“Echoes of the Wind,” an art collective made up of professionals from various fields, including fishermen, woodworkers, and engineers, will exhibit their work at Kobe Rokko Meets Art 2025 Beyond.
TSU-GUMY Co., Ltd. Press Release: August 29, 2025 “Echoes of the Wind,” an art collective made up of professionals from various fields, including fishermen, woodworkers, and engineers, will exhibit their work at the Kobe Rokko Meets Art 2025 Beyond exhibition. “Whitebait Climbing the Mountain” won the Grand Prize in the public competition. A school of 3,270 whitebait ascends Mount Rokko
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individually woven into fishing line by the hands of many people, including Kobe fishermen and local volunteers. By day, the shirasu float in the breeze amid the greenery of the botanical garden. At night, they glow with LED lighting linked to sensors installed on Mount Rokko, recreating the way they change color depending on the weather and time of day. By entering the shirasu tornado, visitors can imagine the vast movement of the atmosphere surrounding the Rokko Oroshi wind, and experience a shift in their sense of location and scale. The work invites viewers to contemplate the interconnectedness of different environmental elements through the sensation of traveling between the mountains and the sea. Another initiative of this project is the public release of weather data collected by sensors installed at nine locations around Mount Rokko on the web. Revealing the true nature of the invisible wind, which can be thought of as a stroke of the hand in the sky, is an important part of the “Wind Ring” project. We are participating in this art festival in the hope that through “Whitebait Rising Up the Mountain” and the release of wind data, we can question the true nature of wind from multiple perspectives, physically experience the close connection between the mountains, city, and sea of Kobe Rokko, and become aware of the invisible cycle of nature.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/134386/2/134386-2-cf87f496aeac811311dadc634b604784-3900×2925.jpg Exhibition view photo:junpei iwamoto(DOR)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/134386/2/134386-2-625c7031689a9c355d7ec29466bad381-3900×2925.jpg Exhibition view photo:junpei iwamoto(DOR) ▍Inspiration: “What the invisible wind reveals” We hope to change people’s perspectives by not being limited by visible differences but broadening our focus to include the invisible. There’s something indispensable to Kobe Rokko, yet invisible. A prime example of this is the Rokko oroshi wind. Rokko oroshi is both a natural phenomenon, a local wind, and a cultural icon, making it an essential element of Kobe Rokko’s identity. However, what is little known is that much of the complex wind mechanism that travels from the Rokko Mountains, through the city, and out to the sea remains unknown. Through repeated discussions with fishermen in Kobe and members working in woodworking on Mount Rokko, we arrived at a certain idea. Perhaps the winds blowing from the mountains have a significant impact on marine life. Specifically, perhaps they are also affecting the recent changes in Osaka Bay’s fish catch, such as the decline in sand lance catches. This is because, we thought, the winds from the mountains may play a role in delivering oxygen not only to the sea surface but also to the ocean below. This image inspired me to create the work “Whitebait Climbing the Mountains,” which depicts whitebait from the ocean ascending to the mountains in search of oxygen. This work explores the invisible force of wind and the close connection between mountains, the sea, and cities. ▍Wind data disclosure Sensors installed at nine locations in the Rokko mountain range will collect real-time weather data on the XYZ axes. This data will not only be linked to the artwork, but will also be made publicly available as open data on a website from mid-September, with the aim of enabling its use in a wide range of fields, including the sea, mountains, and cities. According to test surveys conducted since late August 2025, multiple winds are blowing, including winds flowing from Okayama toward Akashi, winds flowing from the Pacific Ocean, and winds flowing from the Sea of Japan. Sensors installed behind Mt. Rokko show that winds are blowing from the sea over the mountains. Meanwhile, winds are blowing in the opposite direction on the ground, creating vortices and revealing that winds containing salt from the Pacific Ocean are reaching the back of Rokko. We plan to continue our surveys and analyze the complex movements of invisible winds in more detail.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/134386/2/134386-2-d3743d0c9e36383d46086af4a8fc1b39-1566×1013.png Data to be published on the website (image sample) ▍Artist Collective “Echoes of the Wind” “Echoes of the Wind” wind- is an art collective that brings together professionals from various fields, including Kobe fishermen, professionals involved in forest maintenance and wood processing on Mount Rokko, experts in architecture and urban development, and data scientists. The group is primarily made up of members with ties to Kobe. In response to the theme of this art festival, “Perspectives and Thoughts on the Environment,” we applied to the open call for artists, believing that if people who make a living in Kobe Rokko became artists themselves and asked questions that arise spontaneously in their daily lives, they would be able to permeate the uniqueness of the region and create a truly compelling impact. For us, who are not artists, art is more than simply presenting artworks; it is a way to spread local questions as far as possible. For this reason, we will not only exhibit our works for 100 days, but will also view the entire ongoing process, including fieldwork, objective data collection, the creation of in-depth reports, and the publication of collected data as open data, as an art project. Artist Interview Circle of the Wind [Kobe Rokko Meets Art 2025 beyond]
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrbNfihbYJk “Ring of the Wind” PARTNERS These are the many collaborators who helped make “Whitebait Climbing the Mountain” a reality, including artist sponsors, production directors, artist partners, and artist collaborators (titles omitted). ◎ Production cooperation Junichi Kanebako (Associate Professor, Kobe Design University) ◎ Artist support Kobe City Fisheries Cooperative Komagabayashiura Fisheries Association Hyogo Fisheries Cooperative Association Kobe City Kamikaratō Forest Products Agricultural Cooperative Colors Associates, Inc. Takemoto Construction Co., Ltd. ◎ Artist Partner Color Kinetics Japan Co., Ltd. Kitsunemori Co., Ltd. (Katsutomo Kanno / Takuya Kitagaki) NPO Geiho (Yosuke Oguni / Tsubasa Kamino / Yuhei Takada) Morikawa Construction Company Takashi Nagao Nobuyuki Takimoto original Ryusuke Hideyasu Kuroki Junzo Harada Sui Takihara Hiroki Gedo Takumi Odabe Akiko Takeda Masaya Yokogawa (Yokogawa Kosaku Laboratory) ◎ Artist Collaborator Yusuke Yokota Kazumoto Nishimura Daigo Nagahara Jiro Kurume ◎ Volunteers Many volunteers helped with threading the shirasu. Official website: https://kazenowa.org/ Official Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kazeno_wa/ ▍Message of Gratitude We are truly grateful for the great honor of receiving the Grand Prize in the Kobe Rokko Meets Art 2025 Beyond Open Competition Grand Prize. Kaze no Wa is made up of professionals from various fields, including fishermen, woodworkers, architects, and engineers, but this was the first time for most of our members to be involved in the creation of an art piece. We have only been able to get this far thanks to the wisdom of all our members, the curators and other staff in the office, the support of the artists, and the generous cooperation of the volunteers who helped with production direction. I was born and raised on Rokko Island, and while carrying on my father’s vision and working in the world of architecture, I have always asked myself how people’s lives are related to the environment. As an approach to finding the answer, I have come to believe that “expanding my focus to the invisible, rather than being limited by visible differences,” may shed light on a ray of hope for the future. I believe that two methods play a major role in conveying this message: experiences felt through the five senses and objective data. While artworks appeal to people’s hearts and generate interest in a topic, data provides a common ground for everyone, encouraging constructive discussion and deep thought. These two approaches create opportunities for dialogue and allow for multifaceted, open-minded analysis of complex issues. This time, stakeholders from the ocean, mountains, and city, who are often in conflict, came together to pursue the true nature of the invisible “Rokko Oroshi” wind, engaging in repeated discussions and questioning. This is our method, born from our desire to deepen our perspectives and thoughts on the environment. How can we use the experience of creating something by hand while worrying together and interacting with the people who live here? We believe that moving forward with an eye to the future embodies the meaning of participating in this art festival. We hope that through the exhibitions and data release at this art festival, many people will be able to experience the diverse aspects of Kobe Rokko from a new perspective. Hiromi Koyama, Representative of Echoes of the Wind
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/134386/2/134386-2-b6e3f088ba8a907072fc87a2760ac145-2025×2700.jpg Threading whitebait at the Fishermen’s Hall
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/134386/2/134386-2-41de337ffc9c18f3e557b73bdd32ff55-2025×2700.jpg Assembly work with the help of shrine carpenters ▍Event Information 1) Workshop to Search for the Chirimen Monster This workshop involves searching for various creatures other than sardine fry that are mixed in with dried baby sardines and dried small sardines. A wide range of people, from small children to adults, can participate. Date and time: Saturday, September 13, 2025 Location: Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden 2) Panel discussion from the perspectives of oceans, mountains, and cities Content: A panel discussion based on wind data. Date and Time: Saturday, November 1, 2025 Location: Design and Creative Center Kobe KIITO 303 For details on how to participate in the event, please visit the official Kaze no Wa website. https://kazenowa.org/ ▍”Kobe Rokko Meets Art 2025 Beyond” Event Overview
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/134386/2/134386-2-ad3eeb917c6b8cb1d2db3916753926cf-1520×850.jpg Date: August 23, 2025 (Sat) – November 30, 2025 (Sun) Hours: 10:00-17:00 *Opening days and hours may vary depending on the venue. Venue: ROKKO Forest Sound Museum, Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden, Rokko Garden Terrace Area, Church of the Wind Area, and more Official website: https://rokkomeetsart.jp/ ▍TSU-GUMY company profile TSU-GUMY is a group of interdisciplinary professionals working to unlock the hidden potential of local communities. Using customizable sensor technology, we quantitatively capture a region’s charms and potential challenges, vividly visualizing them with context. Furthermore, we design and implement systems that encourage people to take ownership of the project and actively engage in it, bringing about positive change. Our vision is to delve deeply into local communities, rewire their practices, and open up the future. TSU-GUMY Co., Ltd. URL: https://tsugumy.co.jp/ Representative: CEO Hiromi Koyama Location: Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture Established: May 6, 2021 Business Activities: Promoting DX through sensor development, data acquisition, and analysis Planning, proposing, and promoting solutions to social issues faced by local governments and businesses For press inquiries: pr@tsugumy.co.jp
