Rochelle, Masako, Frances, Wakako 2023.9.17
Chipko Tree of Life Art Event on Aug. 27 Sunday at 18 Ginkgo Tree Promenade in Jingu Gaien.
SUMMARY
To save Jingu Gaien, Chipko Tree of Life Art Event was organized by the project members of the group, “Save Jingu Gaien” together with the enthusiastic artists who were eager to do something to stop the tree felling crisis of Jingu Gaien.
Very early in the morning on the 27th of August, 18 ginkgo trees next to the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium were stood still tied with Nawakazari, which were knotted opposite way from Shimenawa. These Nawakazari were special works from the collaboration of the people, Megumi in London, Kyoko in Akita, and several artists in Tokyo. The beautiful and serene backdrop of Nawakazari on 18 ginkgo trees expressed our protest in an artistic way.
Here are the artists of the event:
Shodo : William Reed
Body Painting: Andrew Boerger, Miho (model) and musicians
Book reading, “Giving Tree”: Kaori Minomo (in Japanese), Frances (in English)
Kami-shibai: Naomi Furukawa
Thank you all for attending our event and many thanks to all the volunteers who made this event a success. Thank you also for the good weather until 12:30 when the event ended and heavy rain started to pour down.
The thoughts behind this event are expressed through inspiring opening and closing remarks of Kristin and Charles as follows:
Opening remarks by Kristin in English and by Marian in Japanese:
Welcome everyone!
Today we are here to appreciate these beautiful trees.
These ginkgo trees have been here for 100 years. Ninety thousand trees were given from all over Japan; trees coming even from overseas, including such places as Taiwan and Sakhalin. Jingu Gaien was created by people from all over Japan, from Emperor Taisho to ordinary people plus 110,000 volunteers, following the plans made by scholars and experts. People wanted a place in Tokyo to remember Emperor Meiji.
These trees survived earthquakes and the bombing of Tokyo during World War II. More than 100,000 civilians died and more than one million people lost their homes in the bombing but all of these trees survived.
There is a 1,000-year-old ginkgo tree in Azabu Juban, which was badly burned by the bombing, leaving terrible scars, but it is still growing. These trees could also live a thousand years if given the chance.
Today let us celebrate these trees and all the joy they have given us.
Thank you.
Opening and Closing Remarks by Charles in Japanese:
In the 1970s in the Himalayan mountains near the border between Nepal and India, the continued existence of a group of poor farmers became endangered by rampant logging being carried out by mining and timber corporation that had the backing of the federal government. The loss of the trees led to landslides that devastated the villages. The local mountain farming communities began to resist. The movement was largely organized and led by poor women who surrounded trees with their bodies in order to protect them. They became known as tree-huggers, and “chipko”, or “tree-hugging” became the name of the movement. Now, if we consider the situation from an objective perspective of 1970, the actions of the women seem almost absurd. How could a group of poor, local women living in the remote mountains of India hope to defeat the profit-making enterprises of enormous industries that had the support of the federal government? Who could rationally believe that such a movement had any real chance of succeeding. But what led them to continue their struggle against all odds undoubtedly was an unreasonable hope that they could save the trees by their faith, their dedication and their perseverance.
Today we know that the movement did succeed, and became a landmark struggle in the environmental movement in India. The movement to save 18 100-year-old Ginkgo trees (and thousands of other trees like them) from being taken away by the combined power of Itochu Corporation, Mitsui Fudosan, the Meiji Shrine and the City of Tokyo resembles the struggle of the Chipko women. From an objective perspective, winning against such massive political and economic power seems almost impossible.
But the success of the Chipko Movement reminds us that victory is possible. The women of Chipko saved the mountains of India from suffering devastating floods and landslides by preserving their forests. The unreasonable hope resulted eventually in India making a reasonable decision to preserve the forests.
Now we are aligned against massive powered dedicated to short-term, myopic profit at the cost of the long-term prosperity of Tokyo and its citizens. However powerless we may appear, steadfast holding on to the seemingly ‘unreasonable hope’ that we can succeed is critical to our movement. We should all take inspiration from the women of Chipko and cling to our unreasonable hope for a more democratic Japan, for a city of Tokyo dedicated to preserving and increasing the public commons shared by all the residents of our community. If we resist the cynical command to give up, to resign ourselves to defeat, to tell ourselves that we are unimportant and powerless; and instead hug onto the belief that our ‘unreasonable hope’ must become reality, I have no doubt that we will succeed.
For more details please visit:
https://note.com/kuwa589/n/n872dde541ff5?fbclid=IwAR1t78LCqnePqIRDVJukXq3RAVmsyxhwDx_ZmRiTqIpnurxhJWZt4XawvaE
I teach an undergraduate university course on Sustainability, and it is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. A friend made me aware of the situation with the ‘redevelopment’ plan, as well as the efforts aimed at protesting it. I was told that there could be a role for artists and performers in these protests. I am a firm believer in the concept of ‘think globally/act locally’ and I endeavor to impress this philosophy upon my uni students. Thus, I thought the Gaien protest would be an ideal opportunity for me to walk my talk and lend my talents to the project. The need to protect trees cannot be overstated. The need to preserve natural spaces in urban areas is another topic that needs to be focused on, particularly by municipalities and those in leadership positions within them. I feel that the leadership in this instance has been grossly irresponsible in allowing a massive project to damage a beloved green space in the heart of Tokyo. The body painting concept was my way of combining my artistic and environmental interests. The purpose of using the human form to represent a tree is to show the interconnectedness of all life forms. We truly share one root, and this is all too often forgotten. It seems to be completely forgotten, or dismissed, by those who are planning the Gaien project with economic benefits to a few taking precedence over the emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing of the many. Including, of course, the trees, who have no voice with which to express their needs. Thus, I depicted my model, Miho Nakashima, as a tree to express the human/tree/Earth connection, and in a small way, ‘give a voice to the voiceless’.
Andy Boerger
Chipko Tree of Life 27/08/2023