La vita e bella

Tonight my friend Hitomi invited me to gather by the Kamo river to meet travelers from many places around the world. Japan, Spanish, Belgium, Russia, Australia, Italy, Nepal, Germany, to name a few... to share some stories of life and laughter, to understand our similarities and differences. A new friend said to me, "La vita e bella". Thank you for the nice memory. To me, this is what I called art.

English, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語

Actually I'm having trouble with what language I should use for this blog, to express my story. Should I use English so more people can understand? Should I use Bahasa Indonesia as it is my native language and I want more Indonesian to understand? Or should I use 日本語 as I am now living in Japan and I want more Japanese friends to understand this blog?

Maybe I can try to express my story in a language like this:

Can you see my feeling through this image? 

Well it's a 5-minutes crash artwork.... but you know what I mean, right? 

Do you think visual language is somewhat more universal or instead, more ambiguous? What do you think of the possibility of visual art as universal language? If there is such thing like a universal language, perhaps it will be the world without war and misunderstanding, or maybe it will be monotonous?

Nakasendo highway

There are five routes that link Kyoto and Edo (the old name for Tokyo), but of those there were two of the most important ones. One is called Nakasendo 中山道, another is called Tokaido 東海道. For this journey I choose the Nakasendo, which suggested by the Japanese kanji as the route between mountains. It has 69 stations in between and will take 534 km of up and down the slopes through mountains. Although going through Nakasendo will be more difficult compares to Tokaido (which is more flat as it takes the route along the pacific coast), this line is not so rarely chosen by others for its beautiful scenery and historical preservation. Some people walk all through the way from Kyoto to Edo for up to 27 days, while I choose to ride my bicycle so I can explore wider places more efficiently in golden hour (more description on upcoming post). Nakasendo was built around 8th century when Nara was the capital city of Japan, in order to consolidate the growing Japan together. But its development reached its peak during the Edo period (1600-1868), when Japan moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo. Many parts along its way is preserved and retained its authenticity, and some claimed it as the heart of Japan. Some famous persons were reported to pass through the Nakasendo line. To name a few, the 17th century haiku master Matsuo Basho, 19th century writer Shimazaki Toson who wrote 夜明けの前 (Yoake no Mae; Before The Dawn), and the most extravagant of all was the journey of Princess Kazunomiya with her 15,000 servants on her way to marry Iemochi the 14th Tokugawa Shogun. But let all have their own reasons to plan and choose the route. As for me, the mystery of what lies between each journey is the gem of every travel!

map of Nakasendo from Kyoto (most left) to Edo (most right) 

taken from a book with my notes on it. 

Testing: Blogger for iPhone

Testing:
- Blogger for iPhone.
- iPhone camera.
- Location with Blogger for iPhone. Location details didn't show on published iPhone (both mobile and desktop version) but showed on iPad and my laptop.

About Travelling

I just did some worthy improvements on my website, specifically on "Maling Jemuran" (The Laundry Thief) section today. It is about 75% done, there are far too many photos of the collection that I need to select and upload and some technical problems. You still can check it out if you want. The link is:

www.aikourfia.com
(then click on "Maling Jemuran/The Laundry Thief" on the left menu)

While working on it, I remembered how I enjoyed the taking picture process, travelling by myself to strange places, finding new friends and "new families" along the way, saying hello and good bye. Nobody knows who I am. I have no label. No one expect me to be somebody, neither I don't expect others to be somebody to me. We use only senses and instinct. Free of any logical thinking, free of any prejudices. Everything is new, everything is surprise. It's the world I love, the world of travelling.

I admitted as a lone woman traveller I was not all in a safe and comfortable condition at all times, especially when I prefer thrift backpacking style of travelling. I did experience some sexual harassement and money trickery. But above those, I experienced many wonderful things which enriched my view of world, which differs from the world that I know. I learn many different ways of thinking, for that broadens my level of tolerance. And there is wisdom behind danger: when all you can do is to trust yourself in the hand of strangers, all you can do is to smile and to think that every strangers you meet are by no means enemies and thus, are friends. In that way, travelling has become a tool of pure expression in sincerity. A sincerity which is a kind of difficult when you already became a part of community where you have certain "label" attached to you.

And therefore, if you track my past works, they were all have the "spirit of a traveller", "spirit of a wanderer". So if in "Maling Jemuran/The Laundry Thief" I was wandering across villages in Indonesia hunting for certain "identities" through laundries, here in my next project "Journey To My Childhood" I'm looking forward to really immerse myself into the whole experience of the being a stranger in Japan looking for recalling my "lost childhood" or "the childhood that I have left behind". To this too, I want to blog my real time experiences I am going to encounter along the journey. Be it amusing, exciting, heartwarming, frightening, or lonely, or tedious, all are noteworthy to be recorded.

Behind the Title

Why "Journey To My Childhood"?

This work is highly related to my history. My name is Aiko Urfia Rakhmi. I am an Indonesian nationality born from Indonesian parents, yet my name is a mixture of Japanese (Aiko), and Indonesian-Arabic (Urfia and Rakhmi). Aiko is not a common name for an Indonesian, it is in fact a very well known Japanese name and it is even chosen by prince Naruhito to name his beloved daughter. 

"So why your name is Aiko? Are you a (half) Japanese?" Everyone always asked me throughout my life, and at the same time I have to keep repeating the same answer to everyone. 

The truth is, father named me "Aiko" because I was born in Tokyo, Japan. At the time my father was posted to work in Tokyo for an overseas duty by the oil company he was working for. Then by the age of 4, me and the rest of the family returned to Indonesia. I remembered nothing of my childhood in Japan. Except for the photographs of my childhood that my father left behind. And the name that clings to me forever, my first name, Aiko.

In this project, I want to explore the meaning of being an Indonesian, a Japanese, or perhaps, being an Indonesian in Japan, or to find my "Japaneseness" by having this journey to my childhood.

Commencement day for Journey To My Childhood

Ohayo gozaimasu!
So today is the mark of the day for my next project Journey To My Childhood. It is not only my birthday, it is also the opening day for public showcase for the concept of Journey To My Childhood (now exhibiting in ArtZone Kyoto, 1-17th September 2012).
It is still the exhibition of the initial stage or concept and my preparation, as the real project (you may say, production stage) will be scheduled on next spring 2013 during sakura blooming. And so, around February or March 2013 I will start my bicycling journey from Kyoto to Tokyo via nakasendo line (will tell you about this in another post). Slooooowly, maybe it would take 1-2 months with stopping in many places along the way, as I wish to penetrate myself to the heart of the trip. Anyway, will tell you more about the concept in another post. Sampai jumpa! (= see you later! ~ Bahasa Indonesia)

Concept stage for "Journey to My Childhood", consisting of Map of the journey and bicycle to be used for the project.

now exhibiting at ArtZone (Kyoto), 1-17th September 2012