Introduction of
Participating Artists and
Creators

Lives and works in Oita City. He creates small sculptures (stuffed toy) using old clothes and rags, and creates installations throughout Japan in which audience participation is included in the process of creation. He has been active in major museums and art projects throughout Japan, including the Yokohama Triennale.
"I created my works while thinking about how to move the atmosphere of HAJIMARI Beppu. This time, I created an object (a "stuffed toy") made of paintings and fabrics. I am considering making objects that can not only be seen but also worn and used. I have asked the members of HAJIMARI Beppu to provide me with old clothes in the hope that they will be used not only by visitors, but also as an opportunity for the members who work here to get involved in the project in a proactive and interesting way. I also made badges and have people wear them."

Her work depicts scenes of a young girl's dreams and nostalgia, stretched out in muddy, transparent colours. She has worked in a wide range of fields, including book illustrations for numerous literary books, advertising visuals for Ippodo Tea Shop and Isetan Mitsukoshi,
packaging and film posters. Winner of the Illustration Prize of the Kodansha Publishing Culture Award. Currently come and go between Beppu and Tokyo.
"In the work for HAJIMARI beppu, I drew girls with a unique view of the world. The title is "Hana to Yume" and depicts slumbering figures lying down with deep green flowers. I wanted the painting to evoke a soft, pleasant breeze, and I hope you experience the rich journey that begins in HAJIMARI beppu."

Design agency founded by Yutaka Maeda. The company focuses on graphic design, but also works across editorial, V.I., web, signage and space design. For the museum, they are in charge of art direction and design for V.I., web, etc. In Beppu, They are also currently working on the design of public projects.
"Before visiting Beppu, I had a strong impression that Beppu was the place which is famous for, but as I walked around the shopping streets, I realised that Beppu is more than just hot springs. The logo design of HAJIMARI Beppu was inspired by the downtown atmosphere with remnants of the Showa period (1926-1989) and retro-designed signboards, which are rarely seen today."

The art unit based in Takeda City, Oita , since 2011, based on the theme of 'production and life', consisting of Ryo Kato and Jumpei Kodama. They currently have the studio in the gymnasium of the closed primary school in Asaji, Bungo Ono City, and the Orectronica Gallery 'Fu-ring' in the castle town of Takeda City.
"We looked around the third and fourth floors, which used to be flats before the renovations. I got the impression of a building with many windows and lots of light. Various traces from the lived-in space, such as light fixtures, blinds and parts of the ceiling, were sampled and used as materials to create objects for the works. Under the concept of 'light', We create the work while imagining various kinds of light: the morning light at the start of the day, the daylight that fills the room, and the light in the darkness at night."

The Writer focusing on travel, walking, sweets, souvenirs, classic hotels and architecture.
She has written more than 40 books and supervised the TV drama "Lunch at architectural masterpiece (Tokyo)", which was based on her book "Walking and Eating: Delicious Architecture Walk in Tokyo".
"The books and music that accompany the moments spent at HAJIMARI Beppu were chosen to bring a variety of 'tanomimi' (enjoyment) to the guests. We also produced an original letter set. We offer a quiet time to write letters from a seaside inn in a hot spring resort. We are also preparing some lovely local toys, perfect as Beppu souvenirs."

The painter who uses pencil drawings to depict towns and people, Masamitsu Katsu moved into the BEPPU PROJECT's art version of Tokiwa-so, the Kiyoshima Apartment, for 12 years from 2009 to 2020, and since then has continued to put down roots in Beppu. He served as head of the Suehiro Onsen Association and was instrumental in the re-uniting of Suehiro Onsen, which was temporarily closed.
'I drew the guardian dogs of Yasaka Shrine in Asami 3-chome, Beppu City. Yasaka Shrine was originally built in 717 when an epidemic (smallpox) broke out and the Gion Shrine in Kyoto was recalled to Otobaru, and moved to its present location in 1192 (Kenkyu 3). The komainu (guardian dogs) in the precincts of the shrine were made in 1930 by Iwai Daimei, a stonemason and owner of the Hyakunenso factory in Noguchi. As he said, "Even if you don't put them up for exhibition, it's best to put them up at the Great Tenchi Exposition," and they are among the stone statues of figures, hermits, demon masks, frogs and toadstools that can still be seen in Beppu today."

Wakako Sakamoto makes ceramics in her atelier in Kitsuki City and Beppu City. She regularly holds exhibitions throughout Japan, and has been a featured artist at CLASKA Gallery & Shop "DO" since its opening. She has supplied vessels to the Hoshino Resort "Kai Yufuin" and has wall art and tile works on permanent display at the Suginoi Hotel Sorakan. She runs a satellite atelier and shop 'Umi to Jikan' in the hotel, where she produces and sells her vessels and baked goods, and is a board member of DABURA.m.
'I created two pieces of wall art. One is that I feel that Beppu, with its hot springs, has a natural outpouring of quiet energy that heals and collects people from all walks of life. I hope to project that feeling. The other thing is that, shortly after we acquired this building, there was a time when I climbed up to the roof early in the morning, and I was surrounded by the feeling that a beautiful sunrise was rising from the horizon, far out to sea, and that a wonderful day was about to begin. I hope to burn the colours and light I felt then."

The architectural design studio is headed by architect Takafumi Mitsuura and is based in the hotel. The company produced the hotel and restored the building. Mitsuura is the owner of HAJIMARI Beppu, and the hotel "GALLERIA MIDOBARU" which he designed won the Good Design Award Best 100 in 2021, as well as many other national and international awards.

Lives and works in Beppu City. He has been interested in craftsmanship since childhood and has been based in Oita since 1976, photographing and covering trowels, mud walls, lime kilns, straw mounds, stone piles, etc. throughout Japan.He has published a number of books, including A History of Modern Architecture, "Genius. Loki", "Seken" and many other books.
"When I was a child, I used to buy bait at the fishing tackle shop two doors down from here, and I used to enjoy fishing for zengo (small horse mackerels) in the harbour there (now Yume Town) in the summer. All the kids used to go fishing in the evening calm. This is the town where I learnt to fish. Beppu has an interesting history layered on top of each other like a microscopic preparato. I hope you can sense that from the photographs."

Practises dyeing using the diverse hot springs in Beppu, which boasts the largest number of hot springs in Japan. The artist dyes threads and fabrics with plants and trees boiled by geothermal heat, and expresses a wide variety of natural colours by using different hot springs.
While searching for a form that is as natural and effortless for the local area as circulating water, he produces products and holds workshops using yarn and fabric dyed in hot springs.
"In this work, I dyed canvas to reupholster the fabric of a chair. The dyes used were stem leaves of the kariyasu plant and roots of the akane plant; the fabric dyed with the two dyes and mordanted with alum gave bright colors. The fabric dyed with the two dyes and mordanted with alum turns to a dark colour, while the fabric mordanted with Beppu hot spring water turns to a dark colour. A chair that has been handed down through the ages is newly decorated with fabric dyed with hot spring water, which originated from the rain that fell in the past. I feel happy to witness a new beginning!"

She introduces recipes that are close to seasonal ingredients and home cooking in magazines, books and on TV. In addition to recipe books, she also holds online cooking classes. Her speciality is cooking that is in tune with today's times while preserving the good old traditions.