No tree is solitary in Kumano.

– No tree is solitary in Kumano –

Often, something very fundamental happens when viewing an image of a tree standing alone in an open space.

In recent years, some of my artistic work has gradually gravitated towards this folkloric theme of the solitary tree. Looking at a solitary tree is like looking at a person. More specifically, you quickly identify the tree with yourself, in a mood that relates to the tree’s characteristics.

In Western art history, ‘landscape’ is rarely the subject of a depicted landscape. Through the use of linear perspective, the viewer is placed at the center of the landscape. And almost always, human figures are present in the images; insignificant compared to nature, but that is precisely the message, with ‘nature’ serving as an analogy for the universe and/or the divine.

In art, ‘landscape’ is not an image of nature but an image of ‘us’. The solitary tree reflects the solitary individual; la condition humaine.

I am writing this at a wooden table in a Japanese house in the town of Tanabe in the Kumano region of Wakayama, a peninsula south of Osaka. Here, I am working on a creative research project about the life, philosophy, and work of the brilliant Kumagusu Minakata (1867-1941), who grew up and worked here. Inspired by Minakata’s fusion of spirituality, nature philosophy, and science, I aim to deepen my artistic practice by exploring the interaction between nature and culture and their technological mediation.

As part of this research, I am seeking ancient, solitary trees to create monumental photographic artworks. I expected to find many of these trees in this vast area of forests, mountains, pilgrimage routes, and temples, but the region’s history tells a different story:

The reforestation of Kumano around 1915-1920 was a large-scale Japanese government project aimed at restoring forests damaged by logging and agriculture, but economic and political interests were also significant. The project focused on planting monocultures of commercial species such as Japanese cedar and cypress, causing deciduous trees like oak, maple, and beech to nearly disappear.

During this reforestation period, the Japanese government also implemented policies aimed at reducing (demolishing) the number of small, local temples and shrines, of which there were hundreds in this area. This was done to cut costs and increase administrative efficiency, but the policy was also driven by an ideological politics from the Meiji period. Kumagusu Minakata was highly critical of this policy and, as an early climate activist and scientist, successfully advocated for the preservation of biodiversity and the network of smaller Shinto shrines and temples.

In Shintoism, where spirituality and nature come together, there is a strong connection between shrines (jinja) and ancient, special trees. Shrines are often surrounded by sacred forests, known as ‘chinju no mori’, which are protected and serve as refuges for local biodiversity.

As a result of this history, ancient solitary trees are now almost exclusively found at the many Shinto shrines in Kumano. The tree is marked and honored with a rope (shimenawa) and a folded paper streamer (shide), serving as a key connection between the physical space and the spiritual dimension of the shrine.

In this way, the tree is integrated into a network of cultural and religious meanings, breaking its solitude and anchoring it within a vibrant community of nature and spirituality. Thus, these solitary trees are not ‘solitary’ at all. On the contrary, they are part of a community.

In Kumano, the freestanding tree also reflects ‘la condition humaine’, but here it is not a solitary individual condition, but rather a deeply rooted spiritual and social condition.

Geert Mul

Tanabe, Kumano, Wakayama, Japan 28-07-2024

This essay was written during a practice-oriented creative research residency in Japan, July and August 2024. The research is inspired by the idiosyncratic Japanese naturalist, ethnologist, and folklorist Kumagusu Minakata (1867-1941). The residency is in Tanabe, Wakayama, a natural area where Kumagusu Minakata was born and worked and where the Minakata Kumagusu Museum and archives are located.

Supported by Kinan Art Week

Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie NL

Geert Mul

© Copyright 2014