Towards a “music” that is yet to be heard

During her residency, Hojo Tomoko based her work on researching the Jomon Koto, a spatula-shaped wooden artifact excavated from Korekawa Nakai site that is believed to be the world’s oldest surviving string instrument. Wooden artifacts are more susceptible to decay than earthenware, and the Jomon Koto could be discovered after some 3,000 years because the swamps and watersides in which it was buried prevented the decomposition. The purposes or the contexts of its usage have not been determined, but the remaining grooves suggest that it was a stringed instrument (*1), and because they were found in a dumping ground that was also used as a burial site, it may also have been used for rituals.

　　Hojo attempted to excavate the sounds buried in history by recreating the Jomon Koto and playing it in a place with similar geological conditions where it was buried, or within nature and its resonances, so to amplify its sounds. The 8.1 channel sound installation Unearthed Tremor took advantage of Gallery A’s peculiar reverberations and shape, and is composed of the sounds of the Jomon Koto and dorei bells that were created for the piece (*2), as well as recordings that Hojo made exclusively in Aomori, including sounds in natural environments such as near water or on snow, and recordings made by using resonant objects such as earthenware that were typically used in the Jomon period of prehistoric Japan, to which the Jomon Koto dates back. The six platforms on which the recreated Jomon Koto were placed, were equipped with bone conduction speakers that caused the platforms themselves to resonate and further amplify the reverberations in the gallery. Viewers could feel these tremors through touch by sitting or lying on the platforms. The strings running through the gallery connect the six Jomon Koto and, as if amplifying the sounds in the gallery towards the lands of Aomori, also extended outside through the window to reach the Jomon Koto that was placed under water. Around the Open Theater, viewers could hear sounds of water circulating in the Water Terrace, bringing to mind the sounds of the Jomon Koto or the waterside where they were unearthed.

　　In the gallery, a swirl of sounds continues to fluctuate like the changing of the seasons: sounds of flowing water that bring to mind the snowmelt in spring are gradually overlayed with sounds akin to subterranean rumblings or bells, spreading like ripples. Eventually, rhythmic sounds of the Jomon Koto begin to resound, coupled with creaking sounds that together with the other sounds grow louder and louder. A strong wind blows, and the sounds of dry leaves rustling, bells ringing, sharp metallic sounds like the clinking of glass, and animal calls come and fade to the distance, and are replaced by sounds of birds, insects, leaves, and even human footsteps. The rhythmic sounds of the Jomon Koto and the metallic resonances which resounded from time to time evoked spaces of ritual. The twenty-minute sound installation that summoned these various scenes, reminded viewers how our lives and the times have changed together with the natural environment.
There is a scene where the vibrations are so loud and sustained to the point of inspiring fear. After unsettling sounds and a prayer-like song subside, a sensation of rumblings travelling from the entire space into the body create tension. Tremors fill the space, surrounding the body, until finally reaching silence. This silence lingers, with the void of sound saturating the space, until the sounds of flowing water are heard again. This domination, void, and return of sound (vibrations) called forth a natural disaster and the regeneration of the earth that comes after.

　　Hojo Tomoko chose the Jomon Koto as her starting point not because she wanted to think about ancient sounds per se. The question posed in Jomon Koto Video Tutorial 14th November 2021 version regarding the relationship between sound and humans is directed at us living in contemporary times. When we receive musical instruction, good sounds and bad sounds are distinguished based on the assumption that sound should be pleasant. This video, however, is silent and therefore does not indicate the sound that one should strive to produce. There are technical points such as “how to produce multiple sounds quickly,” or directions drawn from impressions of the sounds, such as “how to produce a sound like a wind,” by pinching and rubbing the strings. There are also instructions that relate to appearance, such as “how to hide the fingers while playing,” in which the Jomon Koto is tilted forward to cover the fingers, or “how to make the hand movements look symmetrical,” in which the Jomon Koto is placed vertically so to place the hands on either side. Furthermore, “how to produce uncontrollable sounds” involves unusual movements using the feet, and “how to produce one clear sound while resting one hand” shows the narrower end of the instrument being pressed with the back of the hand and the other hand being used pluck the strings. As mentioned at the beginning, the video shows “the wide range of playing techniques that could have been and are actually possible to perform on the Jomon Koto.” When envisioning a body in an age without the concept of “music,” the standards of instruction and aesthetic judgment are suspended. Hojo also hypothesizes that there could be other standards of pleasure in sound, such as music for moving the body, or music for resting. Moreover, as the inclusion of the phrase “14th November 2021 version” suggests, the video is open to new interpretations and awaits being updated.

　　In mythology, the koto or harp, plays an important role in scenes going between states of order and disorder. In Greek mythology, Orpheus, who captivated even plants and animals with the beautiful notes he played with the harp-like instrument lyre, travels to the underworld to retrieve his late wife, and succeeds in doing so by pleading to the king of the underworld by playing his lyre. In Japanese mythology, the koto makes an appearance when the deity Okuninushi is entrusted with a duty by the wild god Susanoo. When Okuninushi escapes the underworld Ne-no-Kuni while Susanoo slept, before eventually being entrusted by Susanoo with ruling the terrestrial world, Susanoo’s koto that Okuninushi took with him touches a tree, causing a sound that made the earth tremble.

　　Just as the koto introduced disorder into order in mythology, in this exhibition Hojo inserts discord into the discipline of music by imagining the sounds and the techniques for producing such sounds that once resounded in the lands of Aomori. Furthermore, the times of silence that Hojo incorporated, evoke the beginning and end of the world on one hand, while on the other, allow viewers to become aware of the characteristics of the gallery where even sounds outside of the windows and the subtle rustling of clothes echo, rejoining the viewer’s body and the space. There is no way to know how people felt about and moved their bodies to sounds before the concept of music was born. It is also uncertain whether music will be performed and listened to in the same way in the future as it is now. This necessarily brings to light the limited nature of what we call “music,” and simultaneously, the fact that it may be renewed. By drawing out the sounds of the Jomon Koto without being bound to concepts, Hojo has created a place where visitors can contemplate the possibilities of the acts of playing an instrument and listening in the present and in the future.

*1 The twenty spatula-shaped wooden artifacts found in the site measured approximately 55 centimeters in length, 5 centimeters in width, and 1 centimeter in thickness. Their usage has not been determined: they are too small to be used for digging the ground, but too large as a shuttle for weaving. Suzuki Katsuhiko argued that it was a stringed instrument because of its similarity to the koto and its features such as the protrusion where strings could be attached and the shallow grooves. Sasamori Takefusa produced a replica to verify how the strings could be attached and the instrument played. See Jomon koto no kenkyu: Sekai saiko no genzon shutsudo gengakki [Studies on the Jomon Koto: The world’s oldest existing excavated stringed instrument], edited by Suzuki Katsuhiko (Hirosaki Gakuin University Institute for the Study of Regional Culture
, 2012).
*2 Dorei clay bells are believed to have been used for rituals in the Jomon period. Yamada Yosuke, Gakki no kokogaku [The archaeology of musical instruments] (Douseisha, 1998), 51-52.

Photo OYAMADA Kuniya
Text by MURAKAMI Aya, Curator of Aomori Contemporary Art Centre, Aomori Public University
Translated by MATSUYAMA Naoki