Japan Times writer Thu-Huong Ha observed in an April article titled “Why is the most exciting art in Japan so hard to get to?” that some of the country’s best contemporary works are not easy to reach.
They’re not always easy to watch, either.
Inside a dimly lit underground space that once housed ammunition for the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, a scene of misery awaits. Three triptych-like screens nearly 3 meters high show people of various ages, genders and nationalities sobbing, shouting, whimpering and hyperventilating. They stand solemnly, tears streaming down their faces. They crouch on the ground, prostrating themselves before some unrevealed power. Slack-jawed and red-eyed, they stare with disbelief into the distance, their cries resounding through the cavernous room. In Japanese, someone yells, “Owattenai darō!” meaning, “This isn’t over!”