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A dragon, the god of water, perches on a radiant sphere
Installed on the site where a lighthouse once stood, this imposing work has become the symbol of Sakate Port.
Light up from after sundown to around 23:30.
A Japanese contemporary artist known for his upbeat yet dystopian artwork. His sculpture simulates consumer products designed for survival after a nuclear holocaust.
He is a professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He is also the director of Ultra Factory there.
He was born in Ibaraki City, Osaka. After graduating from high school, he studied at Kyoto City University of Arts in 1989, majoring in sculpture. After studying at the Royal College of Art in England for a short time, he completed the Graduate School of Kyoto City University of Arts in 1991.
A contemporary art festival held every three years on several islands in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan and the coastal cities of Takamatsu and Tamano. The festival was inaugurated in 2010 with the aim of revitalizing the Seto Inland Sea area, which has suffered from depopulation in recent years. The festival features over 150 artworks by artists from both Japan and overseas, many of whom make use of abandoned homes to host or even become their art installations. He Triennale lasts for eight months with three main sessions; the spring session runs from March to mid-April, the summer session runs from mid-July to early September, and the autumn session runs from October to early November.
While several of the museums and installations are permanent exhibitions, many of the smaller islands offer temporary exhibitions limited to a single session.
The eight islands of Japan sprang into existence through Divine Intervention.The first two gods who came into existence were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, the Exalted Male and Exalted Female. It was their job to make the land for people to live on.They went to the bridge between heaven and earth and, using a jewel-encrusted halberd, Izanagi and Izanami churned up the sea into a frothy foam. As salty drips of water fell from the tip of the halberd the first island was formed. Its name was Onogoro.So far, so good. But when Izanagi and Izanami first met on their island, Izanami spoke to Isanagi without being spoken to first. Since she was the female, and this was improper, their first union created badly-formed offspring who were sent off into the sea in boats.The next time they met, Izanagi was sure to speak first, ensuring the proper rules were followed, and this time they produced eight children, which became the islands of Japan.I'm sure you did not fail to miss the significance of this myth for the establishment of Japanese formal society.At present, Japan is the financial capital of Asia. It has the second largest economy in the world and the largest metropolitan area (Tokyo.)Technically there are three thousand islands making up the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami must have been busy little devils with their jewelled halberd...Japan's culture is highly technical and organized. Everything sparkles and swooshes on silent, miniaturized mechanisms.They're a world leader in robotics, and the Japanese have the longest life-expectancy on earth.Text by Steve Smith.
