
I all background information
is untraceable,
1423
01:43:22,822 --> 01:43:28,661
if everything including the nation
of Japan doesn't exist, but
1424
01:43:29,036 --> 01:43:33,499
If the Tower of the Sun
still stands there,
1425
01:43:33,624 --> 01:43:39,213
the meaning will be different
from how we now perceive it.
1426
01:43:57,565 --> 01:44:03,404
It represents human thoughts
before the agrarian revolution.
1427
01:44:03,529 --> 01:44:06,615
Way before the Industrial Revolution.
1428
01:44:06,741 --> 01:44:11,370
The thoughts have still survived,
1429
01:44:11,495 --> 01:44:13,456
and are in us today.
1430
01:44:13,622 --> 01:44:18,794
When they want to come out,
and you try to express them,
1431
01:44:18,919 --> 01:44:20,755
you'll be obstructed.
1432
01:44:20,880 --> 01:44:25,801
The tower encourages you to express,
beyond those obstructions.
1433
01:44:25,926 --> 01:44:32,224
An expression can take shape
beyond the creator's intention.
1434
01:44:32,349 --> 01:44:39,106
If Taro was an outstanding artist,
1435
01:44:39,231 --> 01:44:45,488
it's true because his expression
went beyond Taro himself.
1436
01:44:46,155 --> 01:44:51,994
He took the contemporary
circumstances into himself,
1437
01:44:52,119 --> 01:44:56,415
and output the core of
those circumstances.
1438
01:44:56,540 --> 01:45:03,339
That resulted in that monument
with that shape.
1439
01:45:04,423 --> 01:45:07,343
The word "gift” is becoming
1440
01:45:07,468 --> 01:45:11,180
a really important theme for today.
1441
01:45:11,514 --> 01:45:15,184
You give something as a gift
1442
01:45:15,851 --> 01:45:17,353
10 someone.
1443
01:45:17,520 --> 01:45:22,441
You don't require a reward for it.
1444
01:45:23,067 --> 01:45:29,657
People who can give something
10 someone without any return
1445
01:45:29,782 --> 01:45:34,119
can be an important factor for society.
1446
01:45:34,245 --> 01:45:40,000
Like a detonator for revolution
and transformation.
1447
01:45:40,501 --> 01:45:45,548
I think the Tower of the Sun
was a gift.
1448
01:45:46,048 --> 01:45:51,220
We are given that strange
overwhelming gift.
1449
01:46:03,065 --> 01:46:05,860
I think Taro wanted
1450
01:46:05,985 --> 01:46:12,408
to strip individuality away
and just move forward.
1451
01:46:12,575 --> 01:46:16,412
He really wanted to do that and he did.
1452
01:46:16,537 --> 01:46:19,039
By doing that,
1453
01:46:19,331 --> 01:46:24,420
he tried to have his expression close 10
1454
01:46:24,545 --> 01:46:27,590
the expression of the human world.
1455
01:46:28,215 --> 01:46:32,887
And that's exactly what he did.
1456
01:46:33,137 --> 01:46:35,681
Artists can't help doing that.
1457
01:46:36,056 --> 01:46:39,768
What drives them to do so is
1458
01:46:39,977 --> 01:46:44,356
a call from something beyond themselves.
1459
01:46:44,481 --> 01:46:49,069
It's not an external call,
Like the voice of God in religion,
1460
01:46:49,194 --> 01:46:52,448
- but is an internal,
instinctual human impulse.
1461
01:46:53,407 --> 01:46:58,078
So, expressing it is
a kind of obligation
1462
01:46:58,203 --> 01:47:00,289
for artists.
1463
01:47:01,290 --> 01:47:05,628
I think Taro had
a sense of duty as artist
1464
01:47:05,753 --> 01:47:08,213
10 society.
1465
01:47:09,298 --> 01:47:13,135
So, he was not Taro Okamoto.
1466
01:47:14,428 --> 01:47:16,555
No one but someone.
1467
01:47:16,680 --> 01:47:20,643
It called to Taro,
and he responded, running forward.
1468
01:47:24,772 --> 01:47:29,568
When I'm in front of the tower,
I feel like I'm being asked a question,
1469
01:47:29,693 --> 01:47:36,325
and I think about what the question is,
then, something new emerges.
1470
01:47:36,450 --> 01:47:39,161
That cycle goes on forever.
1471
01:47:39,453 --> 01:47:44,833
Perhaps when people 1000 years from now
see this strange tower,
1472
01:47:45,668 --> 01:47:48,671
and feel like it is asking questions.
1473
01:47:48,796 --> 01:47:53,008
They may notice what they must do,
or what they have missed.
1474
01:47:53,425 --> 01:47:54,802
I think
1475
01:47:54,927 --> 01:47:59,348
that is the role of
the Tower of the Sun.
1476
01:51:30,601 --> 01:51:36,565
Presented by PARCO CO., LTD. SPOON I NC. Taro Okamoto
Memorial Foundation NHK EDUCATIONAL CORPORATION
1477
01:52:01,924 --> 01:52:06,720
Directed by
1478
01:52:07,804 --> 01:52:13,268
-2018 “TONER OF THE SUN” Film Partners English subtitles by
Ayako Kawakita and Tim Olive
115952
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