About the artwork

A yukimuro is a year round cold storage cellar utilizing winter snow. It is used to preserve food and medical supplies, and represents the wisdom of the people living in a region with heavy snowfall. The artist spent some time at the remains of a yukimuro located at an altitude of 800 meters on a highland plateau half way up mount Amamizuyama. Insulation and structural material, thermal clothing, and tools used by local residents are arranged inside, and snow walls erected to create a gradually appearing living space. Ground and air temperature, and the warmth of human bodies were carefully considered in the construction to allow for the constant change of the stored snow. The title infers that the “inn’s guests reserve space that did not exist until now.”