Introduction to Art Archive XXIV: The 40th Anniversary of the Death of Junzaburo Nishiwaki: Wandering with Flora
Following a donation in 2010 of materials related to Nishiwaki by Toshikazu Niikura (then Professor Emeritus, Meiji Gakuin University, and a scholar of English-language literature) the Keio University Art Center has maintained and managed the Junzaburo Nishiwaki Collection as an archive since 2012. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Nishiwaki’s passing and to highlight his creative process, the Art Center has put together “Wandering with Flora,” named so for how the poet would take long walks and be inspired to create poetic worlds from the wildflowers that lined his path.
Date
Exhibition: Monday, January 16 – Friday, March 17, 2023 / 11:00–18:00
(Closed on Saturday, Sunday, Holidays)
Venue
Keio University Art Center
[Keio University Mita Campus South Annex]
Audience
Everyone welcome
Cost
Free participation
Enquiries and bookings
Keio University Art Center
+81-3-5427-1621
pj.ca.oiek.tsda@ijnet-ca
Exhibition［Introduction to Archives XXIV］
Date
Exhibition: Monday, January 16 – Friday, March 17, 2023 / 11:00–18:00
(Closed on Saturday, Sunday, Holidays)
Venue
Keio University Art Space
2-15-45, Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8345
Tel. 03-5427-1621 Fax. 03-5427-1620
JR: Tamachi station on Yamanote - and KeihinTohoku Line
Subway: Mita station on Mita Line, Akabanebashi station on Oedo Line
Audience
Everyone welcome
Cost
Free participation
Enquiries and bookings
Keio University Art Center
+81-3-5427-1621
pj.ca.oiek.tsda@ijnet-ca
Organiser(s)
Organised by: Keio University Art Center
Visitor Information
The Keio University Art Space is a small exhibition room. If you wish to schedule a group of 15 or more people for a student field trip or other group, please contact the Art Center in advance. We will prepare leaflets and other material to make sure that your visit goes as smoothly as possible. We also ask that everyone in your group take care not to distract or inconvenience other visitors while at the exhibition. You will need to coordinate with the Art Center in advance if you plan to conduct a class or other activities for a field trip in the Keio University Art Space. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Junzaburo Nishiwaki, the 40th anniversary of whose death is being commemorated in 2022, had a substantial influence on contemporary Japanese poetry throughout the pre- and post-war eras. Nishiwaki’s extensive legacy in verse, prose, and poetic theory introduced him to the world as a “creator of new ways of thinking.” His works remain vibrant even in the 21st century.
This exhibition focuses on the two keywords of “walking” and “flora,” so that visitors are able to take a deep dive into Nishiwaki’s poetic world. Nishiwaki was known to walk in the Mita district of Minato City where he taught, in his home neighborhoods of Shirokanedai, Shibuya, Yoyogi, and throughout the metropolis of Tokyo. He also walked in Setagaya and along the banks of the Tama river, meeting and interacting with the people he found there. As he walked, what would normally be unremarkable wildflowers would give rise to vivid and mysterious sounds in his mind, which in turn would be given life in his poems. Through the process of “walking” or rather “movement in space,” he would take these weeds in hand, press them, dry them, and turn them into “oshibana” art, producing poetic imagery that engaged all five of the senses and became a testament to his ability to foster an immersive creative world. The Keio Art Center would be delighted if visitors take the time to appreciate Nishiwaki’s artistic output with a renewed awareness of the fundamental role played by “walking” and “flora” in the art of this poet who sought after the “visionary” who transcends time and space, connecting images throughout all eternity.