Inspired by Yamata-no-Orochi, the eight-headed serpent of Japanese mythology, and the traditional performing art of Iwami Kagura in Shimane, I... Read More
Inspired by Yamata-no-Orochi, the eight-headed serpent of Japanese mythology, and the traditional performing art of Iwami Kagura in Shimane, I transformed these cultural narratives into a leather bag designed to hold and serve sake.
The myth in which Susanoo-no-Mikoto slays the great serpent by intoxicating it with sake is the conceptual core of this work. I redefined sake as a mediating presence between humans and deities.
Genuine leather was chosen for its inherent sense of life, enhancing the lifelike expression and undulating serpentine form of the work.
Although functioning as a bag, it aims to embody the powerful presence of a mythological creature brought to life in modern times.
This work does not seek to reproduce tradition, but rather to manifest myth in the present.
The theme of “regeneration” within this work resonates with my own experience.
By embedding mythology into leather, Shuten Orochi reimagines Japanese cultural memory as a living, evolving form—one that continues to transform and generate new myths in the present.
