Around the Chikatsu Asuka Fudoki no Oka park is dotted with numerous ancient tombs from the Kofun period, suggesting that death may have been close to people in ancient times.

―What kind of emotions did ancient people hold toward “the death of a human being”?

Haniwa, which are shaped like houses, birds, cooking utensils, and weapons are placed around the ancient tombs. House-shaped Haniwa are thought to have served as yorishiro: Spirit-dwelling objects. Waterfowl-shaped Haniwa are thought to represent the souls of the deceased taking the form of birds and flying away. Cooking utensils–shaped Haniwa are thought to express the wish that the deceased would never lack food in the afterlife. And Weapon-shaped Haniwa are thought to have been intended to protect the deceased. Each of these Haniwa reflects an imagined world beyond death. (There are various theories.)

Ancient people expanded their imagination toward the world to which the soul would depart. That imagination, invested with profound significance, seems to have been more than mere fantasy—it was a belief deeply engraved in consciousness. At the Osaka Prefectural Chikatsu Asuka Museum, where numerous artifacts including Haniwa are preserved, the world envisioned by ancient people still lingers in the air.

In planning and producing this exhibition, we focused on shadows and soot. In addition, we considered spaces and gaps born between remains and ruins. These are subtle byproducts that peek out alongside tangible forms such as pottery and Haniwa. From the few traces of antiquity that have reached us, an “invisible world” and “uncertain presences” begin to rise. They appear faintly, their contours blurred, yet they undoubtedly exist here.

Osaka Prefectural Chikatsu Asuka Museum－its architecture modeled after an ancient tomb－and the Ichisuka tombs spreading around it can be seen as occupying an interstitial realm: between ancient and modern times, and between life and death.

Standing in this place where the atmosphere of another world intermingles, we draw closer to the rich imagination of ancient people. The unreal landscapes that once dwelled in their eyes, existing alongside reality－we hope to create an irreplaceable opportunity to reflect upon the “invisible world” that still faintly remains, quietly hidden within the present day.​​​

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