Teshima, located in the western part of the Seto Inland Sea, is one of the 28 islands comprising the Shiwaku Islands. Dating back to the Sengoku period, it gained fame as a base for the Shiwaku naval forces, and later during the Edo period, its shipbuilding and navigation skills were highly valued, playing a crucial role in maritime transportation. Today, many splendid houses, armor, and decorative items remain on Teshima, reflecting the prosperity of the island as it took on a central role in capitalism during those times.
Now, only a handful of islanders, around a dozen, live on Teshima. In the morning, they wake up and take a walk along the seaside path illuminated by the morning sun. Clearing away overgrown vines that block the way has become a daily routine. On the ferry that comes to the island several times a day, there are a few people who come back to visit their ancestors’ graves. They gather at someone’s house and engage in lively conversations about the past. The terraced fields that once spread across the mountains now only have stone walls remaining, which have also been swallowed up by bamboo groves. Wooden houses gradually leaned until one day, they suddenly collapsed with a loud noise. Last year, the island’s last fisherman passed away, leaving the fishing boat tied to the harbor, swaying in the waves. Surrounded by beautiful nature, life on Teshima is very quiet, with a slow passage of time. The fire of the people’s lives is gradually fading, and the island is now being reclaimed by nature as it prepares to slumber.
This project, which captures Teshima, tells a small story of an island in the vast world when viewed from the perspective of “nature,” and a big story portraying the lives of each individual islander when viewed from the perspective of “human activities.” The small island of Teshima, surrounded by the sea, reminds us that our human existence is not eternal; it will eventually burn out and be rekindled, repeating this cycle until one day it returns to nature. Sleep is not death, but a time of waiting for a new awakening. Words like depopulation and decline may evoke feelings of loneliness, but at the same time, they can lead us to humbly re-examine our lives.
A single cloud hung over the deep green forest. No one lives there anymore. The fallen rain turned into fog and ascended, resembling the smoke produced by humans for cooking. Perhaps the memories of the activities that took place in this not-so-distant past may have made the fog look like smoke.
