Life Tips & Miscellaneous Travel and History Zen Philosophy and History Art and Sport Navigation of this blog
Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial
The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale is one of the world’s largest international art festivals, held every three years since its inception in 2000. As the name “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale” suggests, it is one of the world’s largest contemporary art festivals, using a vast area of about 760 km² of nature as its canvas, and is held in the satoyama region of Tokamachi City and Tsunan Town in Niigata Prefecture.
The festival is based on the idea that “humans are part of nature,” and the vast satoyama areas of Tokamachi City and Tsunan Town, Niigata Prefecture, will be the stage for outdoor installations that utilize the local landscape and history, including terraced rice paddies, tunnels, and abandoned school buildings, creating a unique space where the memory of the land and art become one. The festival is also characterized by its unique combination of art and the memory of the local area.
One of the major features of the festival is the collaboration between local residents and farmers and a diverse range of artists, including those from overseas. The 2025 festival will be held as a “summer festival.
The 2025 Summer-Autumn Program will run from July 19 to November 9, and the museum will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture
Tokamachi City in Niigata Prefecture, the center of the Triennale, is located in the southern part of Niigata Prefecture in central Japan, and is characterized by the rich nature of the Shinano River basin and heavy snowfall.
Tokamachi City is known as the birthplace of Kaen-gata earthenware, and is home to many Jomon-era sites, including the Sasayama and Sangamura ruins.
It was an important center of Jomon culture and a place where people lived in harmony with nature. In the medieval period, it was a part of Echigo Province, under the rule of Kenshin Uesugi and other warring feudal lords, and during the Edo Period, it was also a place where the production of Echigo shrinkage (Echigo chijimi) flourished.
Echigo chijimi is designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan. It was spread throughout Japan via the Hokuriku Highway.
Incidentally, when Mito Komon was traveling around the country, he was temporarily portrayed as “Mitsuemon, a retired chirimen wholesaler in Echigo.” This merchant, whom Mito Komon encountered during his travels in Echigo early in the series, was a greedy and scheming villain, and even Kimon-sama and his party were mistaken for him and had rocks thrown at them, The story goes that Kimon-sama and his party were mistaken for him and had a rough time, including having stones thrown at them, but were later persuaded by Kimon-sama himself to change their ways, and that until then he had simply called himself “just a traveling hermit,” but after this episode he began to call himself “Echigo no-”.
Spots for Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial
- Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art MonET: Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art MonET is the base facility for the triennial Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture, with a corridor-shaped space designed by architect Hiroshi Hara + Atelier Fai and a large water basin “Palimpsest: empty pond” in the courtyard. The building has a distinctive structure centering on a large water basin in the courtyard, “Palimpsest: Pond in the Sky.
The permanent collection consists of about 16 works, covering artists from Japan and abroad, including Yusuke Asai, Leandro Erlich (representative work “Palimpsest”), Kohei Nawa, and Ilya & Emilia Kabakov.
Approximately a 10-minute walk from Tokamachi Station.
- Kiyotsukyo Tunnel, Tunnel of Light: Kiyotsukyo Gorge Tunnel, “Tunnel of Light” (Cave of Light) is a 750m long tunnel art renovated for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2018. It is a place where visitors can enjoy a special experience combining spectacular nature and art.
From Echigo Yuzawa Station, take the Minami-Echigo Kanko Bus bound for Morimiyanohara Station→get off at Kiyotsukyo Iriguchi→30 min. walk (approx. 3 km).
- Matsudai Nohbutai Field Museum: Located in the Matsudai area of Echigo-Tsumari, Matsudai Nohbutai Field Museum is an outdoor art spot that plays a central role in the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale. The museum is centered around a white building by Dutch architectural unit MVRDV that seems to float in the satoyama, and includes a gallery space, the Echigo-Matsudai Satoyama Restaurant, and a museum store, as well as a 2km-long outdoor art walkway.
Directly connected to Matsudai Station on the Hokuhoku Line.
- Hachi & Seizo Tashima Museum of Picture Books and Fruits: “Hachi & Seizo Tashima Museum of Picture Books and Fruits” is a “spatial picture book museum” set in the former Sanada Elementary School. The world of Seizo Tashima’s picture book “Gakko wa Karappo ni Nai nai” (The School Will Never Be Empty) is vividly spread throughout the school building as an interactive art facility.
Approximately 25 minutes by car from MonET or Tokamachi Station.
- House of Light: The House of Light is a residential installation by American light master James Turrell, created for the first Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial in 2000, and since then it has become a permanent art installation that can be experienced. Since then, it has become a permanent art installation that can be experienced.
Approximately 20 minutes by car from Tokamachi Station and Nohbutai.
Access & Stay
The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale can be reached by taking the Joetsu Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station in about 1 hour and 20 minutes, and the Hokuetsu Kyuko Hoku-Hoku line from Echigo-Yuzawa Station to Tokamachi Station in about 30 minutes.
Since this is a wide-area event, it is recommended that visitors spend two to three days to enjoy the festival in a relaxed atmosphere. A model course is suggested for two days and one night, visiting the Tokamachi and Nakasato areas on the first day and the Matsudai and Matsunoyama areas on the second day. Official bus tours to and from Echigo Yuzawa Station are also available, and a variety of lodging options are available, including local minshuku, traditional private house lodging, and campgrounds. Local gourmet foods (Satoyama buffet, etc.) can also be enjoyed.
The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale is a place where visitors can enjoy Satoyama art as well as seaside art as described in the Setouchi International Art Festival.
コメント