Nina Korhonen: Handmade

“For a long time, Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, was called the “”back side of Japan””; until 1988, it was only possible to get there by ferry. From other parts of Japan, surfers, hikers and nature photographers made pilgrimages to enjoy the vast expanses of unspoiled nature: the dramatic mountains, the deep forests, the emerald green rivers and the vast, unexploited coastlines. For most other Japanese, however, the island remained a hidden secret for a long time, a peripheral land to which one did not really have to pay much attention.

But what exactly is the center of Japan? Are these the really big cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka? The longer you spend on Shikoku, the less confident you become. The difficulty
accessing the island has meant that those in opposition to the ruling powers have at times fled to the island and its four prefectures: Kochi, Ehime, Kagawa and Tokushima. Leaders of peasant uprisings, obnoxious courtiers, rebellious samurai and those who professed the
forbidden Christian doctrine sought to come here.

The opposition from different social classes coming to the island over the times have made a clear impression on the local culture. Here folk dances contain elements of medieval court dances, the traditional craft is refined – not least the production of paper with its 1300-year-old origins – and the oral storytelling tradition pays homage to historical heroes who have stood up to power.

The legacy of opposition manifests itself in pride in the homeland and a healthy skepticism towards the central government in Tokyo. Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe – born in Ehime – wrote about this in the novel about his upbringing, “”M/T and the Narrative About the Marvels of the Forest””.

Shikoku is a part of Japan that was industrialized late and many still lives mainly on
agriculture and fishing. For a long time, the island was seen as hopeless in terms of the
modernization process, but today it is one of the areas in Japan where the inhabitants say they are the happiest and have the highest quality of life.

Just look at the pride and calmness evident in the people in Nina Korhonen’s pictures from
Kochi prefecture. In Shikoku, life flows at a calmer, more humane pace, unemployment is
comparatively low, educational stress for children and young people is less than in the big cities and nature is never far away – not even for the island’s urban population. Perhaps this is where one finds the soul of Japan, in a part of the country that had to be modernized at its own pace – without sacrificing human well-being.”