From Saturday, July 1, 2023 to Friday, July 14, 2023, works by ink painting artist Yuki Nishimoto will be exhibited for a limited time at Solaria Plaza 1st floor Zefa.
Hakata Gion Yamakasa is a Shinto ritual dedicated to Kushida Shrine in Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City. It is held from July 1st to 15th every year, and this year will be the 782nd time.
The festival is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, and in 2016, it is a traditional festival registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In the Hakata Gion Yamakasa, the 3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, numbered (Kushida Shrine) and 13 regions are called "Kazari Yamakasa". A shrine is created.
The portable shrine is decorated with Hakata dolls, one of Fukuoka's traditional crafts, and each year a different theme is decided by the Hakata doll craftsmen and local people.
Based in Fukuoka, Nishimoto has been exhibiting his work at the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival for the past six years.
This year's theme for the 15th Yamakasa Solaria is "Kassen Shijonawate / Puppeteer: Masahiro Okiayu" on the front, and "Oukaranman Hanasakajiji" on the send-off: Shinji Kojima". And this year, Nishimoto draws the title "Battle Shijonawate".
What is "Battle of Shijonawate / Battle of Shijonawate"?
The Battle of Shijonawate took place in 1348 during the period of the Northern and Southern Courts, from Nozaki, Sara County, Kawachi Province (Nozaki, Daito City, Osaka Prefecture) to Kita Shijo (Hojo, Daito City, Osaka Prefecture). It is a battle between The Kusunoki clan's success in challenging the army has been the theme of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa many times since the Edo period.
Nishimoto vividly captures the vitality and dynamism of living things through the effects of brush strokes, ink shading, bleeding, and gradation. This time, Nishimoto draws one of the famous scenes from the Battle of Shijonawate, where Kusunoki Masayuki challenges the battle head-on while arrows are being shot at him like it is raining. It can be said that it is a scene full of vitality to challenge the battle from the front alone.
How about participating in a traditional Fukuoka festival that has been going on for nearly 800 years and feeling the energy of Nishimoto's work of "Masatsura Kusunoki"? Please take this opportunity to visit us.
Exhibition place
- Exhibition period: Saturday, July 1, 2023 to Friday, July 14, 2023
- Exhibition location: Solaria Plaza 1F Zefa (2-2-43 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka)
2023 Hakata Gion Yamakasa Decorative Yamakasa “15th Yamakasa Solaria” Dedication/Announcement Schedule
- June 27 (Tue) - June 29 (Thu) Decoration
- June 30th (Friday) Finishing
- Saturday, July 1 Completion and presentation
- July 1st (Sat) to July 14th (Fri) Display of decorative Yamakasa
Yuki Nishimoto Hakata Gion Yamakasa Past Exhibited Works
2016 Yamakasa Battle Kawanakajima 
2018 Yamakasa Tomoe Gozen 
2021 Yamakasa Saizo Kani
Yuki Nishimoto Participation schedule from July to August 2023
- Saturday, July 1, 2023 to Friday, July 14, 2023 Hakata Gion Yamakasa 15th Yamakasa Solaria Table: Battle Shijonawate
- July 14th (Friday) to July 30th (Sunday), 2023 Part of the World Aquatics Decoration Exhibition
- Saturday, July 22, 2023 to Saturday, July 29, 2023 Golden Eagle Flag (High School Judo National Tournament), Gyokuryūki (High School Kendo National Tournament Key Visual)
- August 4th (Friday) to August 9th (Wednesday), 2023 YUGEN Gallery solo exhibition