Chris Meigh-Andrews

Last night I went to Nankano to meet with Tokyo-based composer and musician Christophe Charles and to the home of video artists  Sei Kazam and Hatsune Ohtsu, who work under their collective name- “Visual Brains”.

Over a wonderful meal provided by Sei and Hatsune, and with the aid of Christophe’s translation skills, I asked them questions about their work and their view of the early Japanese video art scene. Christophe also knows a considerable amount about this too, and has collaborated with Visual Brains on a number of projects.

Sei & Me

Sei Kazam, Hatsune Ohtsu and Christophe Charles

Today I took the Tokyo Subway to Roppongi, and since the National Art Center was closed (a fact I failed to notice in my guidebook), I visited the impressive Mori Art Museum in the Roppongi Hills Complex. I was fortunate to find that there was a particularly interesting exhibition currently on show- Sensing Nature: Rethinking the Japanese Perception of Nature, presenting the work of three excellent artists: Yoshioka Tokujin, Shinoda Taro and Kurbayashi Takashi.

Arrived in Tokyo yesterday later afternoon and found my hotel in the Shinjuku district without much trouble, navigating the Tokyo Metro is easier than it looks- even for someone with my compromised sense of direction! This morning I explored the area near the JR Shinjuku railway station on foot- visiting the observation room in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings (TMGB) on the 45th floor to get a sense of the Tokyo skyline.

In the evening, I wandered around the same area in search of dinner.

In the afternoon, I met with the critic Hirofumi Sakamoto, who curated a touring exhibition of Japanese Artists’ video for EIA in New York entitled Vital Signals. I  interviewed him through his excellent interpreter about the development of artists’ video in Japan. His comprehensive knowledge of the subject provided me with some important insights into the similarities and differences with the UK  experience during the 1970’s and 80’s.

This evening I did an evening walk along the Pontocho, a narrow lane full of restaurants and bars, crossing the Kamo-gawa in search of  Ozawa, a highly recommended tempura restaurant. It was worth the walk!

I was awake early and spent the morning visiting some of the sub-temples of the Daitokuji Monastery. The Daisen-In,  which has a well-known Zen Garden did not allow photography, and was full of tourists, but the Koto-In, which has a wonderful moss garden was peaceful and contemplative. However, it seemed that I saved the best till last as the sublime Zuihou-In was deserted, has a stunning zen garden and a beautiful interior.

Last night I had an enjoyable evening with Prof Shinsuke Ina and his two colleagues- Isanori Oha and Naoki Nishigushi, who are currently working together on the book translation. They treated me to a delicious meal (as well as several bottles of Kirin Beer!)

My Tokyo visit is also now taking shape. I have booked 3 nights in a hotel in Shinjuku and meet with writer and curator Hirofumi Sakamoto on Monday. Tuesday evening I will meet musician Christophe Charles and we will visit the home of video artists Sei Kazama and Hatsune Ohtsu.

Much of this morning was spent arranging to visit Tokyo and co-ordinating with the curators and artists I want to interview for my research into early Japanese Artists’ video.

My plan is to travel to Tokyo on Sept 19th and to stay for several days. It is not proving as easy as I had hoped to make contact with the people I want to see!

Taking a break from e-mails and internet bookings, I cycled into the centre of Kyoto in the afternoon to make my train reservations and do some sightseeing.

Tomorrow night I have arranged to meet the two other members of Shinsuke’s translation team at Kyoto Seika University, and we will also discuss  requirements of the preface for the Japanese edition of my book.

After lunch today I visited Prof Shinsuke Ina at Kyoto-Seika University who is translating my book,  A History of Video Art: The Development of Form and Function into Japanese for Sangensha Publishers in Tokyo. We worked together on some of the details of the translation in Chapter 3.

This morning I cycled along the Kamo-gawa and up into the hills surrounding Kyoto towards Iwakura, stopping at the Jisso-In Temple for lunch.