鎮守の森
Sacred Groves
A (re)connection to the forest of Japan
Myco-Torii
Residency at Dangami House in Ozu, Ehime,
Yuvan Gallery, Tokyo
April-May 2026
In Ozu, Ehime, I worked with the local population to keep alive the love of the local forests care-takers.
In Japan, Shinto played an essential role in connecting humans to the natural world. Before 1906 and the great consolidation, most villages of Japan had several Chinju no Mori (Sacred Groves) that surrounded Shinto Shrines. In 1906, the kami were “moved” to bigger shrines and the forests were cut. The people of the village lost contact with their forests.
The ecologist and scientist Minakata Kumagusu discovered at that time that a forest is not made by trees but also by these hidden organisms. Under the ground, the mycelium is connecting all living beings.
The project and exhibition revolves around small torii (sacred gate) in mycelium.
The shape evokes sacredness, the mycelium evokes the hidden networks that make the forest alive.
In the same way, Shinto Shrines acted as a secret link between humans and forests.
The River Remembers My Name
Stone and ink installation at Sukuna Hikona Shrine
Made in collaboration with the care-takers of the Shrine
It is said that Sukuna Hikona, a local kami of Shikoku, died, and her body was in the river.
The shrine of Sukuna Hikona was built near the place where her body was found. The stones from the river remember her name.
These stones were taken from the deep mountains of Tobe and the Hiji River. They have known the time of myths.
Some stones are painted black, to attract the eye on the sacred nature of the stones. They are a reminder of human intervention in the making of gods.
Visitors were invited to wash the stones to reveal their colours and history.
A mycelium torii was placed at the entrance of the shrine, to replace the stone torii that was taken down when part of the forest was destroyed
The Abandoned Shrine
Myco-Torii, soil orbs and social events for a forgotten shrine
In Uchiko, Daisuke takes care of a forest.
There is an abandonned Shinto Shrine there.
Daisuke just wants people to take a walk in the forest and have picnic. Since the fear of bear attacks started, no one comes anymore.
We went to the shrine and cleaned it together. We placed a Torii made of Fungi in near the shrine to keep it company, and offered a ball of soil to the shrine.
And of course, we had a picnic.
