■ Remarks on the Collection Exhibition
Dyeing artist Tagawa Kaku (deceased) of Marugame, Japan, stencil-dyed "Uta" by Nakano Shigeharu on Japanese paper (Note 1).
When we held an exhibition of Nakagawa Yukio's works at our gallery in 2004, we thought of presenting it to the artist as a token of our appreciation.
According to "Hana Nikki: Showa Ikebana Warring States History" by Hayasaka Akira, when Nakagawa Yukio moved to Tokyo at the age of 37 (1956), he sent a telegram to Handa Utako in Hakata, Kyushu, from the Marugame post office, saying "Yukio waiting in Tokyo", and wrote Nakano Shigeharu's "Song" on the train in place of a letter.
Nakagawa, who had resonated with the echoes of the line from "Uta" throughout his life, "Sing the song just before it comes, pushing up the tip of your chest," passed away at the age of 93.
The work, which was dyed on Japanese paper, remained on the wall of the gallery and brought us this small collection exhibition, like a "will" as a delusion.
Gallery owner Yamashita Takashi
(Note 1) "Song" by Shigeharu Nakano
You do not sing.
You do not sing of the flowers in red and the feathers of the dragonfly
You do not sing of the whisper of the wind or the smell of a woman's hair
All the sullen things
All the furtive things
And all that is vain, be banished!
Reject all ostracism!
Let it be honest.
Let it be a source of food for the belly
Sing a song about the very edge of your heart
Sing a song that rebounds from being beaten
Sing a song that draws courage from the depths of shame
Sing those songs
Sing them in harsh rhyme with your throats puffed out
Let these songs
Into the bosoms of all who pass by