Date and time: Wednesday, November 20, 2024 18:30 to 19:30 (reception 18:00 to 18:30)
Venue: graf porch
Capacity: 40 people
Speaker: Toshiki Okada (directed by theater writer, novelist, the theater company chelfitsch), Shigeki Hattori (graf Representative, Creative Director), Atsushi Takeuchi (Editor)
Moderator: Chieko Kinoshita (Associate Professor, Kaitokudo, 21st Century The University of Osaka)
On November 20th, Toshiki Okada held a talk titled "Stories of 15 Places in Nakanoshima" written by graf porch in Nakanoshima. It was a special time with Mr. Okada himself reading.
Photo: Ai Nakagawa
As one of the Nakanoshima promotions by Creative Island Nakanoshima, we have installed sign stands called meeting points in the lobby space of 15 facilities to serve as a point for excursions in the east and west of Nakanoshima.
Since 2018, this project has been inviting theater writers, directors, novelists, and Toshiki Okada, headed by the theater company chelfitsch, to conduct continuous research on Nakanoshima. In the summer of 2024, Stories of 15 Places in Nakanoshima, completed by staying writing, is placed on 15 sign stands.
In this talk, Toshiki Okada and collaborator Shigeki Hattori, graf representative, and Atsushi Takeuchi, editor, first of all, Okada said, "This time, I wanted to make something interesting to read on the spot. That is, it is a reading experience that allows you to witness the scenery depicted in the story. "
Mr. Okada said about the impression of Nakanoshima that changed through this project, "I was able to learn about the natural things that Nakanoshima is an island," and Mr. Hattori and Mr. Takeuchi commented that people who have lived in Osaka for a long time may not be surprised.
There are also texts that describe the natural disasters that occurred in the past in Nakanoshima, which have not been mentioned much, and they talked about how reading this could be an opportunity for people living in Osaka and people who often use Nakanoshima to recapture the place.
Regarding how to make the story, referring to the Noh that Mr. Okada has recently incorporated in his own work production, he mentioned the structure of the text in which a traveler (waki) meets a ghost (shite) while traveling and a fiction starts up. This element is also scattered in this story, and you should be able to feel it even if it is not direct.
In addition, Mr. Hattori and Mr. Takeuchi commented on Okada's writing of his stay, saying, "Thanks to the fact that he has visited and produced many times, the reality of the space of the place moves back and forth between the delusions of the text. I think I was able to make something with the feeling that I was born. "
After that, from 15 stories, Mr. Okada read "Vacant Land" (Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka) "Spatialization of Book Reading Experience" (Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library). I felt that the sound of the text coming in from my ears was very comfortable, different from the person who got the story read silently.
In the Q & A session from the participants, when asked about the text written in the second person, Mr. Okada said, "If you feel like you are looking at yourself in the text by making it a second person, I think it's a little terrifying. It would be interesting if that could cause that, and because I wanted to make the text work like "To you who are reading now."
Finally, Mr. Kinoshita, the moderator, stated that he is planning a plan for another artist to turn these 15 stories into a work next year.
"Stories of 15 Places in Nakanoshima" is arranged so that you can pick it up at any time when the facility is open. Please visit Nakanoshima and enjoy the image of a fusion of the original story and the real place of the past, present and future real and fantasy.
Report writing: Kami Takemiya (Project in charge of Creative Island Nakanoshima Office)
Commissioned by: Fiscal 2024 Japan Cultural Expo 2.0 Project (Commissioned)
〈Organizers〉 Creative Island Nakanoshima Executive Committee, Japan Arts Council, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Co-sponsored by: Nakanoshima Pavilion Festival 2025
