About the artwork

This wori is designed to be a stage for festivals and other events. Ommane Kaze was inspired by mane, the rotating prayer wheels of Tibetan Buddhism. While Tibetan mane contains sutra scrolls, my mane contains papers where residents’ wishes are written and are raised on the day of the annual “Festival of the Winds.” The wishes are not addressed to a deity, but to the wind. Whenever the mane containing the inhabitants’ wishes rotates with the wind, it communicates the hope that the town may be free of disasters and that all of the wishes come true… Mane, a symbol of universal gravitation, should absorb natural energy and generate a powerful attractive field for the stage. I hope that the inhabitants share their joy on this stage at the festival, where they express their ardent wishes for the strength to live through the bitter winter weather.