The 2nd Open Art Festival
in Sichuan, China Aug.2001

Pengshan County - Leshan - Chengdu
8--17 Aug.2001

4. ARAI Shin-ichi (Japan)
"Happy Japan!"
Old brick factory at Pengshan,12 Aug. 2001

duration; 30min
material;
uniform of the Japan Overseas Cooperate Volunteers, comicbook "What is patriotic war?" by KOBAYASHI Yoshinori, Pica-chuu bought in China,1.5 x 2 m canvas, Liquitex(fresh red),
text;
"Kimi-ga-yo (Long live the Emperor)" =National anthem of Japan
"This is the uniform of Japan Overseas Cooperate Volunteers something like the American Peace Corp.As a Volunteer I lived Zanzibar, Tanzania from 1992 to 1994 and I taught wood block printing to Zanzibar young artists at the art school of Nyumba ya Sanaa, Zanzibar.
Before I went to Tanzania ,All members of Japan Overseas Cooperate Volunteers had to meet the Emperor who is the president of the organization.
In Tanzania I had a lot of girl friend who loved my money."

"The title of this comicbook is "What is a patriotic war?"
The comicbook's author says that Japan must have more military power. that we Japanese must have a patriot spirit. that there was no Nanking genocide by the Japanese Emperor army. that there were no Korean or east asian women sex slaves in the Japanese Emperor army. that they were only commercial prostitutes.
More than half a million people bought this book and almost all of them are under 30."

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