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Activities in Russia
I like Russia, Russian people and Russian nature.
I have been to Russia almost every year before the pandemic of COVID19.
The communication with Russian people and nature could influence my expression for art.
What I saw in Russia was that the harsh nature trains human and the sensibility will get deeper.
I hope that you will get to know a little bit about Russia.
(This page shows part of my activities in Russia. I summarized the whole activities in Russia as a small book, but have not published yet. I hope to publish them someday soon…)
Spassk-Dal`nii
I met Tanaka Takeshi who was interned in the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1949.
He returned to Japan, established a publishing company in Tokyo and published industrial publications “造” (Zou). At his age of 68, he moved to Khabarovsk, Russia. He was the only one who returned to Russia out of 600,000 Japanese internees. He was a musician as well. He loved Russian people and often gave a concert for Russian people with his synthesizer “Spiron”.
I have been self-researching the Japanese internment in the Soviet Union after the World War 2. My grandmother’s brother was interned in the Soviet Union and returned to Japan. I did not know where he was interned. I went to Khabarovsk to ask Tanaka-san for helping me to find the internment place in 2019.
He introduced me one Russian Misha-san who have documents about the Japanese internees. Sasha-san kindly helped me to search the place. He told me my grandmother’s brother was in Spassk-Dal`nii.
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Tanaka-san and I went to the city administration. He explained to the vice Mayer Lyudmila Vladimirovna that we wanted to go to Japanese labor camps and burial places. She kindly cooperated with us and introduced the director of the museum. They gave us a tour of the museum.
The museum staff and Tanaka-san were singing Russian song “Crane”. Other staff listening to their singing was moved by the singing. I felt it was beautiful for her to feel this way.
Sergai working in the museum and his friend Ivan guided us to internment places and Japanese burial places.
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Labor Camps 1
There was no labor camp anymore.
But I felt my grandmother’s brother was here through the wind and the air.
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Labor Camps 2
This place also did not have the labor camp. Only house was there.
Burial Place
The weeds grew too high and we could not get inside, but it seemed there were no grave stones
No Japanese might come here.
People who were the same nationality were buried in places you did not know.
We do not even notice……
Somebody’s spirits were floating, which I always feel in Russia.
But I felt my grandmother’s brother was here through the wind and the air.
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Sergei and Ivan showed me around the city. This city was very clean and beautiful.
They invited us their home. We sang together.
I like people here make foods by themselves. Jams, honey, eggs and milk…everything is fresh.
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Appreciation concert
After I returned to Japan in summer 2019, I came back to Russia in fall. Tanaka-san and I did an appreciation concert for people in Spassk Dal`nii.
Children and adults were listening to our music seriously. Tanaka-san looked he enjoyed very much. So do I. I like Russian attitude to art.
The children strongly reacted to the Japanese song “Coconuts”.
Tanaka-san choses songs that resonate with hearts beyond the border.
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Nahodka
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All Japanese Internees returned to Japan from Nahodka
Thankfully Natasha-san who I and Tanaka-san met in a hotel brought us to the place of the repatriation ships to Japan.
Tanaka-san said “There were labor camps all around here.”
I wonder what they felt then……
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Burial Place
Some sinking places were used to be burial mounds. All bones were brought back to Japan. Natasha-san kindly guided us to here too.
Khabarovsk
I and Tanaka Takeshi were invited to the festival "Samovar`" in Khabarovsk, Russia, in 2019.
I did a small live painting. Tanaka-san sang with his synthesizer.
We also sang "Lonely Accordion" together. People seemed to listen to us seriously...
Phtographed by Alyona Plaksina
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I am adding more activities in other cities...Pleasee wait :)
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