A fruitful encounter with Kyoto’s creative community!

Hello everyone, this is Nami Urano from FabCafe Kyoto! On May 4, 2022, a sudden opportunity arose for the Netherlands-based artist and researcher masharu, Grand Prize winner of the YouFab Global Creative Awards 2021, to visit Kyoto. We quickly put together an intensive one-day tour program which included a fascinating earth-tasting session for local creators and researchers. Here I report the results of this brief but fruitful exchange!

During their visit, masharu stayed at KAGAN HOTEL, an art hotel and hostel located in a renovated vegetable wholesaler’s women’s dormitory and warehouse located in Kyoto’s central wholesale market.

The large market and its surrounding area have become the city’s go-to creative hotspot, where several research and artistic facilities serve as a meeting point for local artists. It is a fascinating neighborhood where the ancient customs of Kyoto’s centuries-old food culture mingle with bold modern projects.

Photo by Atsushi Shiotani

KAGAN HOTEL is divided into an accommodation area, a cafe, an art gallery and a production studio. It also hosts artist-in-residence programs where participants can create and exhibit their work. Furthermore, KAGAN HOTEL has recently become a partner for the project-in-residence program COUNTER POINT run by FabCafe Kyoto: creators taking part in our program can enjoy discounted stays and may be offered the opportunity to exhibit their artworks there. If you are interested in participating, do not hesitate to contact us!

When masharu arrived at FabCafe, producer Kosuke Kinoshita promptly introduced them to the different samples gathered by MTRL, an in-house project that researches the possibilities and applications of all kinds of materials. Our collection explores novel ways to use traditional textiles such as Nishijin fabric and kumihimo braids, as well as natural materials including urushi lacquer and Jomon cedar, alongside industrial materials such as reinforced cardboard and bio-leather. The Kyoto branch has a particularly extensive collection of samples, and everybody is welcome to come and discover them!

On the occasion of masharu’s visit, Kinoshita brought out a sample of mineral rock called limonite extracted from Mt. Aso, which is the largest volcano in Japan. He explained that limonite has been traditionally used as a deodorizer and pigment (red iron oxide, bengara in Japanese), as well as an ingredient in supplement. After hearing this, we all tasted it right away! masharu commented it was delicious, but I was a little confused because I had never tasted a rock before (laugh).

When we invited masharu to Kyoto, we swiftly organized a creative meetup as the central activity of the tour. We reached out to local researchers and artists interested in gastronomic practices, and even though it was Golden Week (one of the longest public holidays in Japan) we managed to gather a considerable number of participants. During the meetup, masharu presented the Museum of Edible Earth and provided edible earth samples from around the world so that participants could taste them and engage in casual discussion over cold beers.

masharu’s presentation started with the question: “Have you ever tasted earth?”

We tasted three types of soil and shared our impressions.

Kazutoshi Tsuda is a bioresearcher at D-Lab/YCAM, Kyoto Institute of Technology. It looks like he is eating ice cream, but he is tasting soil!

Kyoto-based artist Kanako Shintaku’s bubbly laughter accompanied us during the whole session.

Participants tasted the samples and shared their comments with masharu. In this photo, we see Hiroaki Suzuki (left), founder of the cultural spot INTA-NET KYOTO, and Aki Yahata (right), researcher/artist investigating gastronomic cultures where people eat using their hands.

“Earthy and delicious”, “milky”… Although it was the first soil-tasting experience for most of the participants, they reflected upon their memories and experiences to convey their impressions.

After the meetup, we took masharu to nokishita711, a liquid cuisine bar run by Sekine Motoiki. “It is not a cocktail, but a liquid dish,” Sekine explained, and each of his works was indeed completely different from ordinary cocktails: they included ingredients such as meat, fish or insects, and were prepared similarly to a restaurant meal, following procedures such as fermentation or extraction. Since Sekine also uses soil as an ingredient, his bar was a must-visit stop in our tour.

nokishita711 is situated in an alleyway a short distance from downtown Kyoto. (Photo by masharu)

Photo by masharu

Photo by masharu

When asked “When do you eat soil?”, masharu replied that they enjoy it as a luxury item, like cigarettes or snacks. They took out some of their soil samples and shared them with everyone to snack together while drinking. (Photo by masharu)

Photo by masharu

edalab floral artist Maeda joined us at the bar. She has collaborated many times with Sekine for the Drinkable Botanical Garden project, and is currently conducting the Inedible Flowers series of workshops at FabCafe Kyoto. Her expression here is priceless! (laugh) (Photo by masharu)

In their single-day trip to Kyoto, masharu experienced many rich encounters. The former capital of Japan was, and still is, a dynamic city where all kinds of cultures meet, mix, and thrive. If you are looking into fueling your creativity and sparking new opportunities for your projects, don’t hesitate to contact us at FabCafe Kyoto! And we will gladly support you in every way we can.

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