Project Omishima 2015-Transforming into the most beautiful island in Japan

July 3, 2015 (Fri) – June 15, 2016 (Wed)

Omishima is located in the middle of the necklace of islands in the Inland Sea. With approximately 6200 people living on the island, it is the fifth largest island in the region. The warm climate makes it a perfect place to farm mandarins, and from winter through spring, you can enjoy a variety of species that dapple the landscape in infinite shades of orange. It is also known for its deep local history and Oyamazumi Shrine that houses Chinjugami (the God of Land), and hence Omishima is known to some as an “Island of Divinity.”
In 2011, Japan’s first architecture museum, Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, Imabari (TIMA) opened on this sacred island. This summer, we curated a new exhibition “Project Omishima – Transforming into the most beautiful island in Japan” as a part of the museum’s exhibition series. The Omishima Project started in 2012 with Ito Juku (the Specified Nonprofit Corporation “Initiative for Tomorrow’s Opportunities in Architecture”), and joined later by Studio Sogabe and Yoshioka (Kanagawa University, school of architecture) and by Studio Sugiura Hisako (Showa Women’s College) in 2014. Together, we have developed places on this island for the local residents to gather. In addition to showcasing these developments of this project, we are introducing the island’s landscapes and people’s lives via photographic and video works. The island enjoys the blessings of the sun and the sea while building upon its historical engravings. To this day, Omishima continues to be embraced by the picturesque mountains and sea; the mandarins cultivated with the warm sea breeze and residents with lifestyles that are connected with nature. We invite you to come visit Omishima and to fully experience her hidden gems.

Since the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture was opened in Imabari City in 2011, I have frequently visited Omishima. When the students of Ito Juku, which opened at the same time, visited the island, my heart was struck by the lively sight of them coming into contact with nature and the people living there, as they freely wandered through the island. Most of the people that visit the island for the first time really feel that there is a strange power in this place that fascinates them.

According to a survey carried out by the Cabinet Office last year about 40% of the residents of Tokyo would move to a provincial area if given the opportunity. Also just under 30% of the people want a residence in both the city and a rural area. This data positively indicates that the number of people that feel more attracted to living in a rural area in contact with nature than in an artificial environment such as Tokyo is increasing.

Today when riches of the heart are sought more than economic riches, we are approaching a time when we are looking towards rural areas, and considering a lifestyle that is open to nature. The idea about living on an island is not simply the idea of the lifestyle of the island people, but is the idea of what is to be our lifestyle in the future.

I have picked this wonderful location of Omishima to undertake with the help of many young people island development over a long period of time. What is needed now is to work together to create a new lifestyle through discussions with the local people.

Toyo Ito