For the solo exhibition “River” by Chikashi Kasai. 

 

For the past several years, I have been watching the expression of the river that Kasai photographs on a daily basis.

During that time, there have been the Olympic Games, changing political leaders, and the rise and fall of various worldly affairs, but the river has continued to flow.

All the while, I have continued to make suits, which is my profession, but my life has been much more subdued than the ups and downs of my life as a designer. I would check his expression on the river today on Instagram, turn on the iron, and make the pockets. If a designer's job is to create a signature of commonality in the seasonal changes, a tailor's job may be to find subtle improvements in a job that doesn't change much. An old tailor once said on the occasion of his retirement “Tailoring is a job where tomorrow will be just a little bit better than today.”

 

 One of my favorite episodes is the story of the Dalai Lama who met a Christian priest in Spain who had gone on a retreat for 10 years without seeing anyone and asked him “What did you gain from your training?” And he answered “I gained nothing, but I understood that living is not so good or so bad.” The Dalai Lama was so impressed that he bowed his hands in prayer before the priest.

 

 In the movie “adaptation,” the nerdy scriptwriter played by Nicolas Cage pleads “I don't want a Hollywood storyline. In reality, there aren't many stories about sex, gunfights, heroes who succeed against all odds, and that kind of thing.”

 

 I love Nick Drake, the British folk singer who died prematurely, and I love playing his eponymous song “River Man.” This is the only song that I forget my tone deaf and sing along to. The reason why I can sing this song with emotion is not only because of the skillful chord structure, but also because the lyrics are very meaningless. The lyrics are about “I” and a man named River Man who lends and borrows a car with no subject, or about plans for the season of lilacs. However, this is where the life and scenery of the riverside area come to life in an imaginative way, and the lack of drama gives birth to a poetic sentiment. I remember leaving the theater after watching Jim Jarmusch's “Stranger Than Paradise” with an indescribable feeling of joy. It was not a feeling of returning from the extraordinary to the ordinary like in other films, but a feeling of returning from the ordinary to the ordinary, but the ordinary was different from what it was before I saw the film. It was a “little bit” but at the same time it was very rich, like feelings rising up very slowly. 

 

 I could imagine that those who saw his exhibition “River” will leave the venue with a similar feeling and a grin on their faces.

 And their daily life will seem a little richer, and the words they say to the person next to them may be a little gentler.

 

Taishi Nobukuni (Tailor / Designer)