About the artwork

Hide and seek (kakurenbo in Japanese), a game very popular among children, requires careful observation and imagination. Through hide and seek, I wanted to encourage people in the region to communicate, rediscover Tokamachi, and explore its future potentials. The fact that Tokamachi is famed for its kimono was important to me. Using traditional yuzen dyeing techniques, I sketched the vending machines that became the symbol of the project. To deepen my communication with the local community, I also made Cakurenbo furisode (a type of kimono). I not only exhibited but rented out hide and seek goods (kakuren-bo-gu). I organized a workshop in which children and their parents participated, making and playing with “hide and seek T-shirts” to help us discover new features in familiar scenery. At the workshop, the participants seem to be all smiles, and I felt that Tokamachi has a bright future. And I will never forget the man who rented my vending machine pattern skirt and wore it to wait for his friend at the station.