The Record of Seeds

長崎県雲仙市にて有機農業と種の自家採種を40年余り行い、在来種・固定種**の野菜の種を守り、自ら採種を続け種を守り継いできた農家・岩崎政利氏の活動に着目し、現地を何度も訪れた。在来種や固定種といった特定の地域で古くから育てられてきた個性ある野菜は、市場で流通させにくく、栽培する農家は非常に少ない。ひとつひとつの種には、土地の文化を感じる野菜の姿と味わい、そして人の手から手へと受け継がれてきた物語がある。その風土や人々を通して生命が次の生命へと記憶をつなぐ理を、写真の原初ともいわれる古い写真技法である「サイアノタイプ」***を用いて雲仙の土地の記憶を記録した。岩崎氏が雲仙の光と水で育てた野菜や種、そして土そのものを、感光液に浸した和紙の上に直接置き、機材を用いず雲仙の太陽光で転写している。
種が何百年、何千年もかけてDNAに記録してきた生命の記憶を持っていること。写真の役割を通して種を記録する行為。二重の「記録」が交差する。

*在来種：特定の地域に古くからあった野菜
**固定種：人の手によって異なる風土に根付いた野菜
***サイアノタイプ：「日光写真」という別名を持つように、原稿・原版と、感光液に浸した感光紙を重ねて光を当て、光を透過しない箇所が白く残る現象を利用して現像を行う。

For over 40 years in Unzen, Nagasaki Prefecture, farmer Masatoshi Iwasaki has been saving his own seeds, cultivating and preserving more than 80 varieties of distinctive vegetables, including heirloom and open-pollinated kinds. These unique vegetables, grown in specific regions for generations, have become increasingly rare, as their characteristics make them difficult to distribute through modern markets, leading to a sharp decline in the number of farmers who cultivate them. Yet each seed holds within it the form and flavor of vegetables rooted in local culture, along with stories passed down from hand to hand.

To capture the principle by which life carries memory into the next life, an old photographic process often called the origin of photography—cyanotype—was used to record the land and climate of Unzen. Vegetables, seeds, and even the soil, all nurtured by Unzen’s light and water, were placed directly onto washi paper coated with a photosensitive solution made using Unzen’s water, and then exposed to the region’s sunlight without the aid of equipment.

Seeds carry within them the memories of life, recorded in their DNA over hundreds or even thousands of years. Through photography, the act of recording seeds itself becomes a record. These two layers of “memory” intersect.

Heirloom: Vegetables cultivated in a particular region since ancient times
*Open-pollinated: Vegetables adapted to different climates and rooted through human care
***Cyanotype: Also known as “sun printing,” a process where a manuscript or plate is placed on photosensitized paper and exposed to light; the areas where light does not pass remain white, creating the image.

Venue : Ryosokuin Temple (Kennin-ji Temple)
Location : Kyoto
Date : 2021. 9. 18 SAT. – 10. 17 SUN.
Organizer : KYOTOGRAPHIE
Cooperation : Ryosokuin Temple, seiichiro takeuchi architects, Mr. Tetsuya Hagino, Plasterer, Sakuan Co.
591, Komatsu-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, 605-3216, Japan