Mitsuko Ohno

Irish Days Executive Committee

Kwaidan is well known to the Japanese as a collection of Japanese folktales. Less commonly known are the facts that its author was Lafcadio Hearn, born on the Greek island of Lefkada and raised in Ireland, and that the original story was written in English by Hearn, who became Yakumo Koizumi by marrying a Japanese woman named Setsu Koizumi.

When Blue Moon Projects approached me in the spring of 2023 to help bring "Kwaidan - Encounters with Lafcadio Hearn" to Nagoya or its surrounding areas, I considered not only the best venue for the art exhibition but also how to engage potential audiences with Hearn's connection to Ireland and foster an appreciation for the lesser-known aspects of his life and international esteem.

After consulting with my local friends, we concluded that presenting the exhibition within the context of ‘Irish culture’ would help people better appreciate the significance of Hearn’s stories and the artistic exchange between Ireland and Japan. This idea led to the formation of the Irish Days Executive Committee.

The Nagakute City’s Cultural Centre, located just outside Nagoya City, now known to the world as the home of Ghibli Park, fortunately offered us not only a wonderful venue but also dedicated staff to support this comprehensive cultural event. The art exhibition has since expanded into Irish Days 2024, which under the title ‘Dialogue between Ireland and Japan’ features a lecture by Mr. Bon Koizumi, Yakumo's great-grandson, a conversation between him and myself, a reading concert of ‘Yuki-onna’, as well as an Irish music concert, music sessions, food, culture and much more. We are also very grateful to the Embassy of Ireland and the many other patrons and supporters for their generosity.

Coincidentally, we received news in June that Hearn's wife, Setsu, will be the protagonist in the very popular NHK TV drama series starting in autumn 2025, leading us to believe that Hearn/Yakumo has given his blessing to Irish Days 2024, 120 years after his death.

We sincerely hope that the people of Nagakute, Nagoya and beyond will take this opportunity to deepen their  understanding of the cosmopolitan Hearn/Koizumi, with his Irish roots, and enjoy their new ‘encounter with Ireland’.

The exhibition was curated by Toshiharu Suzuki of the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, who had curated the exhibition of Francis Bacon, the leading contemporary Irish painter, held at Toyota and Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art in 2013.

Stephen Lawlor

Blue Moon Projects

”Kwaidan—Encounters with Lafcadio Hearn” is an exhibition of prints by 20 Japanese and 20 Irish-based artists consisting of a sumptuous array of visual interpretations of Kwaidan, the well-known book of ghost stories published in 1904 by Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), also known as Koizumi Yakumo.

In 2017, Irish artist Stephen Lawlor brought an exhibition of works to Tokyo based on the poetry of W.B. Yeats. It was here that he first heard of the writer, translator and teacher Lafcadio Hearn. Together with fellow artists Kate MacDonagh and Ed Miliano they formed a working group and began to develop an exhibition inspired by the writings of Hearn.

Ireland is traditionally famous for storytelling, which is deeply reflected in the country’s folklore and culture. Through his early life in Ireland, Lafcadio Hearn absorbed the tradition of storytelling, honed his skills as a young writer in the United States and subsequently wrote his best known works in Japan.

Through the mediums of contemporary printmaking and photography, each of the 40 artists has engaged with a story from Hearn’s masterpiece Kwaidan. The result is a striking variety of skill and haunting interpretation that reflects upon these strange and ghostly tales.

There are several images of ‘Mujina’, with her sad, featureless face awaiting the unwary passers-by on a lonely slope by the Akasaka Road. Alice Maher’s portrayal of ‘Rokuro-kubi’ confronts both the terror and humour of the five floating Goblin heads, their intertwined hair representing the forest in which they dwell, creating “a great knot of evil intent’’.

As described in ‘Jiu-roku-zakura’, Katsutoshi Yuasa is relieved to know that “such an equilibrium existed in the world” between death and the beauty of the cherry blossom in full bloom. Miyamoto Shoji was deeply affected by the loneliness of Hōïchi, as described in ‘The Story of Mimi-nashi-Hōïchi’.

Some of these tales are ancient, some just local folklore, but Hearn has woven them into a language that can joyously be translated into visual form.

The objective of this Kwaidan exhibition is to draw more serious attention to Lafcadio Hearn in Ireland and to elevate his work more fully into the pantheon of great Irish writing, where his extraordinarily powerful fiction, non-fiction and journalism so justly deserves to be. Through an extensive touring schedule in Japan and Ireland, the exhibition will also bring the two countries into closer cultural contact and will build on the aspirations set out in ‘Taking Forward Partnership with Shared Ambition’, the Joint Statement between the Governments of Ireland and Japan that was issued in June of 2022.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to making this project a reality. Special thanks to the Irish Days Executive Committee, the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, Department of Foreign Affairs Ireland, Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce, Culture Ireland, the Irish and Japanese Embassy, Culture Ireland, SO Fine Art Editions, KURA MONZEN Gallery, and the Office of Public Works in Ireland. This project has expanded to more than ten locations across Japan and Ireland, with additional venues in the USA and the UK. We are thrilled that this exhibition will be showcased at the Nagakute City Cultural Centre, a premier cultural facility serving the citizens of Nagakute.

Artists from Ireland

Yoko Akino / Ailbhe Barrett / Nuala Clarke / Niamh Flanagan / Richard Gorman / Richard Lawlor / Stephen Lawlor / Sharon Lee / Kate MacDonagh / Alice Maher / Eimearjean McCormack / James McCreary / Ed Miliano / Niall Naessens / Kelvin Mann / David Quinn / Barbara Rae / Robert Russell / Amelia Stein / Dominic Turner

Artists from Japan

Kanami Hano / Yoko Hara / Jin Hirosawa / Aya Ito / O JUN / Mayumi Kimura / Chie Matsui / Seiichiro Miida / Yuuka Miyajima / Shoji Miyamoto / Junko Ogawa / Shoko Osugi / Yuki Saito / Michael Schneider / Sudi / Azusa Takahashi / Yo Takahashi / Kanako Watanabe / Toshiya Watanabe / Katsutoshi Yuasa