“Nature to Home”

土屋美恵子 Emiko Tsuchiya / 土丘 Toyau / 溝口一三 Kazumi Mizoguchi

“The garden of the world has no limits, except in your mind.” —— Rumi

與自然共生，
由最根本的東西
來到我們手裡去，
追求吃的、使用的、
與之朝夕相對的物品，
均也存在回到原點的可能，
同時建立最簡單、直接的關係。

讓我們一起，
與草木連結，
並且帶回家去。

“Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” —— Rumi

重點故事包括：

1. NATURE WOVEN INTO FABRIC / EMIKO TSUCHIYA（土屋美恵子）

內文節錄

「手與機械的差異，在於手與心一直相連。手不單在動，而是牽引著內心，從而創造物事、傳達喜悅，同時保守著道德。只有這樣，才能使事物美麗。」在奈良木綿手紡會的網頁中，土屋美恵子引用了柳宗悅的這一番話。「柳宗悅也提到在地域裡，與當地人製作手工藝的重要性，即使原本是門外漢的人。」土屋美恵子說。

「這些手工藝還是有其價值的。我不想做很帥的東西，也不只是想造好的東西，而是想『在這片土地上造好的東西』，我想這是我的責任。」現時每周若有15人來參與手紡會的活動，土屋美恵子說，她希望能培育那些想以此為業的人們，讓他們學得一門手藝。說罷，她沉思良久：「這樣說好像是我在成就他們，但其實是他們在成就我。因為與奈良這土地相遇，然後遇到這些人，才能實踐自己的想法，我覺得自己很受惠澤呢。」

2. COEXISTING WITH OUR LAND / TOYAU 

內文節錄

今年的強颱風山竹離開後，土丘裡的人都忙碌著修復重建。他們帶著做木工的鋸、 踩著單車，從梧桐河、鄉土學社、天平路到馬屎埔村幫村民清理樹木。忙碌了一星期，他們又要忙著重建土丘地下被強風吹走的簷篷頂，土丘的高先生笑說：「要完全修復大概要兩個月吧，我們都習慣了各種天氣，學習和它們相處。」

高先生幾年前想找一個地方做工作室，於是和其他人合租上水華山村的村屋，假日時搖身一變「示範單位」，讓別人來看看他們在做的事。「我們都是沙塵，聚集一起成為了土丘。」與其說土丘是他們的家，不如說是修練場更為貼切；學習如何面對內心、與大自然共處，同時做一位傳遞員，把所感受到的傳送給別人。「食物體驗、陶土班和木工班好像是假日消費的活動，但我們想以輕鬆手法吸引更多人來吃本地農民耕種的食物，取本地的泥土和樹木來造陶器和木製用具，實在地感受與土地的連結。」

3. WHERE THE GARDEN GROWS / KAZUMI MIZOGUCHI（溝口一三）

內文節錄

日本傳統的造園方式，是人類依自己的意志，在空間裡安排各種的花草樹木與石頭，模擬著自然的風景，又或者，物化花草樹木，借助自然畫出自己心目中的風景畫。抽象如龍安寺的枯山水，壯大如島根縣的足立美術館，狹小如京都不少咖啡館內的後花園，都是經過精心安排。稍縱即逝的粉紅櫻花後襯托著常綠的老松；窗前隨季節而變化色調的楓樹；植物的高矮層次；各種植物葉片大小的拼湊；我們看到了自然的美，同時看到造園者的心思。為了維持庭園的景色，外來的植物都被視為雜草雜木，在它們仍幼嫰時便將之除去。溝口一三打理庭園時卻不「維持景色」，他將大自然送來的全盤接收，雜草長了成草叢，雜木長了成樹蔭。他大部分時間甚至不打理，不除蟲，不剪枝，客人來時，將石拼小路上的落葉掃一掃就了事。庭園的綠看似任意而雜亂無章，卻自有規律，這樣很好，這樣正時自然原來的模樣。

「大自然物競天擇，但萬物從不爭吵，他們自會取得平衡。旁邊的植物礙著自己生長時，便繞道而行。根長不了太深，樹幹也不會無理地長粗。面對自然，我們只要容讓，祂自會長成美好的姿態。」溝口一三說。

4. GIVE AND TAKE / XIUYUN CHIANG

內文節錄

「快嚐一下這個水梨，還有上面的青檸粉，旁邊的木瓜也是， 全部都是我們自己種的。」突然，她快步走到了遠處的書櫃， 把裡面的紙本掏出，自顧自的說道：「要找來送你們留念呢。 」轉眼就把這些年累積的都晾了出來。看到我好奇地翻看，她把每本紙本都打開，一邊鼓勵我感受每種材料的觸感，一邊興奮地分享反覆試驗每種植物不同部分（包括葉和莖等）的實驗過程，手上拿著的可是眼前的科學家經過成千上萬次的實驗所獲得的成果。「就像人一樣，紙越粗代表植物越老，各有各的年歲與特點，我只是替他們發揮。每一張做出來的紙都是獨一 無二的。還有這個！」她跑到大廳的另一端，拿著幾根看似小掃帚的東西回來，皺著眉頭說：「我一直在試做這個竹筆，但是太難了。竹子春天長肉，那些沒有被風吹過不夠飽滿的。要折過腰，像波浪的……都要看節氣。可能一百根也挑不上一根夠好的。」帶著沒有把學生教好的惋惜，輕撫著他們。

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“Nature to Home”

土屋美恵子 Emiko Tsuchiya / 土丘 Toyau / 溝口一三 Kazumi Mizoguchi

“The garden of the world has no limits, except in your mind.” —— Rumi

Between nature and us,
The most fundamental
Come into our hands.
What we see every day,
What we eat and use,
All have roots stemming from within.
That original spot, if you look closely,
Cradles the simplest, most sincere
Connection one could ever have.

Let us hold hands.
Together with nature,
It will feel good to be home.

“Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” —— Rumi

Highlighted stories include:

1. NATURE WOVEN INTO FABRIC / EMIKO TSUCHIYA（土屋美恵子）

Excerpt

“Handmade goods are different from machine-made ones; as hands are connected to one’s heart. When your hands are moving, your heartbeat would be synchronized. Things made by hand, therefore, carry the joy and the moral of the creator. This is the only way to make beautiful things.” On the Nara Handspun Cotton Group website, there is a quote from Yanagi Sōetsu. “Yanagi Sōetsu also mentioned about the importance of making handicraft with the locals, even if you are originally an amateur,” said Tsuchiya.

“Handicraft has its own value. I have no attempt to be cool, and I aim higher than just making quality goods. I want to make quality goods on this piece of land. I believe this is my mission.” Every week, there are around 15 participants attending the hand spinning workshop. Tsuchiya said, “I want to provide training to people who see this as a profession,” she paused for a while and continued talking, “It sounds like I am fulfilling their needs, but they are the ones who fulfill me. My encounter with Nara brought me to these people. This place and the people helped me to actualize my thoughts, I feel so blessed.”

2. COEXISTING WITH OUR LAND / TOYAU

Excerpt

After the Typhoon Mangkhut had battered Hong Kong, people in TOYAU were left all busy with the reconstruction. Riding around on bikes, they volunteered to help the community to clear fallen tree branches with their carpentry saw, covering areas from Ng Tung River, Society for Indigenous Learning, Tin Ping Road to Ma Shi Po Village. After a week of busy work, they began replacing the roof in TOYAU that was blown away by the typhoon. Mr. Ko of TOYAU jokingly said, “It’d probably take two months to finish all the reconstruction. We are used to all kinds of weather, so we need to learn to live with them.”

A few years back, Mr. Ko was looking for a place to set up his studio. Together with a couple of friends, they rented a village house in Wa Shan Tsuen, Sheung Shui. On the weekends, their studio would be used as a showroom demonstrating their everyday work. “We are all dust as an individual. Together, we can become a sand dune.” TOYAU is precisely the Cantonese word for sand dune. Members of TOYAU see the place as a training ground, where they learn to face their true selves, coexist with nature, and to pass on their learnings. “Food tasting, ceramics class, and carpentry class have become some typical weekend activities. We try to introduce the local farm produce to the visitors in a fun and engaging way. We also make ceramic using the local clay and wooden equipment using the local trees, as a way to feel our connection to the land.”

3. WHERE THE GARDEN GROWS / KAZUMI MIZOGUCHI（溝口一三）

Excerpt

The traditional concept of Japanese garden-making is a true reflection of the designer’s own free will and mind. Trees, plants, and stones are arranged within a space to suggest a certain kind of natural landscape. Or in some cases, the plants are only used as mere objects to build a picture conjured up by the garden designer. For example, among the abstract rock garden in Ryōan-ji, the mighty garden at Adachi Museum of Art in Shimane Prefecture; or even the little courtyard gardens hidden in many cafes in Kyoto, some meticulous arrangement and craftsmanship can be consistently observed. Therefore we’d see the juxtaposition of the fleeting beauty of cherry blossom and the evergreen Japanese pines, or a nice window view of the color variation of maple tree leaves in different seasons. We’d also come across the beautiful multilayer of trees arranged by heights, or a charming collage of leaves of different species and sizes. All these do not only represent the beauty of nature but also the aesthetics of the garden designers. To maintain the landscape of the garden, any foreign plants would be normally treated as weeds and removed at the budding stage. On the contrary, Kazumi Mizoguchi does not intend to “maintain the landscape” when he mends his garden. He simply welcomes anything that is brought along by nature and let weeds to grow into bushes, random woods into trees. He even neglects some basic maintenance such as disinsection or pruning. When he has visitors, he simply sweeps the fallen leaves to both sides of the cobbled path. The green in the garden looks a bit chaotic but a certain order was somehow formed organically. This is a restoration of how nature should look originally.

“In nature, all things compete and the fittest survive. However different species would tend to seek a balance instead of conflicting with each other. Plants would take a detour if their growth path is blocked by obstacles. The tree trunk will not grow exceedingly big if the roots are not going deep enough. We just need to be tolerant in front of nature and it will find the right balance,” said Kazumi Mizoguchi.

4. GIVE AND TAKE / XIUYUN CHIANG

Excerpt

“Have a bite of our pear. I have sprinkled some lime powder on it. Try the papaya too. These fruits are all grown by us.” She suddenly rushed to the shelf and took out some notepads. Then she mumbled to herself, “I have to give you some souvenirs.” In the next second, she had already placed all her notepads on the desk. I began flipping her notepads out of curiosity. Seeing this, Chiang flipped open all the notepads and encouraged me to feel the different texture of the paper. She was so excited to share her experiments with different parts of plants as raw materials, including the leaves and the stem. What she had in hands were precisely the fruits of scientists’ labors of numerous experiments. “They are like human beings — the rougher the paper is, the older the plant was. I am simply visualizing the plants’ age and personality. Every piece of paper we make is unique. And look at this!” She ran to the other end of the living room and came back with something that looked like mini broomsticks. She frowned and explained to us, “I have been trying to make bamboo brushes, but it is not at all easy. Bamboo starts to grow in springtime. Those that have not been blown by the wind are not plump enough, some are bent, some are twisted... It all depends on the weather. It is not easy to find a nice bamboo stick even if you try very hard.” While talking, she stroked her bamboo brushes as if they were underachieving students.

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Cover photography by Ron Lam
Print Details: 136 pages, perfect bound with a white cloth spine, full-color.
Printed in Hong Kong.

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