Looking for tree in the sun, printed on A4 drawing paper, inkjet print, 2009
Looking for "The tree in the sun"
In the Japanese version of Wikipedia, we read about the tree in the sun, as follows:
"The tree in the sun (Hidamari no ki) is a manga by Osamu Tezuka that was published between 1981and 1986. It was adapted into a animation in 2000.
The title tree in the sun represents Japan as Fujita Toko, dialectician of Mito school, presents the hero of the manga Ibuya Manjiro.
When Westerners in search of new markets in Asia took off, Fujita defended the idea of strengthening the rule around the authority of the Emperor through a reform of the system to ensure safety Japan. The shogunate prisoned by old habits and plagued by influential families, was about to fall. Toko gave the name of this "tree in the sun."
I was very impressed by this animation. This is because it depicted the commitment and efforts of individuals close to us, starting with those who studied Western sciences and those who have helped to position Japan in the international arena. Without them I probably would not have lived abroad. It is also from the second half of the nineteenth century that the Japanese began to emigrate.
After discovering this manga, I got more interested in Osamu Tezuka. I read several documents about him and read his work. When I most want to know more about him, I had the opportunity to visit Japan.
During this trip, I went in his hometown of Takarazuka. I visited the museum dedicated to him, saw a play that Takarazuka has influenced him (all roles are played by women) and I went to his grave. I was also moved by the graves of Ryoan Tezuka, the great grandfather of Osamu Tezuka, and Ogata Koan, characters found in the tree in the sun.
The work which you have before you, entitled "Looking for the tree in the sun" could actually be interpreted as "a quest of Japan."
"Japan", what is it?
When you live a long time abroad, it is a question that often arises. As is invariably the case for someone who lives far from his home country, opportunities to learn about their own country are many and very pleasant. As an inexhaustible subject, there are many things we never address.
Through this exhibition that pays tribute to Tezuka Osamu, I learned lot of things through the work of the cartoonist.
This year a coalition government led by the Democratic Party has emerged. This is the first time since 1993, when another coalition government led by Morihiro Hosokawa took business management without the participation of the Liberal Democratic Party has dominated politics since 1955. The Tree of the Sun is a work that addresses issues similar to those now encountered in this period of political change and i would like to share with many people.
This quest for the tree in the sun, a tribute to the tree in the sun and its author, has turned into a chronicle of my own quest of Japan.
What I would tell you with all these photos is Japan is the result of a mixture of elements from abroad and elements from different periods that remain strong today. Suffice it to say that this looks like a spider web dense and complex.
In this assembly, I mixed up the shots because I wanted to create intimate feelings between different images. I did not choose one mode of expression as a regular series, I wanted to create a feeling inside which several modes of expression telescopes. As the complete work, it is rather bleak. One has the impression of a certain stagnation and to some extent, one sees a dark side. In fact, for Japanese it is difficult to say that what was photographed in cemeteries and yasukuni shrines is an interest.
Apart from Osamu Tezuka and some of his characters that can be seen from time to time, one wonders if this assembly is really a homage I pay him.
He is the author of some 700 works which include Astro Boy, Princess Knight, King Leo, Jack Black or Phoenix, the firebird.
We tend to say that his representative works are few. Yet Osamu Tezuka had often said that he noticed the flaws of a work from the moment he had finished. Thus, it was decided to consider it as a work of the past and not as his own work at the time.
What attracts me in his work is that in addition to numerous appearances as a character in his stories, most of his autobiographical works are fascinating. The common thread between the works of Tezuka and my work is autobiographical dimension and the fact that I appear often on my shots. We can bring our modes of visual expression, even if everyone adds a personal touch.
I visited the Yasukuni shrine closely linked to the Second World War, an event that has most marked Osamu Tezuka. I visited the Meiji shrine is where the Emperor of this new era after the tree in the sun. Then I went to Kobe, a city where many Japanese immigated out from in the change of era and has experienced the worst earthquake in Japan's history. Finally I walked through Eisei Bunko Museum which presents works of art and historical documents forwarded by the Hosokawa family originating in Kumamoto. Like the tea bowls made by the descendant of this family Morihiro Hosokawa who was also the head of the first coalition government without the Liberal Democratic Party, I wanted to show that culture and the Japan that I rubbed shoulders during my stay.
With this assembly, bearing in mind the concept of "life" that dominates the work of Tezuka, I explored the past that continues to exist in the present, I observed that Japan is moving towards the future and I have wondered about the relationship with the state, politicians, artists, ordinary people, individuals and self.
It is of course impossible to describe about 140 years in a work done in about ten days, but I am glad, if I could provide a opening through these images.
It made me want to create other works based on this way. For that, I would like to thank Espace Japon and Claude Leblanc.
In the Japanese version of Wikipedia, we read about the tree in the sun, as follows:
"The tree in the sun (Hidamari no ki) is a manga by Osamu Tezuka that was published between 1981and 1986. It was adapted into a animation in 2000.
The title tree in the sun represents Japan as Fujita Toko, dialectician of Mito school, presents the hero of the manga Ibuya Manjiro.
When Westerners in search of new markets in Asia took off, Fujita defended the idea of strengthening the rule around the authority of the Emperor through a reform of the system to ensure safety Japan. The shogunate prisoned by old habits and plagued by influential families, was about to fall. Toko gave the name of this "tree in the sun."
I was very impressed by this animation. This is because it depicted the commitment and efforts of individuals close to us, starting with those who studied Western sciences and those who have helped to position Japan in the international arena. Without them I probably would not have lived abroad. It is also from the second half of the nineteenth century that the Japanese began to emigrate.
After discovering this manga, I got more interested in Osamu Tezuka. I read several documents about him and read his work. When I most want to know more about him, I had the opportunity to visit Japan.
During this trip, I went in his hometown of Takarazuka. I visited the museum dedicated to him, saw a play that Takarazuka has influenced him (all roles are played by women) and I went to his grave. I was also moved by the graves of Ryoan Tezuka, the great grandfather of Osamu Tezuka, and Ogata Koan, characters found in the tree in the sun.
The work which you have before you, entitled "Looking for the tree in the sun" could actually be interpreted as "a quest of Japan."
"Japan", what is it?
When you live a long time abroad, it is a question that often arises. As is invariably the case for someone who lives far from his home country, opportunities to learn about their own country are many and very pleasant. As an inexhaustible subject, there are many things we never address.
Through this exhibition that pays tribute to Tezuka Osamu, I learned lot of things through the work of the cartoonist.
This year a coalition government led by the Democratic Party has emerged. This is the first time since 1993, when another coalition government led by Morihiro Hosokawa took business management without the participation of the Liberal Democratic Party has dominated politics since 1955. The Tree of the Sun is a work that addresses issues similar to those now encountered in this period of political change and i would like to share with many people.
This quest for the tree in the sun, a tribute to the tree in the sun and its author, has turned into a chronicle of my own quest of Japan.
What I would tell you with all these photos is Japan is the result of a mixture of elements from abroad and elements from different periods that remain strong today. Suffice it to say that this looks like a spider web dense and complex.
In this assembly, I mixed up the shots because I wanted to create intimate feelings between different images. I did not choose one mode of expression as a regular series, I wanted to create a feeling inside which several modes of expression telescopes. As the complete work, it is rather bleak. One has the impression of a certain stagnation and to some extent, one sees a dark side. In fact, for Japanese it is difficult to say that what was photographed in cemeteries and yasukuni shrines is an interest.
Apart from Osamu Tezuka and some of his characters that can be seen from time to time, one wonders if this assembly is really a homage I pay him.
He is the author of some 700 works which include Astro Boy, Princess Knight, King Leo, Jack Black or Phoenix, the firebird.
We tend to say that his representative works are few. Yet Osamu Tezuka had often said that he noticed the flaws of a work from the moment he had finished. Thus, it was decided to consider it as a work of the past and not as his own work at the time.
What attracts me in his work is that in addition to numerous appearances as a character in his stories, most of his autobiographical works are fascinating. The common thread between the works of Tezuka and my work is autobiographical dimension and the fact that I appear often on my shots. We can bring our modes of visual expression, even if everyone adds a personal touch.
I visited the Yasukuni shrine closely linked to the Second World War, an event that has most marked Osamu Tezuka. I visited the Meiji shrine is where the Emperor of this new era after the tree in the sun. Then I went to Kobe, a city where many Japanese immigated out from in the change of era and has experienced the worst earthquake in Japan's history. Finally I walked through Eisei Bunko Museum which presents works of art and historical documents forwarded by the Hosokawa family originating in Kumamoto. Like the tea bowls made by the descendant of this family Morihiro Hosokawa who was also the head of the first coalition government without the Liberal Democratic Party, I wanted to show that culture and the Japan that I rubbed shoulders during my stay.
With this assembly, bearing in mind the concept of "life" that dominates the work of Tezuka, I explored the past that continues to exist in the present, I observed that Japan is moving towards the future and I have wondered about the relationship with the state, politicians, artists, ordinary people, individuals and self.
It is of course impossible to describe about 140 years in a work done in about ten days, but I am glad, if I could provide a opening through these images.
It made me want to create other works based on this way. For that, I would like to thank Espace Japon and Claude Leblanc.
