Koichi Nishiyama "The Whereabouts of the Deer"

Art Trace Gallery

Finished

Artists

Koichi Nishiyama

The Japanese sika deer have lived alongside humans since the Jomon period, their presence and calls woven into daily life. They were celebrated in the Manyoshu, cherished as part of the seasons and human emotions. After the Meiji era, the expansion of human activity gradually pushed them away. Driven by fear and quiet disappointment, the deer retreated deeper into the mountains, and their numbers fell. Their habitats shifted to places beyond human reach.  Forests once close to human life turned into monotonous cedar and cypress plantations. These quiet landscapes, with few predators and little human presence, became refuges for the deer.  After the war, rural depopulation and a decline in hunters allowed deer to return. Today, they inhabit mountains even near the city, living close to humans in a way different from when they once cried across autumn fields.  The distance between people and deer has shifted over time and now, quietly, seems to be closing again.  This quiet change softly mirrors how we have come to live with other life.

Schedule

Jun 6 (Fri) 2025-Jun 22 (Sun) 2025