バーニング・ラブ Burning Love 2019 – book
The city of Yubari in Hokkaido flourished as a coal miners’ town since the early Meiji era. In this town, some coal miners who were clever with their hands and had some time to spare, started to carve coal during their break in the mine. When it was decided that the mine would be closed definitely in the late 1980s, the habit of carving coal started to expand among a large group of mine workers. The coal carvings that are displayed at shops or at people’s front doors used to be the symbols of a glorious time, but nowadays the cracks of the coal objects illustrate the state of the town, from which many people have left. I visited this town in the winter of 2017. When I entered a local ramen restaurant I received two ball shaped coal objects from a couple who owned the restaurant. From that time onwards I spent my days trying to find those black balls which were still remaining in the town. This book is the result of my journey.
torch press (JP)
104 pages
115 x 175 mm
English/Japanese
ISBN 978-4-907562-18-2 C0070
Design: Ayumi Higuchi
The Best Dutch Book Designs 2019
Generously supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tokyo