Original Painting and Supervisor |
Manga artist TAKEMIYA Keiko TAKEMIYA Keiko |
|---|
2022
H2.7m × W9.0m
Departure Lobby, Terminal Building 3F, Tokushima Awaodori Airport
Full view of the artwork (from the left)
Close-up of the artwork (detail)
Close-up of the artwork (detail)
Production Notes
The title of the artwork is “ZOMEKI -The Two-Beat Rhythm Forever-.” Keiko Takemiya, a manga artist and Tokushima native, provided the original painting and supervision, spending approximately two months creating the original illustration specifically for this artwork.
Set against the backdrop of the Naruto whirlpools—regarded as one of the world’s three greatest tidal currents—the artwork features dancers performing the elegant, supple, and lively Awa Odori, a world-renowned traditional Japanese performing art. To watch them dance to the “Zomeki”—the upbeat two-beat rhythm of the Awa Odori musical accompaniment—a total of 30 characters from eight of Takemiya’s most iconic manga series have gathered within the artwork.
Planning ： Japan Traffic Culture Association
Sponsorship ： Japan Lottery Association
This project was developed with a grant from the lottery social contribution public relations project.
Artist Profile
TAKEMIYA Keiko
TAKEMIYA Keiko
Manga artist
Professor emeritus at Kyoto Seika University, director of the Japan Cartoonists Association, and president of The Japan Society for Studies in Cartoons and Comics (JSSCC, Nihon manga gakkai) .She made her professional debut as a cartoonist in 1968. Her "Kaze To Ki no Uta (Poem of Wind and Trees)" (1976-84), which focused on boys' love, was a masterpiece of human drama and had a great impact on the subsequent world of girls' manga. In addition, she has created many other representative works on a wide range of themes, including the science fiction manga "TOWARD THE TERRA " and "Tenma no Ketsuzoku ". Winner of the 9th Nebula Award for Comics, the 25th Shogakukan Manga Award, and the 41st Japan Cartoonists Association Award, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award, she was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2014, and the Tokushima Prefecture Cultural Award in 2020.
Location ： Departure Lobby, Terminal Building 3F, Tokushima Awaodori Airport
Artist's Comments
I was born in Tokushima City and started taking part in the Awa Odori dance festival when I was around four years old, following other people’s examples. Every summer, I got very excited when I heard the duple-time rhythm called “zomeki” and ran to the streets spontaneously to join in the dance. In the past, men and women used to enjoy Awa Odori each in their own way in every street corner as there were not that many designated “sajiki” areas back then. I loved that freewheeling atmosphere of summer in Tokushima.
Fifty years or so have passed since I left my home in Tokushima to become a manga artist, I still love Awa Odori, which I enjoy dancing with my friends in the local community in Fukuoka, where I live now.
In the stained-glass window here at Tokushima Airport, the characters in my works have gathered to dance Awa Odori. I hope it will bring back fond memories.
Let us call out, “Yatto-saa!”