25SS #16 TOTSUKAWA

Totsukawa is a river  situated deep in the mountains of Kumano.  It is also recorded 8th in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) as a river in a faraway place, called Tootsukawa.

In researching to go to Nara, I wanted to go to deep in the mountains where there was nothing, and that is how I arrived at this place.

It was a very far place, even now. There were no trains running and we visited by long-distance bus.

As bus drove along the river edge, through the mountains, the air became the clear breath of the mountains.

There was very little flat land, the altitude increased and clouds drifted over the mountainsides.

A hidden village. This is the word that comes to mind.

In folklore, it refers to a remote mountainous area where the gods and goddesses who live in the mountains appear in the villages for winter festivals and other occasions, perform a requiem dance, and then leave without leaving.

The mountains are where the gods dwell. The gods dwell in the trees and grass, and the flow of time is different from that of the human world.

The Kumano Mountains have been considered a special region where the gods reside since mythical times.

Buddhism also regarded these deep mountains as a pure land and a place for training to acquire supernatural abilities. There are three sacred sites: Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan and Yoshino-Omine. The five Kumano Kodo are the five Kumano Kodo that visit the sacred sites.

Totsukawa village is located near the intersection of the Kohechi, Naka-hechi and Omine Okudo paths.

The Omine Okugake, which leads from Kumano Hongu to Yoshino, is said to have been the 'road of revival'. Many people still lose their way in the deep mountains.

On the approach to Kohechi in Totsukawa, there is the village of Hatenashi, named 'Endless'.

There is nothing but a lot of souls.

The air is sharpened and clear.

Depending on the day, the river changes from the colour of the clear sky to a murky warbler or azure green.

For 25SS, we expressed Japan's, Totsukawa's, nothingness with so much inside, the Kumano mountains with their clouds, and the river's colours.

This season, for the first time, we also made a creation with sound.

We collaborated with  musician Meitei to create the sounds of Totsukawa, which is like an original Japanese landscape.

The music has a meditative feel.

 

十津川は紀伊山地、熊野の山奥にある、熊野川本流の川。日本書紀にも遠津川という、遠いところの川として記録されています。

奈良に行こうと思って調べているうちに、熊野古道に行きたくなり、そのまた奥の何もない山奥に行きたくなり、そうしてこの場所に辿りつきました。

今でもとても遠いところでした。電車は走っておらず、長距離バスで訪れました。

バスが川縁を、山の中を、走っていくと、空気は山々の澄んだ呼吸になっていきます。

平地はほとんどなく、標高が上がり、雲が山の中腹に漂っています。

隠れ里。という言葉が浮かびます。

民族学では、山に住む神人が、冬の祭りなどに里へ現われ、鎮魂の舞を舞った後、いずこともなく去っていく山間の僻地を指すということです。

山は神々が棲む処。木にも草にも神が宿っている、人間の世界とは違う時の流れがある。

紀伊山地は、神話の時代から神々が鎮まる特別な地域と考えられていました。

仏教もこれらの深い山々を浄土に見立て、超自然的な能力を習得するための修行の場としました。「熊野三山」「高野山」「吉野・大峯」という三つの霊場があります。霊場に参るのが５つの熊野古道。

十津川村は小辺路と中辺路、大峰奥駆道が交わる付近にあります。

熊野本宮から吉野へつづく大峰奥駈は、起死回生の「よみがえりの道」だったそうです。深い山は今でも道を見失う人がたくさんいるそうです。

十津川の小辺路の参道には果てしないという名前の果無集落があります。

何もないのに、たくさんの魂が詰まっている。

空気が研ぎ澄んでいる。

日によって、透き通った空の色や濁った鶯色や蒼緑色に変わる川。

そして原風景から音が奥の方から聞こえてきます。

音楽家の冥丁の音に共通するものがあり、冥丁にオリジナルの曲を作ってもらいました。