Fiona Lee

29 August 2010

Urada Geino-sai

Today the residents of Australia House attended the Urada Autumn Festival called the Urada Geino-sai. We were invited by Hisae Takasawa-san to participate in this long-running community event.

This event was held in the Urada Elementary School gym and was well attended by the local community. At the beginning of proceedings Iizuka-san introduced us to the audience and the Australians introduced ourselves in Japanese (something we have done many times now and are getting very good at it!)

Traditionally this festival showcases a large variety local talent performed by elderly people, mothers, kindergarden and junior high school children and groups of young males and females. Today, we saw some women play the Japanese harp, karaoke, traditional songs and dances including Japanese drumming which was a favourite. My favourite of the day though, had to be a gentleman singing and playing a shining shovel like a guitar, known as sukopu shamisen (literal translation: to shovel and Japanese traditional guitar.)

The Australian contingent of Australia House participated in the festival by singing Waltzing Matilda, a classic Australian bush ballad referred to as our unofficial national anthem, written by Banjo Patterson in 1887. We also performed a simple, popular folk dance, called the Heel-Toe polka which is often danced by children.

At 5pm, Kaihatsu-san took us to BankART1929 (number 201 in the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale) where there is over 50 artists work exhibited including Kaihatsu's and an artist in residence. We met artists from South Korea who were travelling a contemporary equivalent to Joseon-Korean diplomatic expeditions from the Edo era and watched a slide show of their journey. It was a beautiful experience sharing food with people from many different cultures and communicating in 3 different languages - all meeting somewhere in the middle.

Children performing

Anne being magician's assistant

Children dancing

Gentleman performing
sukopu syamisen

Nerida Ackland

26 August 2010

Summer Festivities

In the morning we visited the care centre in Urada, "Kibounosato Shotoen". We met with Dr.Uno, the director of the facility and talked with some of the residents. Afterwards we went to a soba house at Matsudai. We enjoyed delicious fresh noodles, and a selection of tempura.

In the afternoon, we discussed arrangements for the workshop. Kitamura san has arrived with extra art making supplies for the children at the workshop.

In the evening, we travelled to Tokamachi for the Summer festival. We were invited by Kojima-san and his wife and we met them at a restaurant for dinner. Our Australian friend, Peter Carnell, who has been teaching english in Tokamachi happened to be celebrating his birthday today, so he joined us for dinner. We sang Happy Birthday and gave him some gifts. After dinner we went out onto the street to watch the fireworks and enjoy the festivities. There were lots of food stalls and carnival games for children. Afterwards we walked to the top of the mountain where the temple was. From there you can see the whole of the city, lit up for the festival.

It was a pleasure to meet with Kojima san, his generosity and kindness will be remembered.

Before Tempura

After Tempura

Kojima-san and his wife
with the group

Peter's Birthday Crepe

Lanterns at the Summer
Festival

A traditional dance
performance. Each resident
of the street received
a different performance
throughout the night.

Keiichi Chigasaki

25 August 2010

My work

Exhibition view

Today, I would like to explain about my work. I have made a darkroom at the Australia House to show my piece.　I am projecting an animation on the wall and have installed some furniture belonging to the Australia House in the middle of the room.

The work expresses the time and history of Urada and that of the Australia House. I have made some drawings incorporating the beautiful landscape, objects and the sounds of Urada which show the slowly passing of time there. Additionally, I hope the work makes people think about the depopulation and the meaning of Art being created in the community.

At the beginning and the end of the animation, the scenes look similar but I have made some slight changes. So I would be delighted if people saw my work paying attention to these changes as well.

Fiona Lee

24 August 2010

The Invitations

The residents of Australia House will have many opportunities to engage with different communities of the Echigo-Tsumari region in the coming week as numerous visitors to Australia House today invited us to different communities and activities.

Early today Iizuka-san brought Shimada Minoru-san from the Tokomachi Local Paper to visit us and see the exhibition. He interviewed Saeko and Hitomi San for a newspaper article and took photographs to accompany the article.

Later, a member of the local council came to Australia House and inspected the work. We are thankful for his attendance and comments.

The director of Hometown of Hope in Urada, which is very near to Australia House, invited us to visit the residents and talk about our artwork and different cultures. We are all looking forward to sharing our experiences and stories on Thursday when we visit.

Later in the day, Yoko Arakawa from Niigata City Art Museum invited us to visit Niigata, where we will be able to meet people from the local area and visit the museum.

Keiichi-san, Noriyo-san and took some time today visit the 20 artworks in Kawanishi. Having time to see other works in the Festival of the Earth and Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale was vital because as artists, it is important to experience international contemporary art, especially when it enables the artists involved to continue the dialogue between artists and the environment that has been a theme for these art events.

In the evening we rehearsed songs we will sing at the 24th Urada Autumn Festival on Sunday 29th August. The festival is called Urada Geino-sai and there will be many Japanese songs, dances and drums. The members of Australia House have been asked by the organising committee to show them some Australian songs and dances.

Noriyo and Keiichi san
with Yoshiko Fujiwara's
work

Self portrait with
Yoshiko Fujiwara's work

Rehearsing songs

Keiichi Chigasaki

24 August 2010

Works we saw today

We saw all the 20 works that are currently open to the public in Kawanishi. There were many great works in this area. We discussed which works were good and why we thought that way.

Then dinner was Tempura. And it was very tasty.

View from the top
of the mountain

Carsten Nicolai's work

Today's dinner

Mandy Francis

23 August 2010

Opening of the Exhibition

Yeh! The exhibition opened today. We all scuttled around in the morning to have the house looking neat and clean and artworks ready for show. And yep…we are all happy with the final results. A few had to stay up all night to make sure everything was right with their work. All the hard work has paid off. It looks fantastic. Visitors started rolling in and taking photos, I hid from view and hoped some photos were taken of my work (I think we all did, as you do). As exhibitions go, all the works were getting their fair share of attention and I did see someone taking a photo of my work. That is such a satisfying feeling... WOW

In the afternoon we had an opening party, were volunteers from the Echigo-Tsumari triennial and other visiting artists came to enjoy the frivolities. We had a barbeque and made hamburgers Aussie style (with pineapple), It was really lovely. After everyone left we all had a practice at singing Waltzing Matilda and a Japanese folk song in preparation for our performance at the community party on the 25th. This then, quickly turned into a sharing both Japanese and Australian popular music on Youtube. Hitomi, Norio, Keiichi and I ended up dancing in the dark to Black Eyed Peas' 'Tonight's gonna be a good night'

But wait there's more: Just to top the day, Hitomi, Saeko and I went to the Onsen and relaxed our weary heads and tired bodies Ahhhh.

Silhouette of Hitomi's work
'A resident of the house'

The opening barbeque

People milling around
Hitomi's work at the opening

A moth landed on my shadow
work for the opening

The entrance view of the
exhibition (this includes,
Nerida, Fiona and my work)

Keiichi's video work

Saeko's animals on the
outside wall

Keiichi Chigasaki

23 August 2010

Works we saw today

Today on our way to do some shopping, we saw the works around the Nobutai. There are many works in this area and we were able to see quite a few of them. The images are those of Mr Hermann Maier Neustadt and Mr Takamasa Kuniyasu.

Mr Neustadt's work

Mr Takamasa Kuniyasu's work

Keiichi Chigasaki

22 August 2010

Installation

Fiona installing

Today, we installed the works. The lights were put into place and the space looks fabulous. We are looking forward to the exhibition starting from tomorrow.

Professor Noda came in the morning. He will stay until tomorrow to give us advice.

Hitomi Fukui

21 August 2010

Two more days to go

We have only 2 days left before the opening of our exhibition. So apart from going to the Onsen close by, we have cloistered ourselves in the Australia House to create our works. Yesterday, I worked until dawn. And my efforts were rewarded by a beautiful sunrise that I saw from the window of my workplace.

Little after 1pm, the local residents came to see us. They brought us a watermelon and some cookies over which we had a relaxing short break. After that, we felt so energized.

Tomorrow is the last day for our creative activities. I am looking forward to seeing what the final exhibition will look like!

Sunrise

Workplace in the morning

The local residents

Nerida Ackland

20 August 2010

On the home stretch

With only 3 days left until the opening the tension in the house is building, but our spirits remain high. I spent the day with my head down, quietly trying to finish my basket form. The length of rice rope is 100 metres, and although I had never intended to use all of it I found myself determined to make use of the entire length. The work is laborious and hurts my hands. The rope makes me itchy and scratches my skin badly.

The movements required to make my pieces have become very important to the reading of the work. In relation to the "Body Basket", I have realised that the positioning of my body has a direct relationship to the shape that the basket will take on.

We had a visit from Iizuka san in the evening. We made hamburgers on the barbeque. It was a welcome relief from the studio practice. Everyone has been working relentlessly preparing for the opening.

We have many visitors everyday. There has been a lot of interest in this project and it is such a delight to meet and interact with people from Urada and the broader community.

Hitomi having fun while
hard at work

Jo sitting at her sewing
machine

Some of the lighting Nerida
will use for the exhibtion

Nerida's folded Manga
books

Nerida's 100 metre
BodyBasket

Fiona Lee

18 August 2010

Dragonfly Day

There are 4 days until the exhibition opens here in the Australia House and everyone's work has progressed rapidly. There is more artwork appearing in every room and it is easy to picture the completed exhibition.

In the morning Nerida, Anne and I went to Matsudai Nobutai where we bought many copies of the Echigo-Tsumari catalogue book and saw an enormous dragonfly. It was much bigger than any we have in Australia. We then went briefly to Tokamachi to buy more tools and materials and lighting for the artwork.

We eagerly returned home and put the new purchases to use.

Kitagawa-san visited the Australia House in the afternoon which was very nice.

Nerida's work in progress

Keiichi's work in progress

Hitomi working

Dragonfly at Matsudai Nobutai

Mandy Francis

17 August 2010

5 Days To Go

Today we have all worked hard to finalise ideas, continue artworks, solve positioning for exhibiting and have cleaned the areas above the rafters. The weather has been perfect for Fiona's brick making, thanks to some superstitious little creatures that Hitomi made and hung on the wall.

Our most helpful local: Iizukasan, explained to me the origin of the red and white stripped wood planks that I'm using to create my sculptures. He said that they are used to contain the edges of the roads when they are being laid…I'm so excited because this means that I am making work out of reused material that has helped create Urada's infrastructure... YEH (Thankyou Mr Iizuka san).

Tonight Saori has organised for us to go to Urada community centre and meet all the volunteers involved with the Echigo-Tsumari art festival. We will give a presentation of our work to-date and have dinner.

In short, we are all just focussing on completing our work on time. 5 days to go and not a minute to lose.

Hitomi completing the
base for her sculpture

Fiona building a frame
for her work

Saeko looking at images

Nerida Ackland

15 August 2010

Cultural experiences

We each spent the morning working very hard as the rest of the day's activities would keep us away from our projects.

At lunchtime we went to Rei House, an exhibition space that was offering Italian food as part of the installation. The Japanese abstract painter Hikosaka collaborated with Tokyo City University and created a beautiful installation, with a restaurant themed setting. We sampled delicacies of Italian Japanese fusion that included, rice bread rolls and sesame cake made with bamboo coal and sweet tomato sauce.

After lunch we travelled to Tokomachi for more supplies, and got home just in time to leave for Iizuka-san's house. He had prepared an amazing feast of wagyu and salad, and we sat eating, drinking and laughing together for hours. As the night progressed we sang songs and shared cultural dance moves. We all walked back to Australia House that night, and stopped in at the onsen on the way home.

Delicious sesame cake
made from bamboo coal,
with sweet tomato garnish,
mint and a gooseberry. Yum!

Iizuka-san preparing
the feast of wagyu

The basket gettting bigger

Chaos in the Australia House studio

Saeko Shimojo

13 August 2010

Teruterubozu

Today it has been raining on and off again. So everyone normally working in the yard has come inside to cut wood and to assemble the metal pieces.

As there has been little sunshine, Fiona was finding it difficult to dry the bricks (using locally sourced clay). Unlike Australia with its dry climate, Japan is very humid. So it is probably more problematic to make bricks here.

Mandy and Hitomi made some Teruterubozus and hung them outside from the roof of the Australia House. (Teruterubozu is a Japanese superstition and it is believed that by hanging them, they will bring good weather.) Then, the next day, the weather long rainy days were suddenly over and the weather became beautiful.

The open studio will start from tomorrow.

So please come to the Australia House. We look forward to seeing you all!

Mandy and Fiona assembling
the materials for the works

Nerida working on her parts
outside the Australia House

Fiona's work of bricks being
dried in the yard

The Teruterubozus hanging
from the Australia House roof

Fiona Lee

12 August 2010

Overcast day

The tenants of Australia House rose this morning to a gloomy and overcast day. After days of high humidity and scorching sun the cooler temperature and consistent rain was a welcome change. The day's work was concentrated inside and the house became a hive of activity.

Hitomi began planning the base of her second sculpture. A good part of one whole wall is covered with paper and Hitomi sketched the design onto this.

In the same room Saeko quietly busied herself cutting out the detailed body shape of her soft sculpture from a leisure sheet (known as a tarpaulin in Australia.)

Settled in the room next door, Chigasaki completed 30 drawings of a tunnel, which he scanned as part of his animation.

Nerida tore then twirled to create her hanging textile creation, alternating between this task and the coiling and sewing of her large rope nest.

Today Mandy sawed and sanded red and white striped lengths of wood which were generously donated by Iizuka san. They will later become a vibrant installation filling the void in the upper reaches of the roof.

For myself, the rain meant the end of brick making production and the commencement of indoor work on wood and metal sculptures, some of which be exhibited inside and others outside.

After a long days work we all went to the Shibatoge onsen and cleansed and relaxed before returning home to a lovely dinner cooked by Mandy san.

Hitomi sketching and
Saeko sewing

Chigasaki hard at work
on his computer

Nerida sewing
her rope nest

Mandy sawing her striped
lengths of wood

Fiona in the wooden frame
of a sculpture

Keiichi Chigasaki

10 August 2010

Reliable Iizuka-san

I installed the projector with the help from Iizuka-san today. He came in for rescue and even brought some hanging devices... In fact, he did most of the installation and I felt obliged. He is in the construction business so totally reliable.

Keiichi Chigasaki

9 August 2010

Serious work starts

Fiona making her art

Fiona and Nerida were given some wood from Iizuka-san and Sato-san. They were both really happy and learnt the word "Shinsetsu (kindness)". Serious work seems to have started from today.

Outside, Fiona is making blocks with earth and Nerida is making a big ball of ropes.

Hitomi is cutting boards with a jigsaw. Mandy is making something by painting chopsticks red.

Inside, using a machine, Sakeo is sewing together a plastic sheet for picnics. I am scanning some of my drawings.

The Somen (Japanese noodles) cooked by the Japanese team was extremely popular.

Keiichi Chigasaki

8 August 2010

Setting up our workplace

Setting up the scene

Today, we sorted out our tools and arranged our workplace. I am going to make a moving image piece so I need to set up a screen and shut out the light from the window to darken the room.

To do so, I measured the room and intend to use ply wood panels. So I went out on a 40 min. drive to a hardware store. I now really understand how important a car is in the everyday life here. We went through many long tunnels which gave me an idea of a work related to a car.

Mandy cooked dinner and it was very delicious. It is really a nice atmosphere here. Nerida taught me how to wash dishes in Australia. Water is lacking in Australia so it is normal that one uses it preciously there.

Joetsu Japan-Australia Society Yoshikazu Kondo

7 August 2010

Party at the Australia House

We held a party at the Urada Kokusetu Kanri Centre to farewell Australia House artists in residence Maude and Chris, and to welcome the Japanese and Australian students and their professors to the house. There were about 25 of us. We enjoyed the delicious food prepared by the Noubutai restaurant, introduced ourselves and got to know each other.

Maude said she had come to really enjoy the life at Urada. Chris read an original poem to express his gratitude to the community. The Japanese and Australian students and professors will stay in Urada for about three weeks, and hopefully they will enjoy every minute of it.

We had another gathering from 7pm to welcome the six art students. At the end of the party, Pete, an Australian staying in Tokamachi through the JET program, spoke about the Joetsu Japan-Australia Society "Gathering for Peace" event which will be held at the Joetsu Peace Park on 15 August. Professor Anne Graham and the students said they would like to participate in this important.

Maude and Chris also visited the Peace Park on 3 August. It really made us happy that our activities in two different areas, Joetsu and Urada, have started to make a connection. It would be wonderful for Maude, Chris, Pete and the students to be able to learn a part about their country's history that they do not know, and it also shows the significance our participation in the Australia House Project has.

Australia House party

Welcome party for
the JAAM students

Chris Tugwell

2 August 2010

Launched!

Well, we finally made it. Maude's exhibition, which we have called "Double Image - a fusion of two cultures" is officially open. Here is a small selection of pictures.

Collaboration with the community

Shoji screen - collaboraion with the community

Zemai motif - mountain vegetable in Urada

Chris Tugwell

12 July 2010

Slave Driver Maude

Past the half-way point already and Maude has been worried that she won't have enough time to make all the pieces for the exhibition.

One piece will be made from the furry outer skin left behind when the ferns (right) uncurl their leaves. These were collected and dried locally, before the rain came. Backed by some glorious dyed silk, by Liz Wauchope, it will be like seeing the ferns through the layers of forest.

The centre-piece will be a pair of shoji screens, which are the rice paper screens everyone is familiar with. But instead of rice paper each panel will be a small felted picture using a Japanese technique called notan. This uses light and dark, or positive and negative to create the full picture. The most famous notan is the yin yang circle. The pictures will be a mixture of Australian and Japanese images and with forty panels Maude was getting worried that she wouldn't get them all done.

That is, until fellow-felters, support crew and good friends, Sandra Tredwell and Maude's sister Carol, arrived last week. Maude (or was it Carol) immediately had the whip out and the place was transformed into a felting factory, with the images and design taking shape in remarkably short time. The felt was flying.

And today the actual screens arrived. Beautifully made by the previous owner of the house, Hosaka-san, who has a carpentry business in Tokyo. The screens have a special significance for him as he used to visit his grand-parents in this house when he was a boy. So to see it coming alive again after being abandoned for so long, and for him to be able to contribute to a new piece that will ultimately return permanently to the house, is something very special.

His connection with the house and his obvious regard for Maude's work will make this quite a unique piece.

Meanwhile we have been running workshops at some local schools. It is quite priceless to see the loss of the 'cool' facade of 47 high school students when they find they still enjoy getting wet and throwing things!

Saori-san tells us that the workshops are attracting a different group of people than they've had for previous events, which is great. And probably proves what Maude has said all along, that the people here have a real connection with, and understanding of, fabric.

Chris Tugwell

4 July 2010

Cover Girl Maude

Maude has now been recognised in the hardware shop and the supermarket after articles like this one (right) appeared in local papers.

This article was in the local Niigata Nippo newspaper, and another will come out at the end of the month in a local Tokamachi paper. When we say 'local' here we're not talking the local Messenger. Niigata prefecture is more like South Australia, but with about double the population.

Another photographer came to last week's workshop and said that not only will Maude be in this month's edition of the City of Tokamachi magazine, but she will be on the cover!!

To give some sense of the size of the festival and the events attached to it, like this residency, imagine some 300 sculptures scattered around the Fleurieu Peninsula and you have some idea. Last week I was asked to report to the local organising committee on how the residency was progressing.

So, I imagined a verbal report to a committee round a table. Noooo. When I arrived there was, I kid you not, a queue down four flights of stairs of people waiting to get in. It was not just the committee, but all of the arts staff from the whole region, plus media, plus the general public; easily a hundred people in all.

So I was somewhat overwhelmed, but without exception they were fascinated by the felt and the idea of the shoji screens Maude will be making.

On top of all this, we also hear on our very own grapevine that there has been a story on ABC Local Radio in Broken Hill. But the jewel in the crown is an interview she has done for the Barrier Daily Truth which appeared last week. So now she has really hit the big time.

Chris Tugwell

19 June 2010

Second Workshop - A Hit

With almost the entire school, plus parents and even grandparents, we had a great time at the second workshop. Rolling felt to the tune of 'kookaburra sits in the old gum tree' went down a treat and a good time was had by all.

Some of the men who came last week also came again, and were soon offering to help and showing the others how it was done by the 'experts'.

Yoshi asked the kids what they thought, and here are some of their comments;

• "Difficult." (Grade 6th)
• "I tried felt-making for the first time. It was rather difficult because there were many processes I went through, but I enjoyed it a lot." (Grade 5)
• "Enjoyed it very much." (Grade 3)
• "Made it for the first time. Enjoyed it." (Grade 1)
• "A little more difficult to make felt than I thought. I used much water, and I enjoyed making mine." (Grade 4)
• "A bit difficult." (Grade 1)
• "I made my felt design upside down (or left-right reversed), but I did it well, so I'm glad." (Grade 3)

Yoshi has already checked out "The Kookaburra Song," on YouTube, so he will be able to sing along next time.

Chris Tugwell

16 June 2010

Kondo-san (front, second from right),
Peter (front, left),
Iizuka-san (standing next to Maude),
Maruyama-san,
Urada Council chair (standing, left)
and participants

Maude's First Workshop

Yoshi Kondo has volunteered to be Maude's interpreter for the workshops. He is the President of the Joetsu branch of the Japan-Australia Society, dedicated to building a deep understanding between Japanese and Australians. He works hard to achieve this and the society takes it very seriously, as their website shows. They have built a Peace Park in Joetsu specifically to remember the Australians who were held prisoner here in the Second World War. He has been to Australia many times and also visited Cowra in NSW where Japanese prisoners were held. The society wants these things to be talked about and understood in Japan as much as in Australia, not brushed aside or hidden.

These are lofty motives, and he offers to interpret for Australian visitors as part of improving this understanding. He must drive for over an hour to get to what he calls the 'Japanese outback', but arrives early and before he knows it we have him sweeping and tidying the centre before people arrive. He is a gentle man with a warm sense of humour and he adds a lot to the workshop as he carefully translates Maude's words.

The all-male class is a surprise, and it takes a while for Maude to get into her stride, then a woman we met in the hardware shop, and her daughter, arrive from Tokamachi (40 minutes away) to take part. The community leaders join in too and once they all get involved in making, and especially throwing the felt, the mood lightens and colourful pieces of felt emerge like magic.

What with Yoshi, Saori, Peter – a Japanese-speaking Australian teacher (who has gone out of his way to help and make us welcome) and his American friend Cameron, the interpreters almost outnumber the class. But they all join in, as curious as the rest.

By Sunday morning Iizuka-san has visited every house and 10 children are lined up for next week.

Maude Bath

7 June 2010

Felt-Making Workshops

A series of felt making workshops is scheduled with interested members of the Urada community.

Felting is an easy, enjoyable and very accessible process for people of all ages. It is magical, tactile, warm and comforting, and does not need great strength.

In a series of fun workshops, using only common everyday dishwashing detergent, water and sushi mats, I will demonstrate how to make this age-old fabric, used by humans for more than 8,000 years.

To begin with I will teach you to make bracelets, brooches, book covers and other simple but beautiful items.

And those people interested in going further, let's create a group of shoji screen panels for an exhibition together!

Maude's workshops and exhibition schedule

Felt Bangles

Felt Flowers

Felt Notepads

Photo by Malcolm Downes

Chris Tugwell

7 June 2010

Welcomes and More Welcomes

Welcome dinner with Urada
community leaders,Saori and Peter,
Tokamachi-shi JET participant.

We have been very busy! Saori-san was at the station to meet us. Saori Arai is our guide, translator and helper while we are here. She works for the local Matsudai-Nobutai Cultural Centre which hosts the main arts festival every three years.

And don't think this is some small operation done out of the back room to the village hall; the centre is huge. It has its own theatre, offices, several gallery spaces, a shop, cafe, and a massive covered outdoor performance space, all overlooking the river from a Dutch-designed ultra-modern building, with each space a unique colour; the shop is green, the cafe pale blue, the men's toilets red. You could never get lost.

As soon as we arrived we picked up our little hire car, went to the cultural centre to collect our bags, and dropped them at the house.

The house looks just like it does in the photos. Very large, but in need of a clean up. It is right in the middle of lots of rice paddies and they are full of frogs. Almost straight away we saw a kingfisher outside our window, and a snake. Not poisonous, we are assured!

Just enough time to change and then Saori took us straight to dinner with the local community leaders - lots of sake and speeches, and fantastic food. Most of the food was familiar; miso soup, grilled fish, pork with lettuce and onions cooked on a flame at the table. They make the best sake in the country here, but they tell us none of it ever leaves! After tasting it I can understand why they keep it to themselves. This is a very small community and we were welcomed with real generosity and kindness.

Last Wednesday we met the mayor of Tokamachi and about six other VIPs, all there to meet Maude! Our pathetic Japanese was revealed in the first few seconds and he kindly switched to English. We show him Maude's work and try to explain what she will be doing. Felt is a mystery to Japanese people, but they understand and are intrigued by the idea of bonding Australian wool to Japanese silk; it has a deep meaning here. We forget to give the mayor the gift Maude has prepared and I forget to give him my book. We feel clumsy, overwhelmed and exhausted. But very welcome.

Maude has already done three interviews for local papers, and has been a bit daunted. But everyone has been very kind. We have a couple of quiet days coming up, so we can gather our strength before the real work starts. Saori has been really wonderful and found a very good workshop space right near the school; a community centre called "Beside the Snow".

Chris Tugwell

5 June 2010

The road up to our hundred year old farm house on the mountain side is very steep and so narrow that even our tiny little hire car takes up every inch of bitumen. And the sharp U-turn at the bottom of the hill is quite startling the first few times. The house had been empty for a long time, and it shows its age and neglect. The floor boards creak in quite an alarming way.

But after a hectic week of getting here, we are finally settling in.

We forwarded our luggage via the incredible luggage post system here. It means you can send your bags to where you're going and not have to lug them around the enormous stations, through crowds and up and down escalators.

The weather has been quite wonderful; sunny and in the low 20s. They are planting the rice seedlings at the moment and there are yellow and purple irises along the banks of the rice fields. Quite lovely. The real wet season will start in a few weeks, they tell us.

Maude outside the Australia House

View of terraced rice field from the
Australia House