One fine day before Golden Week, I visited Nagano Prefecture to shoot a look for HERENESS. The model we asked was Arata Funayama, an art creator living in Komoro City. After working as a patterner in the fashion industry, he moved back to his hometown in Nagano Prefecture, where he currently works as a designer and consultant for companies while creating artworks. His twin brother, Kiyoshi, is a serious climber supported by an outdoor manufacturer, and climbing and snowboarding have become a part of his life.

The motif that Mr. Funayama is currently working on is "rope".

Encounter with the motif of "rope"

I think the "rope" is the connection itself. One of the reasons was climbing (putting your life in the hands of a rope). Another reason was that I became depressed last year. I wondered what I wanted to do. I had no money and no place to go, so I wondered what I had. When I thought about it again, I realized that the people around me, my work, and everything else are all connected.

Due to his perfectionism, Mr. Funayama devoted himself to his work without pausing to eat during his life in Tokyo. When he felt his mental and physical balance was off, he decided to return to his hometown in Nagano. He settled in a log house in Komoro, surrounded by rich nature, and gradually found the balance he was looking for as he devoted himself to creating artworks, new work, and outdoor activities in a quiet environment.

Being in nature is better for your body. It's a simple principle

When I was a child, I was surrounded by nature in Karuizawa, and nature was always close by, whether I was playing or walking to school. I was surrounded by nature when I was a child, and I was always close to nature, whether playing or walking to school. I think the colors of nature are infinite, even when it comes to color. I don't think any one color is the same, and I grew up in such a natural environment.

Humans are animals, so it is naturally better for our bodies to be in nature, and that is a simple principle. We breathe in what the trees put out, and the trees breathe in what we put out. Everything is in a cycle, and I have realized that being in conflict with that cycle is not good for me, nor is it good for the earth we live on now.

Mr. Funayama, who says he is attracted to Japanese culture that has been in harmony with nature, also explained the multilayered appeal of "nawa" (rope).

NAWA actually has two directions, and the Jomon period's way of thinking is that the power of the rope is exerted by these two directions. Nawa has a deep connection with Japan. And there is a bundle of very thin threads in a single strand, which is also made of strands of fibers. From the surface, it appears to be one, but it is only when more complex things are piled up and stacked on top of each other that it appears to be one.

Funayama carefully nurtures the motif of "rope," which has emerged from the connection between people and nature.

arata funayama

Art creator

Photography/design/pattern/edit/ideas