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Akita is a prefecture situated in the north of Japan. Ms. Ohtani says “Since I started living in the Akita region, coming in contact with the scenery, history and lifestyle of the people there, I became more strongly aware of my own identity as a Japanese person”. The work she created is a room decorated all over with Akita cedarwood, and is a fusion of Japanese and Western styles. Past the cedarwood forest painting at the room entrance, right in front, there’s a cedarwood window frame, and through it, a moat with glorious lotus flowers in bloom. On the left wall, in the guise of a sliding screen, there are camellia japonica flowers, while the ceiling has a “cracked ice” pattern, often used for pottery or designing Japanese-style rooms, but here fashioned in cedarwood. In the guise of the upper closet, there’s a painted window frame, and through it, “Nishimonai Bon-Odori” summer festival dancers, while in the closet are painted pole lanterns of the “Akita Kanto Festival”. This room offers guests a myriad of images testifying to the beauty of the Akita region of Japan.
We hope that in the Artist Room Beauty of Akita with its cedarwood fragrance, you will enjoy the exquisite beauty for which Japan is famous.
[Staff recommendation comment]
Our hotel provides special rooms that the artists have skillfully designed and decorated.
There are many eye-catching rooms that stand out when you see them, but if you are attracted to the “Beauty of Akita” room, you are in for a treat! Based on the feedback of previous international guests, I believe they prefer more colorful and bright rooms, but if you choose this kind of peaceful room, you can feel more connected to Japanese art culture.
The walls are reminiscent of traditional Japanese sliding doors, a window that shows a peaceful view of a lake and a beautiful painting beside the mirror which represents a lady living in Heian period (794-1185). Every time I enter this room, I have a good feeling of being relaxed and at peace.
I personally thought it was wonderful how Ms.Ohtani did not only focus on the painting of this room, but also how she created three-dimensional objects made of real Akita cedar. By doing this, she was able to create an authentic traditional atmosphere within a modern room.
Why don’t you try to spend a relaxing time with a good old-fashioned style room?
Room #3129 | Completion Date: March 2016
Since I moved my creative base to Akita City in 2013, I had an opportunity to come in contact with the scenery and history of Akita, as well as the lifestyle of the people there. This reminded me even more strongly of my Japanese cultural identity, and I began painting a series of works which depicts flowers, entitled “Floral Figures”, which embodies the Japanese sense of beauty and aesthetics.
This artist’s room is an extension of the series’ concept.
Akita cedarwood is used all over the room, creating the Japanese spirit of “harmony”, and there are many scenic paintings of Akita which I selected. I hope guests who stay in this room can experience the beauty of Akita, and the fine Japanese sense of aesthetics.
Acknowledgment
In creating this artist’s room, I was supported by the following individuals and organizations, to whom I would like to extend special thanks.
Mr. Koji Adachi, Associate Professor, Institute of Wood Technology, Akita Prefectural University ／ Mr. Tetsuji Satsuma, Akita Wood Technology Transfer Foundation ／ Mr. Shinji Koshiyama, Executive Vice President, Koshiyama Co., Ltd. ／ bonnyColArt Co., Ltd. ／ Akita City ／ Akita City Kanto Festival Association ／ Akita University of Art
Yuka Ohtani
Born in 1977, in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
In 2003, graduated M.F.A., Tama University. From around 1998, she began exhibiting installation works based on her past experience. Subsequently, she began working on the “Yellowish Green Room” series which, focusing on the relation between creative works and space, expresses space in the form of a painting. In 2013, when she moved her base to Akita City, she began work on the “Floral Figures” series, which has the Japanese love of beauty as its theme. In the same year, she was appointed as Associate Professor, Course of Multidisciplinary Arts, Akita University of Art.
