Ayako Motegi's film "Physis no Namibun" will be released on April 6 at the Tokyo Theater Image Forum and other theaters in Japan.
Karacho, a Kyoto workshop that inherits the "karakami" method of hand-printing patterns on washi paper, will celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2024. Clay lacquer and mica are placed on Edo period wood panels carved with botanical motifs, astronomical motifs representing clouds and stars, and swirls and wave motifs, and these patterns are then transferred to washi paper. This documentary begins with a handicraft site and explores the charm of patterns that express the relationship between man and nature from ancient times to the present day. Kenyoshi Senda (Karagamiya Nagaemon, Karamachi Eleven) and Ikuko Chida (Karamachi) will also attend, as will art anthropologist Mayumi Tsuruoka, Hermès artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas, and sculptor Hiroshi Tomura.
"I believe that since a long time ago, people have regarded nature as a deity, and the prototype of the pattern was created to get closer to its beauty and power," Motegi said. Like me, I was always touched by nature. "The perfect beauty of nature. I created this work as a sympathy for the activities of people who have loved nature since ancient times. The film was previewed at the 2023 Tokyo Documentary Film Festival.
Caraccho's Caracami pattern is very simple, delicate, and very calming. And, while patterns in various lifestyles around the world have persisted, they actually seem to have a very mysterious existence.
I am convinced that from a long time ago, people have considered nature sacred, and the original pattern was created to get closer to its beauty and power.
In the same way, I have always been moved by the perfect beauty of nature, and I created this work with empathy for the activities of people who have loved nature since ancient times.