March 1st. Tokyo was enveloped in the cheerfulness of springtime. We met at a small station along a private railway line and walked through a residential area. After walking for about 5 minutes, you will see a unique white building. The Moriyama Residence was designed by architect Ryue Nishizawa. YUKI FUJISAWA's new knitwear, which he has worked on over the winter, will be presented here at Moriyama's house.

“So far, I have held order fairs in my atelier, but this time I wanted to display my production diary as well, so I wanted to present it in a place other than my atelier.” Yuki says. “When I was looking for a good place, the first thing that came to my mind was the Moriyama Residence. My artist friend Mana Yamamoto had an exhibition, and the album jacket of the musician Shuta Hasunuma was there. The photos I took at Moriyama's residence --- For some time now, I've been getting a sense of how many people are at Moriyama's residence. I did."

It was early February when Yuki visited the Moriyama residence for the first time. At that time, Yuki was feeling stuck in production. However, after being given a tour of the "Moriyama House" and exchanging words with Mr. Moriyama, he felt as if his field of vision had opened up. By the time he was on his way home after finishing the preview, he had already made up his mind, "Let's hold a sweater unveiling party here."

It was in 2002 that Moriyama asked Ryue Nishizawa to design the building. Mr. Moriyama wanted to rent it out as a rental at first, but once he had finished repaying the loan, he wanted to be able to live on his own. The residence was designed and completed in 2005. Since then, Mr. Moriyama has rented out several buildings, and usually lives in Building A.

 "This is a 'tea room'." Mr. Moriyama immediately showed me around the house. What we call the “tea room” is on the second floor of Building B. Building B is connected to Building A by a corridor, and the first floor is designed as a dining room. “The second floor here was originally set up as a stock room for the kitchen, but it’s a waste, so I don’t put anything on it. It's about the same size as the tea room that is said to have been built, so I call it the 'tea room'."

Each building in the Moriyama residence is small in size, but the atmosphere changes as you move through the space, giving it a sense of openness. The second floor of Building A is 175 centimeters high, and Mr. Moriyama says with a laugh, "Here you can see the approximate height." There were bookshelves on the second floor, but the books were placed upside down on the bookshelves so that the spines could not be seen.

"Recently, the spine has become annoying." That's what Moriyama-san told me. In the past, he had used paraffin paper to deceive them, but he still felt that the spines were too noisy, so he turned them over and arranged them side by side. “A long time ago, when Hideo Kobayashi saw his book at a bookstore, he said, ‘The binding is annoying,’ so he removed all the bindings. It's hard to find, but I put the things I like in easy-to-reach places, so I can get a general idea."

Passing through the bookcase on the second floor and going up to the third floor, there was a large window. When Mr. Moriyama opens the window, a pleasant breeze blows in. Even if you are in the same building, your mood will change depending on where you spend your time. If you climb the ladder from the 3rd floor to the roof, you can see the surrounding scenery. There are no fences or anything, and it is overflowing with a sense of openness.

 "I'm not good at high places, so I live in this 50 cm radius." Yuki looks at the surrounding scenery while laughing. “There are also big cliffs in the Aran Islands.

 “I heard that the Aran Islands are very windy,” says Moriyama.

 "It's a small remote island, so the sea breeze was blowing. In winter, there were no tourists at all, and all I could hear was the sound of the wind, so it felt really strange."

Standing on the roof of the Moriyama residence, you can hear the chirping of birds from somewhere. "Oh, the light is hitting the plane right now." Mr. Moriyama murmurs while looking at the plane flying in the distance. Mr. Moriyama told me that it was only recently that people started spending time on the rooftop like this. “At first, I was scared, but I got used to it while I was invited by a customer, and now I go up two or three times a month.”

“Customers” visit the Moriyama residence regularly. Building I, which was originally rented out as a residence, is now rented out as "Moriyama Tei Aito". The sweater unveiling party will be held using this "Moriyama Matei Aito". Mr. Moriyama guides me to see "Moriyama Matei Aito".

“Kazuherin, do you have any ideas about how you want to display your photos?”

“If I was going to exhibit it here, I wouldn’t have imagined framing it and arranging it,” said Wahei Kimura. “I think it’s an image of borrowing something from Mr. Moriyama’s house and blending it in. I don’t think I want to use the wall too much.”

"I think so too. The first thing that came to my mind was the image of it falling to the floor."

"Oh yeah. If I use the wall, I feel like it's going to be used like a normal gallery. Besides, I feel like this wall is already complete with this window."

While the two were discussing the direction of the exhibition, Mr. Moriyama began to remove the curtains. In addition to the sliding window that is used as an entrance, there is another sliding window, and Mr. Moriyama suggested, "You can use this as an entrance." Today is the first time he has made such a proposal. Certainly, the garden can be seen from the window that was used as the entrance, so it seems that the view is better there. “I think we can have a tea party there,” laughs Yuki-san while gazing at the view from the window.

In 2021, Moriyama House's I building will be rented out as "Moriyama Tei Aito".

It was Mitsue Nakamura, who has been living in the Moriyama House since it was completed, and decided to open up the I Building, which had been used as a residence until then, so that it could be used by a variety of people. . Mr. Moriyama was not very enthusiastic when the proposal was first made. However, as more people started using it, it became more interesting, and he began renting out his home, Building A, as "Moriyamate Eiito." YUKI FUJISAWA's unveiling event will also be held by borrowing both "Eito" and "Aito".

“Occasionally, I also run an atelier shop,” says Yuki. “When you open up your own space, people will come there and the atmosphere will change. It felt like the door was being opened, and I was moved.”

 “I think the building has a big impact on that,” says Moriyama. “At the design stage of Mr. Nishizawa, the building was open. It's interesting to see how the space can be used in ways I never imagined. I don't mind being moved, it might be more fun to have it moved."

When Mr. Moriyama showed me around, I felt like I could understand why Mr. Yuki wanted to hold the event here.

"I love the elusive white space that this place has." Yuki says. "Even if I didn't buy a sweater, I felt like people would walk home and say, 'Today was an interesting and strange day.'"

On a spring day, as we were discussing what kind of exhibition we should have here, a pleasant breeze blew in through the window. By the time the unveiling party is held, it will surely be much warmer than it is now. I imagine what kind of time people who visit the Moriyama House in the spring sunshine will take home.

"Beyond the Window" Knitting Memories Continued to Sweater Production Diary (7)

WordsRinshi Hashimoto

Photo Kazuhei Kimura