Despite being the capital of Kyushu, Fukuoka is a surprisingly accessible city with walkable streets, bridges and rivers. It’s best known for its yatai which are tiny little bars on every side street or set up each night from mobile street kitchens:
Fukuoka has a vivid ‘entertainment’ area or – as our friend Sachie told us when she pointed out the sign below – ‘water business’. Why ‘water business’ as a euphemism for the night time industry of bars, hostess clubs and geisha houses? It refers, apparently, to the unpredictable and fluid nature of income in such establishments, much like the flow of water.
The sign below offers ‘free information’ to men, ‘peace of mind’ and satisfaction in the red light district – some kind of tourist information centre?
It also has a museum dedicated to a very famous character, Anpanman, pointed out to us by Sachie, who is the protagonist of a children’s picture book and anime series. His head is made of anpan (a sweet bread with red bean paste) and he is known to be kind and courageous. His main goal is to help those in trouble, even if it means giving away part of his own head to feed the hungry.
We even tripped across a ‘Festa de Santa’ (zoom in close to check out some of the outfits):
But enough of this popular culture. Sachie took us to the only museum in the world dedicated to Asian modern and contemporary art:
There was a small but very interesting collection. For example,
We were fascinated to find this work which was a collaboration between an artist in Mumbai and artists in the Bastar region which we visited a couple of years ago:
The work was varied with a great series of videos by a Chinese artist on people scratching themselves. Others were easier to capture:
Why the only art museum in the world for Asian modern and contemporary art? Because, says the mission statement, Fukuoka City has served as a gateway to continental Asian culture since ancient times. And it certainly seems so given the people we have seen working here: from Sri Lanka, Nepal, India and the rest of Asia as far as we can tell. This is very unlike the rest of Japan in our experience!
Wonderful photos of these provocative art pieces, especially when viewed on my computer – thanks for including all the explanatory text. Such interesting contrasts with the jolly bare-tummied Santas and grinning Anpanman offering bites of himself. The “Water Business” concept works well over here for almost every small enterprise in hospitality!
Many of these pieces were really gripping – a glimpse for us Europeans of a vibrant political scene across Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China – really really interesting. My favourite was probably Heri Dono from Indonesia – very funny and skewering…
Dear Miriam&Sue:
As you know, I’m a ‘lurker’ sitting back and enjoying the fascinating tales of your great adventures. I’m only popping up now to say, once again, thank you- your accounts are one of the highlights of my inbox!
The photos are stunning, captions insightful…and often hilarious. (A recent favourite of mine is the wee house for robot lawnmowers!).
Re the ‘water businesses’, ‘free info for men’ etc: this part of a traditional male culture that has led to Japan having one of the lowest birthrates as girls/women decide not to have babies…opting, it seems, for ‘cute’ pets instead!
Safe travels! Maria x
Hello, hello, Maria! So nice to hear from you! I too loved the little house for the robot lawnmower, projecting all sorts of lawnmower emotions as it sidled back into the shade. (‘ phew! What a busy day! So much grass. Glad to be home’). Pets for babies – hard to argue otherwise though women all over the place seem to be giving up… See you soon I hope.
Fukuoka fascinating
Yes, a great city – relaxed, a bit louche, cosmopolitan – plus Xmas lights!
Fascinating and the purple sculptures are very progressive.
Or even transgressive given the Indian artists!