I FO N

A W I N T E R ’ SN I G H T

A T R A V E L E R

A K I N A G A S A K A

IF ON

A W

INT

ER’S N

IGH

T

A T

RA

VELER

2010 - 2012

The project in progress was exhibited at

Lipp Family Residence

Bad Homburg, Germany 8. 2010

as a part of Project, potentially no one sees it part 3

Gallery Kurant

Tromso, Norway 5. 2011

as a part of Baby, I lost my handshoes...

Heidelberger Kunstverein

Heidelberg, Germany 11. 2011

as a part of Übermorgenkünstler II

Forum da Maia

Porto, Portugal 6. 2012

as a part of Baby, I lost my handshoes...

The completed project was exhibited at

Kunsthalle Exnergasse

Vienna, Austria 11. 2012

as a part of Baby, I lost my handshoes...

The project was developed over three years and was presented as

a work in progress at various stages. It was first shown as a wall based installation

comprising of photographs and letters.

The second incarnation was a sculptural installation with objects and a book.

The completed project was shown as an architectural installation;

a labyrinth interspersed objects and sounds.

継続中の作品としての展示

リップ家邸宅

ドイツ・バッドホンベルク　　2010 . 8

プロジェクト、ポテンシャリー・ノーワン・シーズ・イット　パート３ 展覧会の一部としての展示

ギャラリー・クラント

ノルウェー・トロムソー　　2011 . 5

ベイビー、アイ・ロスト・マイ・ハンドシューズ…　展覧会の一部としての展示

ハイデルベルク・クンストフェライン

ドイツ・ハイデルベルク　　2011 . 11

ウーバーモーゲンクンストラー２、展覧会の一部としての展示

フォーラム・ダ・マイア

ポルトガル・ポルト　　2012 . 6

ベイビー、アイ・ロスト・マイ・ハンドシューズ…　展覧会の一部としての展示

完成作品としての展示

クンストハーレー・エクスナーガッセ

オーストリア・ウィーン　　2012 . 11

ベイビー、アイ・ロスト・マイ・ハンドシューズ…　展覧会の一部としての展示

この作品は完成までに 3年掛かかり

異なる段階で継続中の作品として展示された。

第一段階は写真と手紙からなるインスタレーション

第二段階はオブジェと書籍からなる彫刻的なインスタレーション

そして最終的にはオブジェと音響を内包する迷路のような

建築的インスタレーションとして発表された。

In January 1985 the Italian novelist Italo Calvino began work on a series of six essays on literature

that he had been invited to deliver later that year as part of the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at

Harvard. On the night of 6 September Calvino was admitted to the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala

in Siena where he died of a cerebral hemorrhage two weeks later. Calvino’s lecture notes appeared

posthumously as Lezioni americane in 1988 and then in English translation as Six Memos for the Next

Millennium in 1993. The essays (of which there are in fact only five because of the unhappy timing

of author’s death) explore the values of lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility and multiplicity as

Calvino finds them in the work of writers from Ovid and Lucretius to Musil and Gadda. In the fifth

essay (on multiplicity) Calvino develops the idea of the novel as the reconfiguration of interrelated

fragments subject to a type of combinatorial play, a context in which Calvino says this of his own novel

published in 1979 only a few years before: “These considerations are at the basis of what I call the

‘hypernovel,’ which I tried to exemplify in If on a winter’s night a traveler (Se una notte d’inverno un

viaggiatore). My aim was to give the essence of what a novel is by providing it in concentrated form,

in ten beginnings; each beginning develops in very different ways from a common nucleus, and each

acts within a framework that both determines and is determined ... My temperament prompts me

to ‘keep it short,’ and such structures as these enable me to unite density of invention and expression

with a sense of infinite possibilities.”

Japanese visual artist Aki Nagasaka exhibited the first installments of her work If on a winter’s night

a traveler at Lipp Family Residence in August 2010. Conceived according to a principle of structured

open-endedness inspired by Calvino’s novel, the artist added to the work over the course of the

following two years during installations in Norway, Germany, Portugal and Austria. At roughly this

same time Nagasaka was at work on another major project, Project T, T for Taut., based on the work

of Weimar-era architect and urban planner Bruno Taut. Working in Europe since 2007 and the US

for almost a decade before that, If on a winter’s night a traveler and Project T, T for Taut. together

constitute something of an endcap to Nagasaka’s time living abroad and working outside Japan.

Borrowing from the language of the novel, we can describe Nagasaka’s If on a winter’s night a traveler

as comprising chapters. The first four of these center on a collection of objects and on the artist’s (real

and imagined) recollections of their (personal and historical) provenances. The work’s fifth chapter

concerns the telling of the artist’s relation to the work’s 95-year-old dedicatee, Frau Lipp, and the

artist’s reflections on the ways in which the entire project passes through Calvino in the form of his

characters and his narrative structures. In the paragraphs that follow I add my own reflections to the

cork-topped holder of algae, the goblet of candies, the flask of drinking water and the Lomonosov

figurine of a fox around which Nagasaka develops the first four chapters of the work.

“Kompeito made in the same atelier,” read Nagasaka’s reflections on the brilliantly colored sugar candy

introduced to Japan in the 16th century, “always have the identical shape with the same numbers

of protuberances. They are hand made by craftsmen and the skill is passed down among them orally

just like how the ancient cult of beekeeping was kept secret in Egypt, Greece, and Rome.” Exhibited

1985年1月 ― イタリアの小説家イタロ・カルヴィーノは「文学」を主題にした6つの草稿作りに取

りかかり始めた。ハーバード大学に招待された彼は、その年の暮れにチャールズ・エリオット・ノー

トン詩学講義をすることになっていたのだ。しかし9月6日の夜、カルヴィーノはシエナにあるサン

タ・マリア・デッラ・スカラ病院に運ばれ入院する。その2週間後、脳溢血により彼は帰らぬ人となっ

た。残されたカルヴィーノの講義草稿は、筆者の死から3年経った1988年に『Lezioni Americane』とし

て出版され、1993年には英訳された『新たな千年紀のための六つのメモ』が世に広まった。「軽さ」「早

さ」「正確さ」「視覚性」「多様性」「一貫性」。カルヴィーノはこれらを文学における6つの価値としな

がら（早すぎるカルヴィーノの死により草稿ははじめの5つしか完成されていなかった）、オーヴィッ

ド、ルクレティウス、ムージル、ガッダらの作品に見られる特徴として考察している。5つ目の「多様

性」では小説という枠組みの中で、ある種の結合と分離作用のもと、複数の断片が相互的な関係を織

りなしながら再構成されていくという、小説における新たなコンテキストが展開されている。これ

は1979年に出版された自身の著書『冬の夜ひとりの旅人が』の中でも次の様に述べられている。「私

が『超・小説』と呼び、また『冬の夜ひとりの旅人が』によってその見本を示そうと試みた提案の基礎

にあったのは、このような考察だったのです。私の意図は、小説的なるものの本質を長篇小説のいず

れも冒頭だけの十篇に凝縮して示すことでしたが、その十篇の小説がそれぞれ異なったやり方で共

通の核を発展させ、枠組みに ― 十編の物語を限定するものでありながら、またそれ自体それらの物

語に限定されている一つの枠組みに ― 作用するというものだったのです。・・・気質からして私は『短

く書く』ほうへとむかいがちですが、こうした構造のおかげで私は創案と表現に集中しながらもそれ

を無限の潜在的可能性の感覚に結びつけることができるのです。」

2010年8月 ― 長坂有希はアートプロジェクト『冬の夜ひとりの旅人が』の初回展示をリップ家の邸

宅で行った。彼女が影響を受けたカルヴィーノ小説の特色であるオープンエンドな構成法をたどる

ようにして、その後約2年に渡り、ヨーロッパ各国（ノルウェー、ドイツ、ポルトガル、オーストリア）

で同プロジェクトの制作を展開し、発表してきた。ほぼ同じ時期に長坂は別の大きなプロジェクト

『Project T, T for Taut.』の制作を進めていた。それはワイマール共和国時代のドイツ建築家・都市計画

家であったブルーノ・タウトを主題にしていた。2007年から約6年間に渡るヨーロッパでの彼女の

活動は、10年以上のアメリカでの生活に続くものだった。その長い年月を故郷である日本を離れ、海

外を生活と活動の拠点にしてきた彼女自身にとって、『冬の夜ひとりの旅人が』及び『Project T, T for

Taut.』という2つのプロジェクトは、アーティストとしてあるひとつの章を締めくくるエンドキャッ

プと言えるかもしれない。ここで小説の用語を借りるとするならば、長坂のプロジェクト『冬の夜ひ

とりの旅人が』は複数の「章」によって構成されると言えるだろう。初めの4つの章では、彼女により

集められたモノが1つずつ登場する。その対象に刻まれた固有の記憶と歴史的な背景を巡り、彼女の

鋭い観察と想像的な回想が書き綴られている。第5章では、長坂がこのプロジェクト作品を捧げた相

手でもあるリップ婦人（95歳）との関係を主題にし、またプロジェクトが一貫してカルヴィーノの文

学的特色と叙述構造を軸にしながら進展していることが明かされる。以下に続く文章では、長坂の

作品に登場するモノたち ― 海藻を飲み込んだコルク蓋の器、酒杯に盛られた砂糖菓子、フラスコに

密閉された水、ロモノーツフ製の狐の置物 ― を中心に、私の考察を綴ることにしたい。

「同じ工房で作られた金平糖は、」16世紀に日本にやってきた鮮やかな色をした砂糖菓子について、

in the gallery together with the objects they describe, Nagasaka’s observations move back and forth

between the formal qualities of objects and the stories of their animation. “Portuguese missionaries

landed at Nagasaki in 1543. They brought Kompeito as well as other Portuguese sweets, which

Japanese people referred as ‘southern barbaric sweets.’ Nonetheless Japanese people had never seen

sugar in such a shape as Kompeito and thus they highly praised it.” The word is a Japanese borrowing

from the Portuguese made so long ago that even today it is written with Han characters instead of the

katakana usually reserved for words of foreign origin. The candy is sold in train stations. It is given

as a parting gift at the Imperial palace. It is thoroughly Japanese. Kompeito is made according to a

process of the repeated application of liquid sugar to what was once a hard seed and later a single grain

of sugar. Now the candy is made with syrup alone without need for any core at all. Improvements in

the technology of the candy’s manufacture mean that the brightly colored sugar crystals no longer

develops cherries about their pits or pearls about grains of sand. The kompeito in the crystal goblet

are literally decentered and the multiplicity of rounded protuberances that make up the surfaces of the

candy are no longer countermanded by an indicator of origin or core.

“On her wedding day Miss Margherita made a commitment to herself and to the nation that she would

become the first queen of Italy ... her transformation as the queen was symbolized by her obsession

with pearls. Italian people called her the ‘Queen of Pearls’ with admiration.” The website at Christie’s

lists 52 lots once belonging to the queen that have sold recently at the company’s auction house in

London. An antique mother-of-pearl demi-parure. A collection of French documents. Antique jewels

made of tortoiseshell. A coral casket. An ivory box from King Rama V of Siam. But no pearls. Buyers

would do better to purchase from the Japanese luxury supplier of cultured pearls first opened by K-

okichi Mikimoto in 1899. Famous especially for the luster of its black pearls, the company’s website

lists dozens of pieces made of pearls or pearls and diamonds together. Among them are a pair of black

pearl earrings, a morning dew ring of black pearls and diamonds, a three- pearl drop pendant of

black pearls, and an avenir necklace of silver pearls and black pearls together. K-okichi Mikimoto first

observed ama divers at work in the waters of Ise Bay. The ama divers of Japan were historically women

and it was they who were responsible for the by-hand collection of the thousands of oysters required for

the discovery of even a single pearl. This changed with Mikimoto’s invention of the technique of pearl

cultivation now used around the world; the ama divers remain now as only an attraction for tourists.

Pearls develop as an oyster or other mollusk deposits layers of an iridescent combination of calcium

carbonate and conchiolin around an irritant inserted intentionally into the animal or lodged there

accidentally. The irritant may be a parasite, a bit of dirt, a particle ingested during feeding or a grain

of sand. All pearls develop about such an irritant. All pearls develop about kernel or a core; without a

kernel there is no pearl. (As without a core there would once have been no kompeito.) Without pearls

Queen Margherita would have been known to history under a different moniker. And her legacy would

have been transmitted through a different assembly of objects.

“The existence of Marimos is non-logical and out of order from nature. It attests that non-logical,

長坂は語る。「常に同じ形と同じ数の突起をその小さな姿に表す。金平糖は熟練された職人の手に

よって作られ、古代のエジプト、ギリシャ、ローマで養蜂の術が秘伝とされてきた様に、その技は一子

相伝の秘法として口伝えられてきた。」長坂の綴る言葉はその対象と併せて展示され、彼女の観察す

る視線の先が、対象のもつ形式的な特徴とそれが織りなす物語との間を行き来する。「ポルトガルの

宣教師が長崎の地に着いたのは1543年だった。当時の金平糖は、ポルトガルから来た他の品々の様

に「南蛮菓子」と呼ばれていたが、その中でも一際目を引いたそのかたちと味は、瞬く間に人々を魅

了した。」「金平糖」の語源が外来語（ポルトガル語）でありながらも、漢字表記で今日まで伝えられて

きたという事実は、日本に紹介されてからの長い年月と歴史を語る。金平糖は駅で販売されること

もあり、皇室の引出物としても長年用いられてきた。この小さな結晶は、まったくもって日本ならで

はのものだ。その製法は、中心となる核の周りに砂糖を溶かした蜜を少しずつ何層もかけては乾燥

させていくことを繰り返し行う。かつては一粒のケシの実であったその核は、やがて一粒の砂糖に

変わり、今ではその核となる「始まり」が無くなった結果、金平糖は完全な蜜の塊になった。製造技

術の進歩により金平糖は、さくらんぼが種を、あるいは真珠が一粒の砂を中心としながら生成される

仕組みを無くした。 クリスタルの酒杯に盛られた金平糖は文字通りその「中心性」を失い、丸みがかっ

た突起で覆われたその表面が、かつてその内側に内包した一点の「始まり」を再びもつことはない。

「マルゲリータ妃は、イタリア王国初の王妃となる覚悟を結婚式の場で自他共に誓った・・・王妃の

真珠に対する執着は『真珠の女王』という名を生み、イタリア国民により誉め称えられた。」クリス

ティーズ社のホームページの情報によると、マルゲリータ妃が所有していた52もの宝飾品が近年ロ

ンドンの美術品競売場で落札された。アンティークのデミ・パリュール、フランス資料のコレクショ

ン、べっ甲製のアンティークの宝石類、珊瑚細工の小箱、シャム国王ラーマ5世から贈られた象牙の

箱など。しかしその中に真珠は見当たらなかった。真珠に関して言うならば、世界で初めて真珠の

養殖に成功した御木本幸吉が1899年に開設した「御木本真珠店」の真珠を取り揃える方が、バイヤー

達にとって余程価値があることだろう。ミキモト社のホームページには、ミキモトパールを中心と

した何十種類もの宝飾品が取り揃う。真珠とダイヤの組み合わせの宝石類も数ある中、ミキモトな

らではの黒蝶真珠を取り入れた宝飾類が輝かしく並ぶ。黒蝶パールのイヤリング、3粒の黒蝶パール

が連なるペンダント、黒蝶パールとシルバーパールが彩るアベニールシリーズのネックレス。創始

者である御木本が、真珠母貝の採取を行う海女達の様子を初めて観察した場所は伊勢志摩の海だっ

た。「海女」という名が語る通り、日本では昔から真珠貝の管理と引き上げの一切を女性が行ってお

り、一粒の真珠を得るために必要とされていた何千個もの母貝は、全て海に潜る彼女達の手によって

集められてきた。しかしながら、御木本が成功した真珠の養殖技術が世界中に浸透することによっ

て、この構造は大きな変化を遂げる。残された海女達は、観光客を楽しませる対象でしかなくなって

しまったのだ。真珠は真珠貝をはじめとする特定の貝類の中に、偶然あるいは人為的に異物や寄生

虫が挿入されることで、体内に真珠層と言われる炭酸カルシウムとコンキオリンの結晶構造が分泌

され、それが異物の周りに堆積した結果、形成される。その核となる異物の正体は様々で、寄生虫、ケ

シ、餌と一緒に飲み込まれた微粒子、また一粒の砂であるときもある。いずれにせよ、全ての真珠は、

何らかの刺激物があって初めてその生成過程を開始するのだ。この様に刺激物を「核」としながら真

珠は形成される訳だが、金平糖の始まりが「核」無くしては語れない様に、真珠もまた「核」無くして

はその完成はない。「真珠の女王」と呼ばれるまでに至ったマルゲリータ妃を真珠無くして人々はど

stubborn, persistent, and excessive are the qualities from which beauty emerges. Marimos only

exist in a few places in the world and thus aren’t in any way popular or common. They live off of

photosynthesis, yet like dark and cool places away from the sun. Photosynthesis plants are usually flat

or linear to maximize their intake of the sun, and only green on the surface (white inside) to minimize

their energy consumption. However Marimos are spherical and thus half is always in shadow, and they

are green all the way to the core.” The mossy green balls of seaweed the Japanese call marimo and the

Icelanders kúluskítur appear in the first chapter of Nagasaka’s work. The marimo shimmer inside a

cork-topped glass jar set atop a gallery pedestal, the hard surfaces of the wood standing in contrast

to round and cottony quality of the plants. In her reflections on the marimo / kúluskítur Nagasaka

makes resonate the cold waterscapes of island countries separated from each other by the expanse of an

increasingly diminished Arctic. When Nagasaka imagines an underground tunnel used by trolls, elves

and the marimo as a type fantastic hidden highway, the image makes explicit that many of the most

important messages in the work arise not from proximity (whether physical or conceptual) but instead

through the invocation of the disparate places or things brought together in the appearance of a single

object.

Nagasaka’s If on a winter’s night a traveler proceeds according to a discourse of objects. Round objects

made smooth inside the body of an animal. Misshapen objects made bumpy in the application of

syrup. Cottony objects held suspended in a jar. Tiny objects imagined at the tip of the tongue. Our

encounters with the objects Nagasaka brings together in her work engender in us a network of images

active in the mind all at the same time. Differences of shape, centering, placement and meaning are all

let to resonate in a collection of shifting stories. We return to Calvino. “Who are we,” Calvino asks in

closing Six Memos for the Next Millennium, “if not a combinatoria of experiences, information, books

we have read, things imagined? Each life is an encyclopedia, a library, an inventory of objects, a series

of styles, and everything can be constantly shuffled and reordered in every way conceivable.” Who

are we, indeed, outside the collected experiences the world brings to bear upon us and the stories we

choose to write around them?

Trevor Baca

September 2013

う呼ぶのか。おそらく、真珠に代わる何かを王妃と重ね合わせることでしか彼女の名を語り継ぐこ

とは出来ないのだろう。

「毬藻（まりも）という生態は何とも非合理的で、まるで自然摂理の圏外に生息している様だ。その

非合理性に加え、頑固さ、根気強さ、そして極端さという特性の中に「美しさ」があることを身を以て

証明している。毬藻は世界でも限られた場所にしか生息していないため、一般的にはあまり知られ

ていない生き物だ。彼らは光合成を必要とするにも関わらず、太陽の光から外れた薄暗いひんやり

とした場所を好む。他の多くの光合成植物は、太陽の光を最大限に吸収するために体を細い線状にし、

その薄い表面を緑色（内側は白色）に染めることで生態としての進化を遂げてきた。一方で毬藻は、

その体が球形であることによって半身は常に陰をまとい、深い緑色を中心まで染み通しているのだ。」

この不可思議な海藻玉を日本人は「マリモ」と呼び、アイスランド人は「クールスキィトゥル」と呼ぶ。

長坂のプロジェクトの第１章で登場したこの生き物は、コルクで蓋されたガラス瓶の中で静かに揺

らめいている。また、その瓶が置かれた台座の固い木質とふわふわした丸い生き物の佇まいとが、不

思議なコントラストを奏でている。長坂は毬藻という対象を通して、意識の波紋を遠くへ広げていく。

海氷の縮小と共に少しずつ縮んでゆく北極圏の冷たい海に浮かぶ島国達の情景。トロールや小人や

毬藻達が秘密通路として使った地下トンネル。彼女が回想するこれらのイメージが私たちにある大

切なことを解き明かす。長坂の作品がもつ重要なメッセージは、形式的にも概念的にも、対象におけ

る中心（近さ）にあるのではなく、むしろ、その周縁に異質のものや離れた（遠い）場所がモノの輪郭を

作り上げる様にして集まる中で、浮かび上がってくるのだ。

『冬の夜ひとりの旅人が』は、長坂と希有なモノたちとの対話を通して展開される。生き物の体内で

磨かれた丸いカタチ、歪なものを覆う砂糖蜜のデコボコ、瓶に密閉されたふわふわ、舌の先の感覚で

とらえる様にして想像が巡らされた極小の世界。それらの対象を目にした時、その一つ一つを捉え

ようとする私たちの意識の中は、たちまちにして時制を失った複数のイメージが一斉に動き始める

場となる。形象、中心性、配置、そして意味における多様性は、複数の物語が移ろいながら展開してい

く中で多声的な反響を漏らす。ここで再びカルヴィーノに戻ろう。『新たな千年紀のための六つのメ

モ』を締めくくるカルヴィーノの問いかけを振り返ることにしたい。「私たちは何者なのでしょう？私

たちの一人ひとりは、経験や、情報や、読書や、さらには想像作用などの組み合わせでないとすれば、

何者なのでしょう？あらゆる人生は、それぞれ一箇の百科全書、図書館、物品目録、文体の標本集なので

あって、そのなかではたえずすべてが混ぜ返され、あらん限りのやり方で並べ替えられているという

こともあり得るのです。」私たちは何者なのか。世界からもたらされるあらゆる経験を、私たちが個々

の物語としていかに紡ぎ語るかということ以外に、一体何があり得るのだろうか。

2013年 9月

トレバー・バチャ

トレバー・バチャ／ 1975年生まれのアメリカ人現代音楽作曲家。「失われた、もしくは秘められたテキスト」「崩れた、またはばらばらになった

システム」「予示、魔術、魔法」あるいは「光の効果、作動、美しさ」という事象に重心をおいた活動を展開している。バチャの楽譜はアート作品

として展示されることもあり、彼作曲の楽曲はアメリカ、ヨーロッパ、日本で演奏されている。

Trevor Baca (*1975) is an American composer of new music. His concerns as a composer include lost and secret texts; broken and dismembered systems; sorcery, divination and magic; and the effects, action and beauty of light. Baca’s scores have been exhibited as art and his music has been played throughout the US, Europe and Japan.

Lipp Family Residence

Bad Homburg, Germany 8. 2010

Gallery Kurant

Tromso, Norway 5. 2011

Forum da Maia

Porto, Portugal 6. 2012

Heidelberger Kunstverein

Heidelberg, Germany 11. 2011

For

Pau

la L

ipp

As

has

been

sai

d fr

om a

ncie

nt t

imes

, th

e su

m o

f en

ergy

res

idin

g us

rem

ains

con

stan

t at

all

times

– a

ll m

atte

r ca

n co

nver

t ba

ck t

o en

ergy

and

the

ener

gy m

anife

sts

in d

iffer

ent

way

s cr

eatin

g ob

ject

s, p

eopl

e,

thou

ghts

, an

d ev

ents

. It

’s a

ll ab

out

shif

ting

ene

rgy

from

one

to

anot

her.

Like

Mic

hael

Jac

kson

pul

led

so m

any

peop

le in

and

cre

ated

his

era

and

phen

omen

on,

then

the

ene

rgy

shift

ed f

rom

him

and

will

caus

e an

othe

r pu

ll of

eve

nts

som

ewhe

re e

lse.

Lik

e th

e w

ater

was

stop

ped,

thu

s th

e en

ergy

was

clo

gged

in

the

build

ing,

and

the

n it

caus

ed a

fl o

od.

It w

as s

topp

ed,

shift

ed,

ampl

ifi ed

its

mag

nitu

de,

and

it pe

rhap

s ca

me

out

as a

tsu

nam

i alo

ng t

he c

oast

of

Japa

n.

I w

ish

I co

uld

be c

onta

ined

in

a gl

ass

jar

with

a M

arim

o an

d st

ay

ther

e as

long

as

I wan

ted.

The

pla

ce is

coo

l, sh

aded

, and

com

plet

e. I

see

thin

gs a

litt

le o

bscu

red

thro

ugh

the

laye

rs o

f w

ater

and

the

gla

ss.

I he

ar p

eopl

e an

d ta

lk t

o th

em t

hrou

gh t

he v

ibra

tion

of t

he l

ayer

s.

Ther

e is

a l

ittle

tim

e de

lay

and

freq

uent

mis

unde

rsta

ndin

gs o

ccur

,

but

that

’s n

ice.

The

irr

esis

tible

act

ivity

in

our

life

is t

o im

agin

e, t

o

crea

te e

vent

s in

our

min

d, a

nd t

o re

live

othe

r pe

ople

’s e

xper

ienc

es

thro

ugh

imag

inat

ion.

It’s

bei

ng h

ere

and

bein

g so

mew

here

els

e. I

t’s

how

muc

h di

stan

ce o

ne c

an s

lip.

And

thi

s ac

tion

is n

ot a

leis

ure

nor

a lu

xury

, it

is a

ctua

lly t

he o

nly

optio

n le

ft f

or u

s. O

ur e

xper

ienc

es

are

solo

act

s, o

ur f

eelin

gs a

re p

rivat

e, a

nd e

ven

lang

uage

s, w

hich

are

supp

osed

ly t

here

to

conn

ect

and

com

mun

icat

e be

twee

n us

, ar

e

priv

ate.

The

n w

e at

lea

st n

eed

to i

mag

ine

we

go t

hrou

gh e

vent

s

toge

ther

– g

ettin

g dr

unk

and

danc

ing

unde

r th

e sa

me

mus

ic –

sha

ring

sim

ilar

feel

ings

– b

eing

ful

fi lle

d m

omen

taril

y. O

r in

stea

d w

e fa

ll as

leep

spoo

ning

, sm

ellin

g th

e se

nt o

f th

e na

pe o

f hi

s ne

ck w

here

hai

r an

d

skin

mee

t. I

cela

ndic

peo

ple

say

whe

n th

ey s

mel

l a s

wee

t fl o

ral s

ent

in t

he a

ir th

at t

he e

lves

are

aro

und.

Ther

e is

an

insa

nely

long

und

ergr

ound

tun

nel c

onne

ctin

g La

ke A

kan

in H

okka

ido

and

Lake

Mýv

atn

in n

orth

Ice

land

. Vo

lcan

oes

expl

oded

and

lava

fl o

oded

. Th

e ex

plos

ions

left

cra

ters

whe

re w

ater

str

eam

ed

in a

nd c

reat

ed t

he t

wo

lake

s. T

he l

ava

hard

ened

und

ergr

ound

and

form

ed t

he b

umpy

col

orfu

l tun

nel.

Mar

imos

, elv

es, a

nd t

rolls

use

the

tunn

el,

go t

hrou

gh t

he b

ubbl

ing

hot

and

free

zing

col

d sp

ots

and

the

dark

and

nar

row

par

ts,

and

fi nal

ly r

each

Lak

e A

kan

or L

ake

Mýv

atn.

Whe

n th

ey a

rriv

e at

the

oth

er la

ke, i

t is

a p

lace

unk

now

n to

the

m b

ut

som

ehow

fam

iliar

. It

fee

ls a

bit

like

visi

ting

a re

mot

e re

lativ

e’s

hous

e

for

the

fi rst

tim

e. Y

ou’v

e ne

ver

met

the

m b

ut t

he f

amili

ar d

ecor

atio

ns

and

the

smel

l of

the

hou

se –

the

one

on

Sat

urda

y af

ter

lunc

h –

hit

your

mem

ory

so s

tron

gly

that

you

fee

l a b

it di

zzy,

get

suc

ked

into

a

vort

ex. Y

ou f

eel s

tran

gely

at

hom

e in

the

for

eign

pla

ce, w

hich

mak

es

you

feel

unc

omfo

rtab

le b

ecau

se i

t sh

ould

n’t

be c

omfo

rtab

le.

So

Mar

imos

, el

ves,

and

tro

lls r

ecog

nize

man

y fa

mili

ar e

lem

ents

of

thei

r

hom

e –

volc

anic

ene

rgy,

hot

spr

ings

, fr

eezi

ng w

ater

, th

e lo

ng w

inte

r

and

its q

uiet

ness

and

dar

knes

s –

but

they

als

o re

aliz

e th

at p

eopl

e ca

ll

them

diff

eren

t na

mes

and

tha

t th

eir

face

s ar

e di

ffer

ent.

Ano

ther

fam

iliar

thi

ng f

or M

arim

os i

s w

eak

salt

wat

er.

Mar

imo

mot

hers

giv

e it

to t

heir

child

ren

as a

rem

edy

whe

n th

ey a

re s

ick.

They

tel

l a s

tory

tha

t th

eir

hom

e us

ed t

o be

a p

art

of t

he o

cean

a v

ery

long

tim

e ag

o an

d th

ey r

emem

ber

the

sens

e of

it w

ithou

t co

nsci

ousl

y

rem

embe

ring

it. M

arim

os n

o lo

nger

kno

w w

heth

er t

hat

is t

he r

easo

n

or b

ecau

se it

has

bee

n a

habi

t fr

om t

heir

child

hood

, but

the

y st

ill s

oak

them

selv

es in

wea

k sa

lt w

ater

whe

n th

ey f

eel h

omes

ick.

I fi n

d M

arim

os c

ompe

lling

and

bea

utifu

l. Th

e ex

iste

nce

of M

arim

os

is n

on-lo

gica

l and

out

of

orde

r fr

om n

atur

e. It

att

ests

tha

t no

n-lo

gica

l,

stub

born

, pe

rsis

tent

, an

d ex

cess

ive

are

the

qual

itie

s fr

om w

hich

beau

ty e

mer

ges.

Mar

imos

onl

y ex

ist

in a

few

pla

ces

in t

he w

orld

thu

s

aren

’t in

any

way

pop

ular

or

com

mon

. The

y liv

e of

f of

pho

tosy

nthe

sis,

yet

like

dark

and

coo

l pl

aces

aw

ay f

rom

the

sun

. P

hoto

synt

hesi

s

plan

ts a

re u

sual

ly fl

at

or l

inea

r to

max

imiz

e th

eir

inta

ke o

f th

e su

n,

and

only

gre

en o

n th

e su

rfac

e –

whi

te i

nsid

e –

to m

inim

ize

thei

r

ener

gy c

onsu

mpt

ion.

How

ever

Mar

imos

are

sph

eric

al a

nd t

hus

half

is a

lway

s in

sha

dow

, an

d th

ey a

re g

reen

all

the

way

to

the

core

.

An

anal

ogy

wou

ld b

e a

lose

r hu

sban

d w

ho s

pend

s m

ore

mon

ey o

n

gam

blin

g th

an h

e ea

rns

and

does

n’t

even

mak

e m

uch

mon

ey t

o

begi

n w

ith...

Mar

imos

don

’t ha

ve r

oots

and

thu

s dr

ift a

nd a

re r

otat

ed

by w

ater

wav

es. T

his

keep

s M

arim

os in

the

ir sp

heric

al s

hape

, it

is n

ot

by t

heir

effo

rt b

ut a

s a

bypr

oduc

t of

oth

er f

orce

s. M

arim

os m

ay s

eem

extr

emel

y la

zy u

p til

l now

, bu

t th

ey a

re a

lso

amaz

ingl

y pa

tient

– t

hey

spen

d a

few

hun

dred

yea

rs g

row

ing

to a

sph

ere

one

to t

wo

met

ers

in d

iam

eter

– a

nd g

reat

ly s

tubb

orn

not

to c

hang

e th

eir

attit

ude.

Thi

s

trai

t gi

ves

Mar

imos

a s

ense

of

dign

ity,

even

mak

es t

hem

her

oic

and

beau

tiful

. A

lso,

Mar

imos

beh

ave

like

a tim

e ca

psul

e ab

sorb

ing

and

dist

illin

g tim

e in

side

the

mse

lves

. Th

ey t

ake

out

smal

l por

tions

eac

h

time

and

give

it

to u

s w

hen

we

look

at

the

Mar

imos

, an

d th

us w

e

gain

a p

ortio

n of

tim

e, m

akin

g us

fee

l rel

axed

and

gro

unde

d.

Cha

pter

1

Into

a m

agni

fyin

g sp

here

thro

ugh

a bu

mpy

lava

tunn

el

Whi

le s

ugar

ref

inem

ent

was

bei

ng i

nven

ted

in A

rabi

a, t

he c

ryst

al

land

scap

e w

as s

tart

ing

to b

e fo

rmed

in a

hot

ste

amy

cave

in M

exic

o.

The

Por

tugu

ese

ship

in t

he m

iddl

e of

the

Indi

an O

cean

wen

t th

roug

h

man

y st

orm

s an

d w

ild w

aves

whi

le s

ailin

g to

war

ds t

he e

ast.

Men

in

all t

imes

see

m t

o at

tem

pt t

o co

nque

r un

know

ns –

peo

ple,

land

, se

a,

and

them

selv

es –

whi

ch h

ave

crea

ted

man

y hi

stor

ies

as w

ell a

s tr

agic

stor

ies.

I d

on’t

ful

ly g

et t

he m

en’s

rom

ance

and

I d

on’t

lik

e sh

ips

beca

use

of m

y te

rrib

le s

ea s

ickn

ess.

I r

athe

r en

d up

won

derin

g ho

w

man

y tim

es t

he P

ortu

gues

e sa

ilors

puk

ed in

to t

he s

ea f

rom

the

edg

e

of t

he s

hip.

The

Kam

ishi

bai

dram

a “T

he P

ortu

gues

e Tr

ick

or T

reat

” is

abo

ut t

o

take

pla

ce h

ere.

Por

tuga

l am

ong

othe

r E

urop

ean

coun

trie

s w

as g

oing

thro

ugh

the

Age

of

Dis

cove

ry a

nd t

hey

wer

e sa

iling

tow

ard

the

east

to c

olon

ize

new

lan

ds a

nd t

o sp

read

Chr

istia

nity

. W

hile

aim

ing

to

reac

h C

hina

a s

torm

hit

the

Por

tugu

ese

ship

and

the

Por

tugu

ese

mis

sion

arie

s la

nded

at

Nag

asak

i in

1543

. Th

ey b

roug

ht K

ompe

ito a

s

wel

l as

oth

er P

ortu

gues

e sw

eets

, w

hich

Jap

anes

e pe

ople

ref

erre

d

as “

sout

hern

bar

baric

sw

eets

.” N

onet

hele

ss J

apan

ese

peop

le h

ad

neve

r se

en s

ugar

in s

uch

a sh

ape

as K

ompe

ito a

nd t

hus

they

hig

hly

prai

sed

it. T

he m

issi

onar

ies

gave

Kom

peito

to

Gen

eral

Nob

unag

a as

a

gift

to

ask

for

a pe

rmis

sion

to

spre

ad C

hris

tiani

ty.

Kom

peito

’s c

harm

wor

ked

on N

obun

aga

till

his

succ

esso

r de

cide

d to

ban

Chr

istia

nity

and

limit

fore

ign

entr

ance

int

o Ja

pan.

The

mak

ing

of K

ompe

ito h

ad

initi

ally

bee

n al

l a m

yste

ry b

ut b

y th

is t

ime

the

Japa

nese

cra

ftsm

en

had

appr

opria

ted

the

skill

. Th

ey f

urth

er d

evel

oped

and

per

fect

ed it

s

shap

e an

d qu

ality

. M

eanw

hile

Kom

peito

was

com

mon

ly s

prea

d an

d

adop

ted

as a

“tr

aditi

onal

” Ja

pane

se s

wee

t.

My

mot

her

was

too

hun

g ov

er t

he n

ext

mor

ning

fro

m t

he e

xqui

site

Fren

ch d

inne

r an

d th

e bo

ttle

of

Sax

ony

red

win

e of

the

nig

ht b

efor

e

to v

isit

the

Gre

en V

ault,

so

I w

ent

ther

e al

one

to s

ee t

he t

reas

ures

of A

ugus

t de

r S

tark

e. I

t is

insa

ne w

hat

enor

mou

s w

ealth

som

etim

es

man

ifes

ts i

nto

– su

ch a

n ex

trao

rdin

ary

obsc

ure

drea

mla

nd b

oth

inw

ard

and

outw

ard.

The

che

rry

pits

hav

e 36

0 or

so

min

ute

face

s

scul

pted

on

them

. I

imag

ine

putt

ing

the

pit

into

my

mou

th,

rota

ting

it sl

owly

, an

d ex

amin

ing

the

faci

al e

xpre

ssio

ns o

n th

e pi

t w

ith m

y

tong

ue.

It n

ever

mel

ts s

o I

have

to

spit

it ou

t so

me

poin

t. Y

uck!

. .

.

They

’re

not

face

s, b

ut K

ompe

ito h

ave

twen

ty-f

our

prot

uber

ance

s ov

er

thei

r su

rfac

e. K

ompe

ito m

ade

in t

he s

ame

atel

ier

alw

ays

have

the

iden

tical

sha

pe w

ith s

ame

num

bers

of

prot

uber

ance

s. T

hey

are

hand

mad

e by

cra

ftsm

en a

nd t

he s

kill

is p

asse

d do

wn

amon

g th

em o

rally

just

like

how

the

anc

ient

cul

t of

bee

keep

ing

was

kep

t se

cret

in E

gypt

,

Gre

ece,

and

Rom

e. T

hey

say

it ta

kes

at le

ast

twen

ty y

ears

to

mas

ter

the

skill

and

alm

ost

twen

ty d

ays

to m

ake

one

kind

of

Kom

peito

. Th

e

Kom

peito

cra

ftsm

en s

eem

to

poss

ess

the

sam

e ki

nd o

f pr

ide

and

men

’s r

oman

ce a

s th

e sa

ilors

.

Res

ting

in it

s gl

ass

base

, a

Kom

peito

ask

ed m

e “D

o I

belo

ng t

o ar

t

or n

atur

e?”

I w

ante

d to

avo

id s

uch

a he

avy-

hand

ed q

uest

ion

and

just

wan

ted

to a

ssur

e th

at it

is a

rt b

ecau

se I

say

so. Y

et it

dem

ande

d

mor

e of

me

and

left

me

in a

glo

omy,

blu

rry

fiel

d w

ith

an O

scar

Wild

e fl a

shlig

ht a

s a

navi

gatio

n to

ol.

The

Osc

ar W

ilde

fl ash

light

was

prob

ably

not

mea

nt t

o ill

umin

ate

Kom

peito

to

begi

n w

ith a

nd I

did

n’t

know

how

to

use

it e

ithe

r. A

hh!.

.. I

sw

itch

ed i

t on

and

it

shed

a

light

: ‘L

ife im

itate

s ar

t fa

r m

ore

than

art

imita

tes

life.

’ K

ompe

ito w

as

crea

ted

by h

uman

imag

inat

ion,

han

ds, a

nd lu

cky

acci

dent

s, n

ot o

win

g

to i

deas

fro

m n

atur

e. B

ut w

hen

it re

ache

s its

mos

t pe

rfec

ted

form

the

com

plex

ity i

s hi

ghly

org

anic

and

it

seem

s to

bel

ong

to n

atur

e

agai

n. T

he q

ueer

sha

pe o

f K

ompe

ito e

ven

beca

me

a he

ated

sub

ject

in s

cien

ce in

the

198

0s. F

ract

al a

nd C

haos

The

orie

s ex

plai

n th

at w

hile

the

suga

r is

get

ting

crys

talli

zed,

une

venn

ess

of d

istr

ibut

ion

occu

rs.

This

noi

se c

reat

ed b

y un

even

wav

es g

ets

exag

gera

ted

thro

ugh

the

proc

ess.

Thi

s cr

eate

s th

e un

ique

sha

pe o

f K

ompe

ito,

yet

they

can

’t

expl

ain

why

it

alw

ays

has

unifo

rm p

rotu

bera

nces

. S

cien

ce u

sual

ly

take

s it

s su

bjec

t fr

om n

atur

e, t

hus

sugg

esti

ng t

hat

Kom

peit

o is

natu

re, b

ut it

fai

ls in

the

tot

al e

xpla

natio

n, w

hich

aut

omat

ical

ly le

aves

Kom

peito

in a

rt.

Cha

pter

2

Slid

ing

dow

n th

e go

rge

of c

ryst

al p

rotu

bera

nces

The

wat

er f

ount

ain

at t

he s

tatio

n pl

aza

in a

new

sub

urba

n di

stric

t of

Osa

ka, t

he w

ater

was

shu

t of

f a

long

tim

e ag

o an

d it

beca

me

an a

nti-

clim

ax m

onum

ent.

The

wat

er in

the

oas

is in

the

Tak

lam

akan

Des

sert

disa

ppea

red

and

the

tow

n be

cam

e a

ruin

. A

new

wat

er s

ourc

e w

as

foun

d in

Ore

zza

and

the

sprin

g w

as b

roug

ht b

ack

to li

fe a

gain

.

In H

aruk

i M

urak

ami’s

Win

d-U

p B

ird

Chr

onic

le M

alta

Kan

o ha

s a

spiri

tual

psy

chic

pow

er w

hich

she

gai

ned

thro

ugh

cont

act

with

a v

ery

pure

wat

er s

pran

g in

the

dee

p m

ount

ains

of

Mal

ta Is

land

. Tha

t’s h

ow

she

chos

e M

alta

as

her

spiri

tual

nam

e. O

n ou

r lo

ng n

ight

wal

k in

Mal

ta w

e sa

w r

ows

of A

rabi

c ba

y w

indo

ws

and

an o

ld w

ater

dis

tille

ry

built

in 1

881.

Mal

ta w

as s

uppo

sedl

y am

ong

the

fi rst

nat

ions

to

dist

ill

fres

h w

ater

fro

m s

ea w

ater

. M

alta

’s s

iste

r is

cal

led

Cre

te K

ano

and

she

wea

rs a

thi

ck m

ake-

up r

esem

blin

g th

at o

f th

e 19

60s.

She

cou

ld

easi

ly b

e a

char

acte

r in

Geo

rge

Luca

s’s

Am

eric

an G

raffi

ti p

oppe

d ou

t

in t

he J

apan

ese

real

ity.

She

hel

ps M

alta

as

her

med

ium

. S

he c

an g

o

thro

ugh

peop

le li

ke w

ater

goe

s th

roug

h th

eir

bodi

es a

nd b

ecom

es a

part

of

them

. Or

it’s

as if

she

was

a v

ery

good

silk

y gr

eeni

sh o

live

oil,

whi

ch c

an b

e m

ixed

and

bec

ome

the

delic

ious

sm

ooth

con

sist

ency

of P

esto

Ver

de. C

rete

giv

es a

birt

h to

a b

aby

– of

unk

now

n se

x –

and

calls

it

Cor

sica

. A

fi lt

hy d

og w

ith d

irty

teet

h sh

outs

and

bar

ks:

“No

man

is a

n is

land

!”

A v

olca

no e

xplo

ded

in t

he R

apag

gio

regi

on o

f C

orsi

ca a

nd a

gig

antic

cake

app

eare

d, b

aked

by

the

heat

of

the

expl

osio

n. It

is a

vas

t, f

ertil

e

land

for

mat

ion

calle

d M

ont

Bla

nc,

cove

red

with

con

tour

lay

ers

of

mar

ron

crea

ms

on t

op,

bran

dy fl

avo

r fr

esh

crea

m in

side

, an

d a

moi

st

spon

ge c

ake

at t

he b

otto

m.

The

mon

umen

t of

Mar

ron

Gla

ce s

tand

s

at t

he p

eak

of t

he l

and

cove

red

with

mes

h su

gar.

From

one

pla

ce

betw

een

the

crus

ts o

f th

e m

arro

n cr

eam

lay

ers

an O

rezz

a ge

yser

shoo

ts u

p in

the

air.

It

crea

tes

clou

ds o

f m

ist,

whi

ch e

nd u

p cr

eatin

g

the

mes

h su

gar

on t

he m

arro

n m

onum

ent.

The

gey

ser

wat

er s

trea

ms

into

the

low

lan

d cr

eati

ng a

fre

sh s

park

ling

spri

ng.

Peo

ple

enjo

y

bath

ing,

spa

tre

atm

ents

, sn

orke

ling

to e

xplo

re u

nder

wat

er,

and

pedd

ling

a w

hite

sw

an b

oat.

It

was

onc

e a

popu

lar

utop

ian

wel

lnes

s

dest

inat

ion

for

the

mai

nlan

ders

fro

m t

he la

te 1

800s

till

Wor

ld W

ar I

I.

It w

as f

orgo

tten

, bu

t it

is n

ow a

hid

den

spot

for

the

loca

l peo

ple

in

Cor

sica

.

In t

he s

hado

ws,

aw

ay f

rom

the

vio

lent

sun

of

Nor

th A

fric

a, F

renc

h

sold

iers

cur

ed t

heir

thirs

t an

d ex

haus

tion

with

Ore

zza

wat

er d

urin

g

the

com

bats

of

Wor

ld W

ar I

I. A

sm

all

grou

p of

Jap

anes

e so

ldie

rs

wer

e ca

ught

by

Rus

sian

and

Mon

golia

n so

ldie

rs i

n th

e w

inte

ry

dese

rt o

f M

ongo

lia c

lose

to

Man

shu

in W

ind-

Up

Bird

Chr

onic

le.

The

Mon

golia

n so

ldie

rs k

ill t

heir

pris

oner

s in

a v

ery

brut

al m

anne

r. Th

ey

don’

t sh

oot

them

nor

kill

the

m i

mm

edia

tely

, in

stea

d th

ey p

eel

thei

r

skin

slo

wly

, le

avin

g hu

man

bod

ies

like

bloc

ks o

f m

eat.

The

pris

oner

s

die

even

tual

ly b

y th

e lo

ss o

f bl

ood.

The

last

per

son

left

was

Offi

cer

Mam

iya.

Ins

tead

of

peel

ing

his

skin

the

Mon

golia

n so

ldie

rs f

orce

d

him

to

jum

p in

to a

dee

p dr

y w

ell

in t

he d

eser

t an

d le

ft h

im t

here

.

Offi

cer

Mam

iya

spen

t th

e ne

xt f

ew d

ays

at t

he b

otto

m o

f th

e w

ell

in t

he d

arke

st d

arkn

ess

and

insa

ne f

ear.

But

for

a f

ew m

inut

es a

day

whe

n th

e su

n ca

me

dire

ctly

int

o th

e w

ell

he e

xper

ienc

ed t

he

imm

ense

exi

sten

ce o

f lig

ht v

eilin

g hi

m,

taki

ng h

im t

o th

e hi

ghes

t of

one’

s se

nsat

ion

and

rapt

ure.

Whe

n he

was

res

cued

he

real

ized

tha

t

he l

ost

all

sens

es a

nd f

elt

num

b to

eve

ryth

ing

in h

is l

ife.

Whi

le w

e

aim

to

reac

h th

is s

tate

to

expe

rienc

e th

e hi

ghes

t m

omen

t, t

his

plac

e

is w

here

one

sho

uld

neve

r re

ach

perh

aps.

The

pla

ce i

s em

pty

in

real

ity, a

nd w

e ca

nnot

bea

r it.

An

old

Ger

man

lad

y si

ts i

n he

r ki

tche

n, d

rinki

ng a

bot

tle o

f O

rezz

a

wat

er.

Act

ually

she

is n

ot G

erm

an,

she

is a

n A

ustr

ian

from

Kär

nten

.

She

liv

es i

n a

reno

wne

d B

aden

tow

n of

Ger

man

y, b

ut s

he h

asn’

t

visi

ted

the

sprin

gs f

or a

long

tim

e. A

ctua

lly s

he n

o lo

nger

goe

s ou

t

of h

er h

ouse

. S

he s

ips

pric

kly

chill

ed O

rezz

a w

ater

and

rem

embe

rs

diff

eren

t ev

ents

fro

m h

er l

ife.

The

tim

e sh

e an

d he

r gi

rlfr

iend

s

clim

bed

the

mou

ntai

ns i

n th

e su

mm

er i

n K

ärnt

en.

The

tim

e sh

e

mov

ed t

o G

erm

any

afte

r he

r m

arria

ge a

nd f

ound

the

hou

ses

very

pecu

liar.

The

time

she

and

her

husb

and

wer

e se

para

tely

put

int

o

Eng

lish

war

pris

ons

afte

r th

e w

ar.

The

time

she

gave

birt

h to

her

daug

hter

and

the

tim

e he

r da

ught

er g

ave

birt

h to

her

gra

ndso

n. T

he

time

she

and

her

husb

and

cele

brat

ed t

heir

silv

er a

nniv

ersa

ry. S

he h

as

man

y m

emor

ies

to r

e-ex

perie

nce

whi

le s

ittin

g at

hom

e, a

nd n

o lo

nger

need

s no

r de

sire

s to

go

out.

She

is

utte

rly b

eaut

iful

and

sere

ne.

I

won

der

if sh

e al

so e

xper

ienc

ed t

he im

men

se r

aptu

ring

sens

atio

n in

her

life

and

cont

inue

s liv

ing

whi

le b

earin

g th

e em

ptin

ess

of l

ife a

s

wel

l.

Cha

pter

3

Bein

g a

com

pani

on o

f Pe

sto

Verd

e,M

ont B

lanc

, and

a b

lock

of

mea

t

Whi

le s

ittin

g in

my

back

roo

m a

t th

e O

rani

enpl

atz

apar

tmen

t, lo

okin

g

stra

ight

at

the

ivy

wal

l ou

tsid

e th

e w

indo

w a

nd h

eari

ng t

he k

ids

play

ing

in t

he p

layg

roun

d, I

con

cent

rate

my

thou

ghts

on

how

one

can

tell

mul

tiple

sto

ries

sim

ulta

neou

sly

with

out

havi

ng a

ny s

eque

ntia

l

orde

r. W

hy a

m I

thi

nkin

g ab

out

such

a c

oncr

ete

mat

ter

on s

uch

a

brill

iant

sun

ny d

ay?

I sh

ould

cal

l Lau

ra,

wal

k to

Eng

elbe

cken

, an

d la

y

on t

he g

rass

bes

ide

the

wat

er.

But

. .

. s

torie

s by

the

ir na

ture

hav

e

linea

r du

ratio

ns a

nd t

hus

they

tak

e up

tim

e. A

nd s

ince

the

y ta

ke u

p

time

they

hav

e to

be

told

in s

eque

nce

. .

. I

rem

embe

r a

pain

ting

by J

an V

an E

yke

– th

e on

e w

ith t

wo

peop

le

in t

he c

erem

ony

of a

mar

riage

or

som

e un

ifi ca

tion.

The

pain

ting

is li

ke a

fi el

d w

ith m

any

land

mar

ks,

each

of

the

land

mar

ks p

oint

ing

to a

sus

pend

ed

froz

en s

tory

. The

se f

roze

n st

orie

s do

n’t

seem

to c

onve

rge

at o

ne p

oint

but

rat

her

stay

co-

exis

ting

and

inte

rrel

atin

g lik

e lo

okin

g a

sect

ion

view

of

unde

rgro

und

mol

e ne

sts.

Pai

ntin

g

mig

ht b

e a

good

veh

icle

for

me,

I h

urry

mys

elf

to c

ycle

to

the

Gem

älde

gale

rie a

t P

otsd

amer

Pla

tz.

I pa

ss b

y M

ies’

s gl

ass

box,

say

ing

hello

to

it in

my

min

d, I

wal

k in

to t

he K

ultu

rfor

um,

and

go d

irect

ly t

o th

e

dese

rted

long

cor

ridor

s of

the

pai

ntin

g ga

llery

. It’s

com

plet

ely

still

and

cool

des

pite

the

war

mth

and

life

out

side

in t

he c

ity.

I w

alk

tow

ard

a

pain

ting

– no

t to

o bi

g, lo

okin

g Fl

emis

h or

Dut

ch, a

fi gu

re s

eem

ingl

y in

her

dom

estic

inte

rior.

I try

to

look

at

it cl

osel

y an

d ca

refu

lly.

The

surf

ace

of t

he p

aint

ing,

gla

zing

, an

d ov

eral

l pre

senc

e of

air

and

hum

idity

in t

he p

aint

ing:

O

n a

mug

gy s

umm

er e

veni

ng’s

str

oll a

long

the

river

ban

k a

youn

g m

an s

aw t

he m

ost

beau

tiful

, el

egan

t w

oman

stan

ding

alo

ne,

wea

ring

a b

rilli

ant

red

peon

y pa

tter

ned

kim

ono

with

an

exqu

isite

pea

rl ha

irpin

abo

ve h

er e

ar.

He

was

str

uck

by h

er

stun

ning

allu

re,

he a

ppro

ache

d he

r ne

rvou

sly

and

aske

d he

r na

me.

“Oyo

shi,”

she

ans

wer

ed w

ith h

er p

lum

voi

ce.

She

inv

ited

him

and

ente

rtai

ned

him

with

diff

eren

t st

orie

s of

for

eign

pla

ces.

He

felt

as if

he w

as s

ucke

d in

to a

daz

e, c

ompl

etel

y lo

osin

g hi

s se

nse

of t

ime

and

plac

e. A

s th

e m

orni

ng s

tar

appe

ared

abo

ve t

he h

oriz

on O

yosh

i to

ld

the

youn

g m

an “

I m

ust

leav

e no

w.”

With

the

se w

ords

she

tur

ned

into

a f

emal

e fo

x, b

owed

to

him

dee

ply,

and

jum

ped

away

int

o th

e

bush

es.

The

pain

ting

hang

ing

on t

he w

all a

t th

e le

ft b

ack

side

of

the

pain

ting:

With

the

new

dis

cove

red

alch

emy

of t

rans

form

ing

clay

pow

der

into

whi

te g

old,

Mei

ssen

men

ager

ie w

as s

et u

p in

the

Zw

inge

r Pa

lace

.

Exo

tic a

nim

als

such

as

elep

hant

, lio

n, t

iger

, mon

key,

rhi

no, f

ox, p

arro

t,

fl am

ingo

, an

d m

any

mor

e po

se e

lega

ntly

on

the

pede

stal

s, a

ll gl

azed

pure

whi

te a

nd c

ompl

etel

y st

ill,

refl

ecti

ng t

he g

lare

of

the

chan

delie

rs o

n th

e pa

lace

cei

lings

. A

ugus

t de

r S

tark

e

and

his

fam

ily w

ould

mea

nder

thr

ough

the

saf

ari

with

the

ir or

nate

long

dre

sses

sw

eepi

ng t

he fl

oor.

The

anti

que

figu

re o

n th

e de

sk a

t th

e ri

ght

fron

t si

de o

f th

e pa

intin

g:

The

sist

ers

of t

he

Lom

onos

ov f

oxes

esc

aped

dis

cree

tly

from

the

aban

done

d, m

uch

dest

roye

d O

rani

enba

um

Pala

ce i

n S

t. P

eter

sbur

g an

d m

ade

thei

r w

ay

to G

erm

any.

The

y ar

e tin

ted,

unl

ike

the

Mei

ssen

whi

te f

ox. T

hey

wer

e ra

ised

in

the

Rus

sian

roy

al

cour

t an

d th

ey h

ave

been

a p

art

of c

ount

less

gla

mor

ous

balls

and

par

ties

in t

he p

alac

e. T

hey

have

lea

rned

the

ski

ll of

disg

uise

as

wel

l.

The

tele

scop

e al

so o

n th

e de

sk a

t th

e rig

ht f

ront

sid

e of

the

pai

ntin

g:

One

of

the

man

y ac

com

plis

hmen

ts M

ikha

il Lo

mon

osov

mad

e in

scie

nce

and

art

was

the

dis

cove

ry o

f th

e at

mos

pher

e of

Ven

us.

Venu

s ap

pear

s th

e br

ight

est

in t

he s

ky a

fter

the

Sun

and

the

Moo

n

thus

it is

als

o ca

lled

“Luc

ifer”

– lig

ht b

eare

r, or

sim

ply

“Gol

den

Sta

r.”

It i

s al

so t

he o

nly

plan

et r

efer

red

to f

emin

inel

y in

the

sol

ar s

yste

m.

The

very

den

se,

high

-pre

ssur

e, a

nd h

igh-

tem

pera

ture

atm

osph

ere

of V

enus

cou

ld b

e th

e st

rong

aur

a of

a b

rillia

nt b

ewitc

hing

wom

an,

with

its

subs

tanc

es b

eing

exc

eptio

nal t

alen

t, s

ensi

tivity

, in

telli

genc

e,

char

ism

a, a

nd m

agna

nim

ity,

whi

ch a

dd u

p to

com

pelli

ng b

eaut

y.

A v

igo

rou

s p

rese

nce

pu

llin

g p

eo

ple

in

, fo

ldin

g t

he

m i

nto

he

r

atm

osph

ere.

The

fi gur

e in

the

mid

dle

of t

he p

aint

ing:

O

n he

r w

eddi

ng d

ay M

iss

Mar

gher

ita

mad

e a

com

mitm

ent

to h

erse

lf an

d to

the

nat

ion

that

she

wou

ld b

ecom

e th

e fi r

st q

ueen

of

Ital

y. T

he w

hite

em

broi

dere

d

we

dd

ing

gar

me

nt,

a p

air

of

lon

g s

ilk g

love

s, a

nd

th

e i

ntr

icat

e

patt

erne

d la

ce v

eilin

g he

r fa

ce a

nd s

houl

ders

tra

nsfo

rmed

her

into

an

eleg

ant

brid

e. B

ut m

ostly

the

mag

nifi c

ent

diam

ond,

rub

y, a

nd p

earl

jew

els

she

wor

e –

part

ially

as

pres

ents

fro

m h

er s

oon-

to-b

e fa

ther

-

in-la

w, V

icto

r E

mm

anue

l II,

and

par

tially

fro

m h

er m

othe

r, P

rince

ss

Eliz

abet

h of

Sax

ony

– ga

ve h

er a

sub

lime

wei

ght

as t

he f

utur

e qu

een.

She

sto

od w

ith h

er h

usba

nd, U

mbe

rto

I, on

the

bal

cony

of

the

Pala

zzo

Rea

le,

wav

ing

to t

he c

itize

ns w

ho c

ame

to c

eleb

rate

the

ir w

eddi

ng,

she

took

her

rol

l cl

oser

. S

he s

at n

ext

to U

mbe

rto

I in

the

hor

se

carr

iage

, go

ing

thro

ugh

the

wed

ding

mar

ch in

Tur

in,

she

took

her

rol

l

even

clo

ser.

Her

tra

nsfo

rmat

ion

as t

he q

ueen

was

sym

boliz

ed b

y he

r

obse

ssio

n w

ith p

earls

. Ita

lian

peop

le c

alle

d he

r th

e “Q

ueen

of

Pear

ls”

with

adm

iratio

n. T

his

appe

llatio

n w

as n

ot m

erel

y be

caus

e sh

e w

ore

man

y ch

ains

of

pear

l nec

klac

es a

nd b

ig d

rop

earr

ings

but

bec

ause

of

her

delig

htfu

l pr

esen

ce,

whi

ch m

ade

her

peop

le a

dore

her

, lo

ng f

or

her,

and

fall

in lo

ve w

ith h

er. H

er lu

stro

us p

rese

nce

help

ed t

he y

oung

coun

try,

Ital

y, t

o be

bro

ught

as

one

and

unite

d.

The

shad

ow o

f a

figur

e su

gges

ting

the

pres

ence

of

the

pain

ter

at

the

left

fro

nt s

ide

of t

he p

aint

ing:

In

his

pet

ite a

telie

r in

Par

is w

ith

disc

o m

usic

and

por

nogr

aphi

c im

ages

pin

ned

on t

he w

all,

Mr.

Pear

l

cont

inue

s to

mak

e co

rset

s fo

r sp

ecia

l peo

ple

and

spec

ial o

ccas

ions

. The

cors

ets

he c

reat

es a

re s

aid

to b

e a

perm

anen

t em

brac

e on

the

bod

y,

whi

ch m

akes

the

body

mor

e pa

lpab

ly p

rese

nt th

roug

h its

pre

senc

e.

The

pres

ence

of

the

outs

ide

view

er f

or w

hom

the

pai

ntin

g ex

ists

:

Mar

go s

its in

her

sky

gar

den

with

Rom

ulus

on

her

lap.

The

last

bit

of

sun

cast

s th

e lo

ng s

hado

ws

of h

er s

uccu

lent

s an

d th

e ev

enin

g st

ar

rises

. She

is a

pea

rl an

d a

child

of

light

.

Cha

pter

4

Shoo

ting

up th

e ci

rcus

esab

ove

the

Atm

osph

ere

of V

enus

long

er f

or it

to

be P

alom

ar.”

Fra

u Li

pp d

oesn

’t sl

eep

muc

h. W

hile

she

lays

in b

ed in

the

mid

dle

of t

he n

ight

the

moo

n ap

pear

s in

the

sta

ined

glas

s ce

iling

, shi

ning

into

the

gla

ss, m

akin

g it

a pr

ism

. Thi

s tr

ansf

orm

s

thei

r be

droo

m i

nto

the

Blu

e M

osqu

e, w

ith i

ts g

orge

ous

geom

etric

patt

erns

, fl o

odin

g bl

ue w

hite

ness

, an

d so

lem

n ai

r. Th

e m

oon

pass

es

beyo

nd t

he f

ram

e af

ter

ten

min

utes

, th

eir

room

tur

ns b

ack

into

a

dark

bed

room

. A

lar

ge w

hite

flo

wer

on

the

ches

t st

ill h

olds

a d

im

whi

tene

ss. I

s it

the

moo

n or

is it

the

sm

ooth

ski

n of

wom

an, a

re t

he

vein

s on

the

pet

al t

he v

eins

on

her

hand

?

●

In t

he s

team

y gl

ass

dom

e of

the

gre

enho

use

Frau

Lip

p an

d M

r.

Pal

omar

sto

p at

a p

laca

rd:

Thi

s tr

opic

al g

arde

n, k

now

n as

the

Ban

ana

Alli

gato

r G

arde

n, i

s he

ated

ent

irel

y by

geo

-ene

rgy

from

the

surr

ound

ing

hot

spri

ngs.

Vis

itor

s m

ay t

hink

the

loc

atio

n an

d

exis

tenc

e of

thi

s fa

cilit

y od

d, w

ith it

s w

ide

varie

ty o

f di

ffere

nt t

ropi

cal

spec

ies

of f

ruits

and

pla

nts

and

the

larg

est

num

bers

of

allig

ator

s

and

less

er p

anda

s in

the

wor

ld –

all

in a

sea

side

tow

n in

Jap

an. Y

et

this

pen

insu

la w

as o

nce

an i

slan

d on

the

nor

th t

ip o

f th

e P

hilip

pine

tect

onic

pla

te,

until

the

pla

te s

hift

s pu

shed

it n

orth

and

con

nect

ed it

with

the

mai

nlan

d. T

his

expl

ains

the

dis

tinct

eco

logi

cal s

yste

m o

f th

is

peni

nsul

a. T

houg

h th

e hi

stor

ical

ly r

enow

ned

sea

expl

osio

ns c

ause

d

by t

he u

nder

grou

nd h

ot s

prin

gs w

hich

gav

e th

is a

rea

the

nam

e “h

ot

sea”

hav

e ca

lmed

dow

n, t

here

are

cou

ntle

ss h

ot s

prin

gs in

the

are

a,

whi

ch m

ake

it po

ssib

le t

o su

stai

n ou

r m

icro

trop

ical

clim

ate.

The

y al

so f

eel

than

kful

to

the

hot

sprin

gs f

or e

nabl

ing

them

to

wea

r th

e su

mm

ery

outf

its t

hey

care

fully

sel

ecte

d fo

r th

eir

moo

n de

spite

the

laye

rs o

f sn

ow o

utsi

de.

Sta

ndin

g by

the

sid

e of

a l

arge

tro

pica

l w

ater

lily

pon

d, F

rau

Lipp

conf

esse

s th

at s

he w

ante

d to

be

a bo

tani

st.

In h

er d

aily

pra

ctic

e sh

e

slow

ly f

ollo

ws

her

fl ow

er-p

atte

rned

sof

a co

ver

with

the

mon

ocul

ar

and

she

slip

s in

to t

he f

ores

t of

Kär

nten

, or

she

foc

uses

on

the

blac

knes

s of

Moh

nkuc

hen

and

is t

rans

port

ed t

o an

ora

nge

popp

y

fi eld

. M

r. P

alom

ar s

ays

that

he

refu

sed

to b

e a

bota

nist

. H

is p

aren

ts

wer

e re

spec

ted

bota

nist

s an

d th

eir

prof

essi

on b

roug

ht h

is f

amily

to

Bah

amas

in

his

child

hood

. Th

e gr

eenh

ouse

mak

es h

im t

hink

of

his

Bah

amia

n ho

use

with

the

man

y gr

een

plan

tain

cha

ndel

iers

han

ging

from

the

tre

es,

and

all t

he n

ame

plat

es w

ith L

atin

nam

es m

ake

him

thin

k of

his

fat

her,

who

alw

ays

refe

rred

pla

nts

fi rst

by

the

Latin

nam

e

and

then

by

the

com

mon

one

. Th

ey w

alk

side

by

side

yet

slip

int

o

com

plet

ely

diff

eren

t pl

anes

: Kär

nten

, the

Bah

amas

, San

Gio

vann

i.

They

com

e to

fac

e an

alb

ino

allig

ator

in a

ste

amy,

fog

gy g

lass

roo

m.

He

lays

the

re, c

ompl

etel

y st

ill. H

e do

esn’

t po

sses

s th

e fe

roci

ousn

ess

that

Fra

u Li

pp a

ssoc

iate

s w

ith a

lliga

tors

. S

he s

ees

him

and

see

s a

Japa

nese

spe

cial

ty o

f st

eam

ed e

el b

efor

e

teri

yaki

sau

ce i

s ap

plie

d, s

erve

d on

a b

owl

of

rice

. M

r. P

alo

mar

be

nd

s h

is k

ne

es

to l

oo

k th

e

allig

ator

in

the

eyes

and

thi

nks

of t

he a

lbin

o go

rilla

he

visi

ted

in t

he B

arce

lona

Zoo

. H

e te

lls b

oth

whi

te a

nim

als

that

they

are

not

alo

ne,

or t

hat,

tho

ugh

they

are

stil

l alo

ne,

they

are

not

the

only

one

who

is

alon

e. T

hey

proc

eed

to t

he t

ropi

cal

parlo

r fo

r

refr

eshm

ents

.

●

A la

rge

post

er o

f a

beau

tiful

ly d

raw

n w

oman

is t

aped

ont

o an

ele

ctric

pole

at

the

edge

of

the

neon

-lit

arca

de.

It c

aptu

res

the

esse

nce

of

wom

an m

ore

than

a r

eal w

oman

wou

ld, a

nd m

ore

moi

stur

e th

an t

he

actu

al a

ir ca

n ho

ld b

efor

e m

akin

g w

ater

dro

ps.

A p

etite

Eur

opea

n

youn

g la

dy d

ress

ed n

icel

y w

ith a

pin

k fe

lt ha

t pa

sses

by.

She

wal

ks

zigz

ag,

carr

ying

a s

ushi

box

in

a pl

asti

c sa

ck,

wal

ks o

ff i

nto

the

dark

ness

. Fra

u Li

pp is

con

tent

to

be E

urop

ean

as w

ell.

The

arca

de i

s lit

wit

h ne

on t

houg

h it

’s c

ompl

etel

y de

sert

ed.

This

seas

ide

tow

n is

pas

t its

tim

e an

d de

cayi

ng s

low

ly. M

r. P

alom

ar m

ixes

the

deca

ying

tow

n w

ith h

imse

lf an

d fe

els

deso

late

d th

at h

e is

no

long

er t

he b

igge

st,

the

mos

t br

ight

, pu

shin

g th

e bo

unda

ry.

“It

still

does

n’t

chan

ge t

he f

act

that

you

are

a s

ensi

ble,

refi

ned

, re

fl ect

ive,

and

tast

eful

per

son,

” Fr

au L

ipp

cros

ses

her

arm

with

Mr.

Pal

omar

’s.

Frau

Lip

p liv

es in

a s

tone

hou

se. T

he w

alls

are

ver

y th

ick,

shu

ttin

g ou

t

the

city

noi

se a

nd p

reve

ntin

g ic

ines

s se

epin

g in

to t

he h

ouse

, m

akin

g

it di

ffic

ult

for

anyt

hing

fro

m o

utsi

de t

o in

vite

its

elf

into

the

hou

se.

She

has

a p

unct

ual

daily

sch

edul

e re

adin

g th

e ne

wsp

aper

, do

ing

a

cros

swor

d pu

zzle

, an

d w

atch

ing

the

sym

phon

y pl

ay o

n te

levi

sion

.

And

she

has

ano

ther

rou

tine

prac

tice,

tha

t of

obs

ervi

ng t

he o

bjec

ts

that

sur

roun

d he

r th

roug

h a

mon

ocul

ar.

This

is

her

way

of

wor

king

tow

ards

her

des

ire t

o be

set

fre

e on

e da

y. U

ntil

then

, sh

e re

stric

ts

hers

elf

from

goi

ng o

utsi

de o

f th

e ho

use,

eve

n to

the

bal

cony

or

to t

he

diff

eren

t fl o

ors

of t

he h

ouse

. Th

is li

mita

tion

inde

ed b

rings

her

clo

ser

to t

he s

tate

she

wis

hes

to r

each

. S

he i

s re

spon

sibl

e, a

lway

s tr

ying

to b

e se

lf-su

ffi c

ient

, ev

en c

onsi

derin

g th

e th

ings

peo

ple

will

hav

e to

take

car

e of

aft

er s

he d

isap

pear

s. S

he d

oesn

’t w

ish

to c

ause

grie

f to

her

love

d on

es,

she

has

expe

rienc

ed it

, sh

e kn

ows

wha

t su

ffer

ing

it

can

be.

She

is c

aref

ul t

o m

aint

ain

a di

stan

ce f

rom

her

sur

roun

ding

s,

not

to b

e to

o cl

ose

with

the

m c

arel

essl

y, a

lthou

gh s

he d

esire

s to

have

som

e so

rt o

f tie

, to

hav

e so

me

com

pany

with

her

. S

he d

ecid

es

to g

et a

can

ary,

but

she

doe

sn’t

wan

t th

e ca

nary

to

feel

lon

ely

or

left

alo

ne w

hen

she

goes

aw

ay s

o sh

e bu

ys a

pai

r of

can

arie

s. T

he

pair

of

yello

w c

anar

ies

in t

he c

age

– w

heth

er s

iste

rs,

a co

uple

,

or c

ompl

ete

stra

nger

s –

fly

alon

g, s

ing

toge

ther

, an

d sl

eep

side

by

side

. S

he g

ains

com

pany

, ye

t th

e pa

ir of

can

arie

s

acce

ntua

tes

the

mis

sing

par

tner

tha

t w

ould

com

plet

e a

pair

with

her

. S

he lo

oks

at t

he f

eath

ers

of t

he c

anar

ies

thro

ugh

her

mon

ocul

ar,

and

she

slip

s in

to h

er u

psta

irs

bath

room

, in

her

mem

ory

lem

on-y

ello

w t

iles

cove

r th

e

fl oor

and

wal

ls.

The

bath

room

phy

sica

lly a

bove

her

hea

d

but

sepa

rate

d by

the

cei

ling

is a

s re

mot

e as

any

thin

g in

the

univ

erse

, it

exis

ts o

ut o

f th

e bo

unda

ry s

he h

as e

stab

lishe

d.

At

the

sam

e ti

me,

it

is t

here

ins

tant

ly,

like

all

the

thin

gs

imag

ined

in h

er m

ind.

Mr.

Pal

omar

app

ears

. H

e is

a c

onsi

dera

te p

erso

n w

ho a

lso

keep

s hi

s

dist

ance

fro

m p

eopl

e, p

refe

rrin

g to

spe

nd t

ime

alon

e, r

efl e

ctin

g

on m

atte

rs a

nd h

imse

lf.

He

has

been

thi

nkin

g fo

r a

long

tim

e w

ithou

t co

mm

unic

atin

g hi

s th

ough

ts.

He

belie

ves

that

mat

ters

exi

st t

houg

h th

ey m

ight

not

take

any

sha

pe o

r be

abl

e to

be

rece

ived

or p

erce

ived

som

e da

y.W

hen

two

sim

ilar

char

acte

rs e

ncou

nter

eac

h

othe

r, it

is n

atur

al a

nd in

stan

t th

at t

hey

begi

n sp

endi

ng t

ime

toge

ther

and

shar

ing

thin

gs,

enjo

ying

the

ir co

mpa

nion

ship

whi

le a

ppre

ciat

ing

the

appr

opria

te d

ista

nce

to k

eep.

The

y pl

an a

trip

tog

ethe

r an

d ca

ll

it a

silv

er m

oon.

“H

ow p

erfe

ct it

is t

o em

bark

on

a si

lver

moo

n an

d

than

kful

ly n

ot a

hon

ey m

oon!

The

dis

tille

d tim

e an

d ac

cum

ulat

ed

mem

orie

s re

sidi

ng in

us

mak

e ou

r m

oon

light

er a

nd m

ore

rom

antic

.

Will

you

go

on t

he m

oon

with

me,

Fra

u Li

pp?”

ask

s M

r. P

alom

ar

gent

lem

anly

. “D

elig

hted

ly,

Mr.

Pal

omar

. Tw

o co

nditi

ons

I w

ish

to

ask

you

thou

gh.

One

, w

e ou

ght

to u

se m

y m

onoc

ular

as

our

vehi

cle

thro

ugh

the

moo

n. I

can

not

aban

don

my

prac

tice

in t

he m

iddl

e of

the

way

. Tw

o, w

e ou

ght

to b

e ta

stef

ul o

f ou

r de

cisi

ons

and

thin

gs

we

surr

ound

our

selv

es.”

Mr.

Pal

omar

rep

lies

“Did

you

cal

l upo

n m

e

know

ing

me

as t

he r

emar

kabl

e te

lesc

ope

of t

he l

ast

cent

ury?

I a

m

grat

eful

for

bei

ng o

lder

, to

acqu

ire s

ome

tast

e an

d ro

undn

ess

arou

nd

mys

elf.

” Th

ey s

et o

ut o

n th

eir

moo

n w

ith c

aref

ully

pac

ked

suitc

ases

.

In F

rau

Lipp

’s w

hite

leat

her

suitc

ase:

a w

hite

ple

ated

dre

ss,

a pa

ir of

whi

te la

ce g

love

s, a

sun

-sha

de u

mbr

ella

, a

blac

k-an

d-w

hite

pat

tere

d

shaw

l, a

wris

t w

atch

, a h

andb

ag, a

litt

le c

ompa

ct w

ith p

owde

r, cr

eam

,

a so

ap b

ox,

a to

othb

rush

cas

e, a

sho

ehor

n m

ade

of c

ast

enam

el,

and

an a

larm

clo

ck.

In M

r. P

alom

ar’s

dar

k br

own

leat

her

suitc

ase:

a

light

gre

y su

it w

ith a

whi

te h

andk

erch

ief

in t

he p

ocke

t, t

wo

neck

ties,

whi

te p

ress

ed s

hirt

s, a

str

aw h

at, a

cam

era,

a r

adio

, a t

imet

able

, and

two

bran

ds o

f ci

gare

ttes

(Hop

e an

d C

amel

).

●

Frau

Lip

p: “

Wou

ldn’

t yo

u lik

e to

go

to t

he b

each

to

obse

rve

the

star

s?

It is

sai

d to

be

fam

ous

for

its c

lear

air,

goo

d vi

ew, a

nd q

uiet

ness

.” M

r.

Pal

omar

: “N

o, I

don’

t ne

ed t

o go

out

to

the

beac

h to

look

at

the

star

s.

I loo

k at

the

sta

ined

gla

ss c

eilin

g of

our

bed

room

and

see

the

intr

icat

e

patt

erns

and

line

s in

ters

ectin

g w

ith t

he t

rans

pare

nt c

olor

s on

the

sky

as t

he b

ackg

roun

d. I

see

the

fra

gmen

ted

sky,

I s

leep

, I

drea

m a

bout

the

devo

ted

astr

onom

ers

on M

ount

Pal

omar

, sitt

ing

in t

he s

ack

of t

he

200-

inch

tel

esco

pe,

tryi

ng t

o se

e th

e un

seen

edg

e of

the

uni

vers

e,

in t

he f

reez

ing

cold

ness

with

the

ir ha

nds

feel

ing

num

b. I

tru

st

them

and

lea

ve a

ll th

e ne

w d

isco

verie

s in

the

ir ha

nds.

I w

ake

up

an

d s

ee

th

e r

ow

of

pig

eo

ns

on

th

e

mou

ntai

n rim

, fr

om w

hich

Mou

nt P

alom

ar g

ot

its n

ame.

I d

on’t

have

to

be t

here

mys

elf

any

Cha

pter

5

Boun

cing

thro

ugh

the

latt

ice

Cal

vino

has

set

up

Completed

At the beginning of winter, a few years ago, I was invited to the ninety-fifth birthday of a woman

whose grandson I was dating at the time. I had heard about her before. I had heard that she spent her

teenage years in the mountains of Austria, got married, and moved to Germany during the World War

II. That she injured her legs when she was young and had not gone out of her house for more than ten

years since she started using a wheelchair. That she had wished to die after her husband passed away.

When I finally met her she was an elegant, dignified lady, sitting beautifully with her back straight.

Surrounded by her family she cracked up witty jokes and made them laugh. While eating the birthday

cake she said sincerely and deftly, ‘My birthday wish is to die. But I cannot help that the time has

not come yet.’ Despite of my poor German, I was struck by her intelligence, directness, and lightness

which seemed to have been acquired from the accumulated experiences and the distilled time.

I imagined a project as an excuse to get to know her better. How could it be possible that a person

with such a brilliant brain and an active sprit like hers could stay inside the house for so long? What

had she seen while wishing for a death to take over her life? I desired to collect her stories before her

consciousness and memory completely disappeared. I also hoped to send something to her that might

activate her sense from the outside world. I organized an exhibition at her home where no one other

than her family could view. With a help of a German friend who translated for me I proposed that,

“Even though we both remain in our own life routines let’s embark on a journey together through

the exchanges of letters and objects. The person who sends a letter becomes a guide and the object

alongside the letter becomes our destination. We would take turns and continue the journey till one of

us wished to terminate the journey.”

Although our journey was supposedly a two-person journey there was always a translator in-between

us, and as such she became our travel companion along the way. And one other person who was

always present in our journey, this was Italo Calvino. Her presence often reminded me of the qualities

Calvino's writings possess - lightness, quickness, exactitude, whimsicalness, and humor. For over three

and a half years since I started the project, I had been taken by the opportunities to get to know her, to

share such a personal connection and experiences beyond the languages and generations. At the same

time, I felt the difficulty of transforming my personal experiences into an artwork and defining a fair

boundary between private and public matters. I felt a great pressure to use storytelling as an expression

for the first time, however, I also felt a large responsibility to complete the project. It was where all

these feelings were intertwined that the work came into the shape slowly.

By quoting Calvino’s lines from the original book “Find the most comfortable position: seated,

stretched out, curled up, or lying flat. Flat on your back, on your side, on your stomach. In an

easy chair, on the sofa, in the rocker, the deck chair, on the hassock. In the hammock, if you have a

hammock. On top of your bed, of course, or in the bed. You can even stand on your hands, head down,

in the yoga position,” I hope this publication invites the readers to an unique experience of their own

rather than it remaining as memoir of our journey or a record of the exhibitions.

Aki Nagasaka

September, 2013

数年前の初冬、当時付き合っていた彼の祖母の九十五歳の誕生会に連れて行ってもらった。彼女の

話は以前から少し聞いていた。第二次大戦の最中にオーストリアで少女時代を過ごし、戦中に結婚、

ドイツに移り住んだ事。若い時分に足を悪くし、車椅子を使いだしたここ十数年は、あまり外出をし

ていない事。彼の祖父が亡くなって以来死ぬ事を切望している事など。いざ会ってみると座ってい

ても姿勢の良さが窺える、綺麗な凛とした女性であった。家族に囲まれ鋭敏な冗談を飛ばし、周りを

笑わせていた。ケーキを食べながら、「誕生日の願い事は死にたいんだけれど、まだだから仕方がな

いわね。」と真摯にしかしさらりと言いきった。ドイツ語が十分でない私なりに、時間と経験を積ん

だ女性から発せられる言葉の知的さ、率直さ、軽やかさを感じ、彼女の雰囲気に魅了された。

私はプロジェクトを口実に彼女の事をより知りたいと思った。こんなに活発な精神と明瞭な頭脳を

持つ人が何十年と家の外に出ていない事。切に死を願いつつ彼女は何を眺めているのか。鮮明な意識、

膨大な記憶が閉じてしまう前に聞き出したい。彼女の生活に外界から感覚に響く何かを送り込みた

いとも思った。そして彼女の家で、家族以外は観ることの出来ない展示会を開く事にした。

ドイツ人の友人に通訳をしてもらい私は提案した。「それぞれがそれぞれの生活にいながら手紙を通

してやり取りをし、その手紙に同封された物を通して旅に出ましょう。手紙を送る側が旅の案内人で、

送られた物が旅先になる。順番で送りあい両者がもういいという所まで続けましょう。」

私達の手紙のやりとりは常に翻訳家を介しているため、本来は二人旅にも関わらずいつも彼女の存

在がどこかにあった。そしてもう一人、いつも私の中で彼女と重なって見えていた存在が、イタロ・

カルヴィーノであった。彼女のあり方は、私にカルビーノの小説から受ける印象「軽やかさ、敏速さ、

精密さ、そして気まぐれと笑い」を思わせた。プロジェクトを始めてからの約三年半、彼女と知りあ

えた事、世代や言語を越えたごく個人的な経験の共有に圧倒された。それと同時に個人的な体験を

作品に昇華させ、成立させる事、倫理的な公私の境界を図る事などの複雑さと、初めて物語を書く無

謀さ、しかしどうしても作品にしなくてはという責任感、そのような事象が混濁する所から作品がで

きていった。

カルヴィーノの言葉を借り、「楽な姿勢で、座るなり、横になるなり、身体をまるめるなり、寝そべる

なり。仰向けに横たわるなり、横向きに寝るなり、うつぶせになるなり。ソファーの上なり、長椅子

なり、揺り椅子なり、安楽椅子なり、クッション椅子の上なり。ハンモックがあれば、その上なり。も

ちろんベットの上なり、その中なり。あるいはヨガのポーズで、逆立ちの姿勢になるなりで」、この冊

子が私達の旅の記録でも展示の記録でもなく、読者にとって一つの体験になればよいと思う。

2013年9月

長坂 有希

謝辞

常に聡明、勇敢で、この旅を共有してくれたフラウ・パオラ・リップ、ま

た理解、協力をしてくれたリップ家の皆さんに感謝したい。旅行中も

制作中も常に励ましてくれ、題名の引用、至ってはミスター・パロマー

という形での作品参加をしてくれたイタロ・カルビーノに敬意を。翻

訳家として旅に参加してくれたアニー・シュルツェ、原稿のチェックを

何度もしてくれたバージュラ・スプーク、マーク・ウォーカー、作品の

声になってくれたアダム・フェアソン、プロジェクトの様々な段階で助

言してくれたアターリア・ラウファー、ビタウタス・ユルビチウス、リ

サ・マイクスナー、ドナ・フアンカ、ビアンカ・バルディー、岸野祐貴さん、

制作段階にもかかわらず展示機会をくれたギャラリー・クラント、ハイ

デルベルク・クンストフェライン、フォーラム・デ・マイアのスタッフ

の方々、完成作品の展示に尽力してくれたクンストハーレ・エクスナー

ガッセのスタッフの皆さん、そしてこの冊子の編集、構成をしてくれて

いるURAN-USの奥野正次郎さん、十年来の友人で、今回は文章を寄稿

してくれたトレバー・バチャ、翻訳をしてくれた河田展子さんにも感謝

したい。

Many thanks to :

Frau. Paola Lipp who was always intelligent, brave, and generous to

share the journey with me. Family Lipp who were understanding and

helpful. Italo Calvino who encouraged me through out the project,

let me borrow one of his book titles, and joined the project as the

character of Mr. Palomar. Ani Schultze who accompanied the journey

as a translator. Vajra Spook and Mark Walker who helped to proofread

the texts repeatedly. Adam Fearson who gave the voice to the final

work. Atalya Laufer, Vytautas Jurevicius, Lisa Meixner, Donna Huanca,

Bianca Baldi, Yuki Kishino who gave me support and suggestions along

the way. People at Gallery Kurant, Heidelberg Kunstverein, Forum da

Maia who gave me opportunities to show the work in progress. People

at Kunsthalle Exnergasse who worked hard to show the finished work

in the best condition. URAN-US/Shojiro Okuno who has been editing

and designing this publication. Nobuko Kawata who has translated this

publication. And Trevor Baca who has been my close friend for over a

decade and contributed the text in the publication.

長坂 有希

1980 大阪府生まれ

2000-05 テキサス州立大学、オースチン校に在籍、芸術を専攻、卒業。

2005-06 現代美術センター、CCA北九州のリサーチプログラムレジデ

ンシーに参加、修了。

2008-12 国立造形美術大学シュテーデルシューレ・フランクフルトに

在学、サイモン・スターリングのもとで修士を取得。

2012-13 文化庁新進芸術家海外研修制度を受け、ロンドンで研修、制

作を行う。

Aki Nagasaka

1980 Born in Osaka, Japan

2000-05 University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA. Graduated with

a Bachelor of Fine Arts

2005-06 Center for Contemporary Art / CCA Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu,

Japan. Completed Research Program

2008-12 Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste – Städelschule,

Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Graduated with a Meisterschule

in Class Simon Starling

2012-13 Japanese Cultural Ministry Abroad Research Fellowship in

London, United Kingdom

published in 12.2013

First edition

/ 500prited in Japan　

writing : Trevor Baca

translation : Nobuko Kawata and the artist

design : Shojiro Okuno / URAN-US (www.uran-us.com)

photography :　 completed work images by Kunsthalle Exnergasse

©Wolfgang Thaler, the rest by the artist

www.akinagasaka.net

© Aki Nagasaka all rights reserved.no part of this book may be reproduced,

without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT

A TRAVELER

AKI NAGASAKA