Date: October 12 (Sat) - November 4 (Mon & Hol), 2024
Venue: Yoshinoyama, Yoshino-cho, Nara Prefecture
Fee: Free
Organizers: Yoshino Town, General incorporated association Yoshino Visitors Bureau
Co-organizers: Yoshino Omine World Heritage 20th Anniversary Commemorative Project Council (Nara
Prefecture, Yoshino Town, Yoshino Town Board of Education, Kinpusenji Temple, Yoshinoyama Residents’
Association, Yoshinoyama Tourist Association, Yoshinoyama Hoshoukai, 22nd Century Yoshino Cherry Blossom
Appreciation Society, Nara Visitors Bureau, Yoshino Visitors Bureau, Nanto Bank,Kintetsu Railway, Nara
Kotsu Bus Lines, Okamura Printing Industries, Nara Toyota, Modern Nara Association, Nara Cultural
Exchange Organization, Nara newspaper, TOPPAN, Central Japan Railway Company, Yoshino Chapter of the
Japan Post Association, Nara Sake Brewers Association, Junior Chamber International YOSHINO (names in no
particular order)
Special Cooperation｜Embassy of Switzerland in Japan, Science and Technology Office Tokyo
Cooperation｜EIWA JITSUGYO Ltd., OHTANI LUMBER CO., LTD., HACHIKAN by NIHON REIT CO., LTD., Peatix Japan
K.K., HOUEI FORESTRY Ltd., Yoshino Chuo Mokuzai Co., Ltd., General Incorporated Association Living with
Yoshino
Producer/Artist：
Seiichi Saito (Panoramatiks Principal)
Participating Artists (in Japanese kana order)：
Fumihiko Sano 、SKWAT (Keisuke Nakamura, Masato Iwasaki, Masaki Jo)
Marcus Maeder 、Ai Yamada
MIND TRAIL 奥大和 心のなかの美術館｜Photo：スタジオシュガール
“YOSHINO 20 ART FESTIVAL Context of MIND TRAIL” invites you to explore the history and culture of
Yoshino, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its registration as a World Heritage site. As you
walk through the atmospheric streets of the temple town surrounding Kinpusenji Temple, you can
experience this rich heritage through the lens of various artworks.
“MIND TRAIL OKUYAMATO - Museum in your mind,” held annually from 2020 to 2023, will be remembered fondly
in Yoshino, the heart of mountain worship.
This year’s art festival continues the theme from last year’s “MIND TRAIL,” presenting "Competency/The
Strength of Community."
This is not merely an art festival for viewing works; rather, it is an experience where artists immerse
themselves in the land of Yoshino, collaborating with local residents and various visitors to create
artworks. These works are designed to evolve alongside the environment and the audience, serving as a
lens through which the region's nature and history are explored, ultimately offering insights to a
diverse range of people.
We warmly invite you to Yoshino, where you can rediscover its charm through art, exploring its rich
history and cultural context.
Photo：Muryo Honma (Rhizomatiks)
Creative Director | Panoramatiks Principal
Born in Kanagawa in 1975. Saito began his career in New York in 2000 after graduating from Columbia University with a Master of Science degree in Advanced Architectural Design (MSAAD). He returned to Japan after being selected as an artist for Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2003. After working as a freelance designer, he established Rhizomatiks Co., Ltd. (currently Abstract Engine Co., Ltd.) in 2006. Leading the internal architecture department Panoramatiks, he is working as a planning and implementation advisor on a number of projects for local communities led by governments and corporations, as well as solutions for cultural, tourism, and industrial issues. He was the Creative Advisor of Expo 2020 Dubai Japan Pavilion and is the EXPO Co-creation Program Director for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
And he is the Chairperson of GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2023,2024.
https://panoramatiks.com/
https://www.instagram.com/panoramatiks/
Photo：Kenta Matsusaka
Born in Nara Prefecture in 1981. He apprenticed himself as a carpenter to master sukiya architect Nakamura Sotoji Komuten, and after completing his apprenticeship he became independent in 2011. 2016 he was appointed as a Cultural Envoy by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to 16 countries around the world, where he engaged with local cultures and undertook a number of projects. With the skills and sensitivities gained from his unique experience, he works across disciplines from architecture to art. Major exhibitions include "MOT satellite" at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (2017) and "Visionaries" at Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art (2023). Major awards include "EDIDA 2014 ELLE DECO Young Japanese Design Talent" (2014), "FRAME AWARD: Emerging Designer of the Year" (2022), and "Single-Brand store of the Year" (2023) and others.
http://fumihikosano.jp/
https://www.instagram.com/fumihikosanostudio/
SKWAT began in 2019 as an initiative to temporarily occupy unused urban spaces and open them to the public. Currently, they are expanding their efforts beyond physical spaces, extending to online platforms and public broadcasting, where they engage in community building and communication activities. In addition to core members with diverse backgrounds, the team is organized flexibly, collaborating with various individuals on a project-by-project basis. Their methods include exhibitions, publications, sales, and lectures, each focusing on the transformation of value derived from incomplete or imperfect things.
https://linktr.ee/SKWAT
https://www.instagram.com/skwat.site/
Marcus Maeder is an artist, researcher and composer of electronic music. Maeder studied Fine Arts at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences HSLU, Philosophy at the Fernuniversität in Hagen and completed his PhD in Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zürich. He has been working as a researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST) of the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK since 2005. Marcus Maeder is visiting scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Landscape and Snow Research WSL and currently holds a position as Humboldt Research Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin. In his research, Maeder is working on bioacoustic and ecoacoustic investigations of areas, communities and organisms under the influence of climate change and other environmental issues. He contextualises his scientific work in the fields of Acoustic and Soundscape Ecology, as well as Artistic Research. Marcus Maeder’s art is located in the field of envrionmental and ecological art.
https://marcusmaeder.ch/
https://www.instagram.com/marcus_maeder/
Photo：Ryo Kawano
Born in Kyoto, 1992. Born and raised in a stone store founded in the Edo period. Finished post graduate studies in Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts, 2017. She explores perspectives that transcend our physical bodies and consciousness. Through her installations using stones and drawings, she aims to evoke experiences that take individuals back to a primordial moment. Selected exhibitions: Setouchi Triennale (Takamijima, 2019), The 26th Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art (TARO OKAMOTO MUSEUM of ART, KAWASAKI, 2023), ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO (The Kyoto Shimbun Bldg., Kyoto, 2024).
https://yamadaai.com/
https://www.instagram.com/_yamada_ai_/
*For more information about the works, please check the social networking sites.
During the art festival, tours and other events led by producers and artists will also be held.
Please check the Peatix page for details and to apply.
Event Schedule
・October 13 (Sun) 10:00 - 12:00 Producer & Artist Tour
・October 19 (Sat) 14:00 - 15:30 Artist Tour
・November 4 (Sun) 10:00 - 11:30 Artist Tour
※Participation fee: 500 JPY, limited to 20 participants per session
For details and reservations, please visit：https://peatix.com/?lang=ja-jp
The painting titled "Fine Rain on Mt. Yoshino," created by the renowned artist Hobun Kikuchi, known as the "Master of Cherry Blossoms," is depicted on a six-panel folding screen. Please watch the video filmed and recorded in Yoshino, depicting the environment in which this artwork was likely conceived.
This film was created by the "Tokyo Creative Salon", a festival of creativity held during the cherry blossom season in Tokyo, in collaboration with the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, which houses "Fine Rain on Mt. Yoshino." The film was screened within the installation space during the event. This broadcast serves as a homecoming screening of the footage.
Location: Chikurin-in Gumpoen
