INDEX
Crafting Uniqueness: Kishomaru on Creating in a World of Beloved Works
What defines a ‘work physically connected to resonate with this place and these people’?
Mifune: “A work that is part of the everyday, but that also manages to transcend the everyday. For example, in the case of a photograph, there is the intention to not only capture what is there, but also to capture what is there from the perspective of Mr. Kichijomaru, if it is Mr. Kichijomaru, or me, if it is me. If I were you, I would have the intention to photograph what was there from your point of view, and if I were you, I would have the intention to photograph what was there from my point of view.
Aspiring to surpass the ordinary. In which moments does this intention come to fruition?
Mifune: When I am taking pictures or thinking about a song, a certain scene comes to mind, and I sometimes feel a strong primal will to reach it. Poetry, too, is ultimately output as language, but I rather have a nonverbal image board at first, which I later put into words. I take pictures, play instruments, and sing songs because I want to capture the moment. You might think that my work is message-driven, but in fact, it begins with a very non-verbal and vague image.
Kichijomaru: I also have many vague concepts that I am always thinking about in parallel in my mind, and when I happen to connect with the right time and the right people, they become concrete projects such as fragrance brands, ramen noodles, and galleries. Perhaps it is the same as Mr. Mifune’s, something non-verbal and ambiguous that is at the root of my ideas.
Mifune: I already have an idea of what I want to create, so I just have to do it. More specifically, my intention turns into an idea, and before I know it, I have started to create something. To use a simple analogy, in my case, there are always about 10 trains of ideas running, and I am always driving one of them. And when that train is about to reach its destination, I jump on the train running next to it. At the end of the day, I can leave it alone and it will go to its destination on its own.
“Juvenile” had been running next to me for about 10 years, but I never had a chance to jump on it. But when I went to Germany, the moment that the “personal discovery and joy” I mentioned earlier applied to me, I felt like I could do it now! And I jumped on board in a hurry.
Kichijomaru: The expression “jumping on a running train” is interesting. To borrow the train example, I think it is possible that the trains are actually running on the same track when you look back at them. When I exhibit, I research papers, history, and past works by other artists related to the concept. For example, I may find a work in a photograph I took intuitively long ago that has the same scent as the concept I was thinking of at the time. I feel that trains do not always run on the same track, but rather cross, split, and change from time to time.
Mifune: There are times when trains are connected, as if by magic. In fact, the song “Closer” in “8” was written at the beginning of Corona with the idea of creating a song that could be danced to, but I didn’t feel like I could sing it for three years in a world where I couldn’t dance, so I didn’t release it. But when Corona dawned in 2023, I felt that I had to include it in “8” as if it were a puzzle that fit together. Somehow the lyrics also fit “Juvenile” perfectly.
It feels like you’re unconsciously being pulled towards the train.”
Mifune: I guess I am no longer driving the train. If anything, I am being controlled by the train (laughs).
Kichijomaru: That may be so. This is connected to what I said earlier about the intention at the starting point of creating works, but there are moments when it becomes clear to me why I have to do it, even though there are already musicians and photographers in the world that I like. The moment when you realize that you are compelled to take this picture rather than that you have to take it ……. I realize that I am the only one who can see the beauty in this place at this moment. By connecting that ambiguous and intuitive thing with the concepts and thoughts of the work I have been thinking about, I think I am able to create the work.
Mifune: To borrow a phrase from Mr. Kichijomaru, it is whether or not you can notice a little magic in the world that only you can notice. And once we become aware of it, we amplify the charm of that “magic in the world” by creating songs, taking photographs, and outputting it through our own perspectives and intentions.
