I think it was in 2001, and I was contacted by Takuji Masuda, a professional long-border, and asked me to take a photo to be published in the media "SUPER X MEDIA MAGAZINE" he created.
At that time, Takuji became close to Sozaemon Nishimura, the president of Yuzen's long-established "Senso" in Kyoto for more than 460 years, and put Yuzen from the Edo period on a longboard that was shaved by a famous overseas shaper "YUZEN ON SURF" The project was planned and the exhibition was to be held at the Senso Gallery.
After all, there was a great story that the legendary American photographer Art Brewer filmed the scene of Takuji surfing on that board in Hawaii. Since the video was played at the venue, such an idea itself was groundbreaking. Several surfing-related artists were invited from abroad for the exhibition. They are producing their respective works with the theme of Yuzen, and I filmed each artist and their works for "SUPER X MEDIA MAGAZINE". Of course, President Nishimura, employees, and writers and craftsmen involved in Yuzen were also photographed.
The manual work of Yuzen craftsmen, which has been going on for hundreds of years, is carried out independently in the process of squeezing and dyeing and weaving. However, in the end, it is perfectly connected as if a magic has been cast, and a wonderful kimono called "Yuzen" is completed. It's really art.
As for me at that time, I must have been excited because I thought it was hard to have such a chance, so I went out of my way to bring a medium-format camera and took pictures. The photos taken at that time were also published in "MEDIA X CONBAIN", which can be said to be the culmination of "SUPER X MEDIA MAGAZINE".
The company "Senso" has another company called "S.NISHIMURA", which is responsible for Senso's creative business, and Mr. Nishimura's wife was involved in its management. I heard that designer Yoji Yamamoto used Yuzen when using kimono textiles. I'm sure Takuji and Yohji may have been connected from that relationship.
A while after the exhibition, by chance, the story of Takuji teaching surfing to Mr. Yohji and Mr. Nishimura came up, and the two of them came to visit Takuji's house in Kamakura, and we went surfing together. While Takuji was preparing the tools, Yohji began to stretch on the lawn. The light movement was so light that I could see at a glance that I was moving my body on a daily basis. When I called out involuntarily, he said, "I do karate, and I have a dojo at home." I found out later, but it seems that he even has a black belt. He seemed to be interested in exercise and martial arts, and told me that he liked to move his body, and coincidentally, I found out that Mr. Yohji was a senior in Akatsuki, whom I attended until junior high school.
Let's go surfing, we all headed to the beach. Both of them were boldly challenging. Mr. Yohji straddled the board with agile movements and began to paddle the knee, which was quite difficult for the first time. I was surprised that he stood up for the second time and rode as it was. I thought the athletic nerve was good. This photo was taken from the sea while smiling and having fun.
On that day, Mr. Yohji didn't bring his trunks, so he used mine. It was an orange trunk of a brand called "Kalipoa" made by a friend in Kamakura. Mr. Yohji had an image of "black", so I thought about it, but I was kind of happy that he used it and put on my orange trunks.
In the summer of 2001, "YUZEN ON SURF" was also held in Tokyo. At that time, the surfing industry did not have much interaction with highly sensitive creators, but Takuji was already collaborating with hysterical glamour Nobu-kun, Toshi Noguchi-kun, and NIGO-kun. I always do things too fast, and I'm many steps ahead of the times.
That's all I'm talking about.
Takuji planned to publish an article published in "SUPER X MEDIA MAGAZINE" in an overseas book, but it was stopped by Yohji's press.
In my opinion, there was no problem for Mr. Yohji, but maybe the external image became a problem.
I wonder if it was OK if the color of the trunks was black.
About two years ago, when John Moore, the creative director of Kelly Slater's clothing brand "OUTER KNOWEN", came to Japan, he showed me around Kamakura and Hayama. He said, "The best!" is the photo of Mr. Yohji that I uploaded to Instagram. I was also happy that you said that. As expected, John's clothes are unified in chic colors because he respects Mr. Yohji. It has a different sense of surf brands so far, and I feel like Kelly's image has been improved even more thanks to that clothes.
"YUZEN ON SURF" YouTube
https://youtu.be/R4HS7nmfzX8? si=_dkAjxv-OM6uBYe7
The story of Takuji who planned a project with the theme of Yuzen. The aforementioned surf scenes, exhibition patterns, and even Takuji's riding are included. Kevin Ancell, an artist introduced by Takuji in California, also came to Japan for this Kyoto exhibition.
Takuji Masuda
From Kamakura. Former professional longboard champion. Based in Malibu, California, he is active as a media creator. The documentary "BUNKER77", which he worked on as a film director, is a masterpiece that depicts the fleeting life of a heretical surfer, Bunker Splecles.
