Welcoming Spring on Ogijima
Hello everyone,
Spring is here, finally, and so are pollen allergies. I spent most of my life without allergies, but after 10 years in Japan, my body gave in like almost everyone else.
But that is not our topic today, our topic is a short trip I took to Ogijima last Friday. I hadn't been there for a long time, but it was the first day of spring and the first warm day of 2025. It was 18-19°C, even though it was 8°C two days before - and it was 25°C last weekend. Just like everywhere else on the planet, the weather has gone crazy. But let's take advantage of the few good days this craziness is giving us.
The goals for the day were to spend some time outside and in nature, to reacquaint myself with the island, to catch up with my islander friends and to get a glimpse of the new art, and all goals were achieved.
After a small walk around the village, it was time to do a complete walk around the island. If you want to do this and you're a bit out of shape, like I am at the moment 🙁, it's easier to start at the top of the village and walk around the island counterclockwise. Just so you know.
There is a truly spectacular view of the Seto Inland Sea from the east coast of Ogijima:
As you walk around the island, you may notice these walls in the forest and wonder why they are there:
What we don't realize much today is that the island is completely terraced, and that until about the 1960s there was almost no forest on the island, it was all fields. Then, when depopulation reached critical mass, most of the fields were abandoned (the few that are not are now right next to the village) and the forest grew back in just a few decades.
Before the Setouchi Triennale revived the island, Ogijima was really only famous for two things. Its lighthouse (one of the few remaining stone lighthouses in Japan) and the daffodils that grow in the northern part of the island. They are still in bloom, but that won't last long, they're a winter flower:
I'll let you in on a secret. Although daffodils are common on the island today, they're not native. They were planted by the islanders several decades ago in an attempt to attract people to their island, which no one cared about before. For as long as I've known the island, there has been a daffodil festival every winter that attracts many people from Takamatsu.
The lighthouse:
It was built in the late 19th century (during the Meiji Restoration, with the help of British architects, if I'm right) and it's still standing and still working (it's automated now and has been for a long time).
One can have surprising encounters on the island:
This is a (part of a) wild boar skull. There are a lot of them on the island, and while they prefer to hide from humans, an encounter with a live one is always possible (I have encountered two or three over the years). This one is not dangerous. In fact, I suspect that the skull was placed there by a human, and I think I know which human: my friend Kaisho, who is the official boar hunter - and butcher - of the island. The skull was next to one of his chicken coops. 😃
I've been fascinated by this tree and vine for years, but I think this is the first time I've taken a picture of it:
At the fishing port, one of the few remaining painted boats from the OGI Project (2013-2019) by Team OGI:
This boat wasn't so lucky (it's been there for more than two years, I should check my archives, I think I have older pictures when it was in better shape):
After such a walk, it was time for a nap on my "secret beach" (it's not really secret, it's just that visitors usually don't walk far enough to find it). This was my view during my nap:
Other than that, I spent time with friends I hadn't seen in a long time.
I also got to meet one of the new artists who is spending the month building her installation on the island (the others haven't arrived yet). No pictures yet though, sorry.
I still have a few days of vacation left, so maybe I will make another trip to an island soon (as well as another one to Ogijima).
News and Links
Not much news and links today.
But I have one important one. The official site finally has the list of all the artworks (new and returning) that will be part of the Setouchi Triennale 2025 in English. The descriptions are still being translated as I write, but you can see their names, authors, images or drawings, and locations.
(The redesign and navigation of the site is not great in my opinion, but the art is there).
A small post from the Koebi blog showing the volunteers cleaning up the site of the former Onba factory, which will host a new artwork this year.
https://www.koebi.jp/news/report/entry-4026.html
If you've been to Ogijima or have been following me for a while, you know that Onba Factory (2009-2022) was one of the most important and meaningful projects of the entire Triennale. It was one of the projects that best combined art and local culture, and its director, Yoshifumi Oshima, was instrumental in launching the success story that is Ogijima's revitalization.
So it's bittersweet to see the place being used for something else. I'm happy that it won't be left to rot, but sad that it makes the end of the Onba Factory even more real.
Well, that's all for today. The Setouchi Triennale 2025 begins in less than a month, and you can feel it on the islands and in the port.
See you soon, and take care.
Best,
David
