《 KATSURA HITO 》 Marjolein van der Loo / Normal binding

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Author: Marjolein van der Loo

issue : Hand Saw Press, Tokyo

Number of pages: 112p

Size: 180mm x 130mm

Publication year: 2022

Language: Japanese/English

Starting from the katsura tree, the book uses narrative materials (recipes, exercises, images) to introduce the mapping of a rich ecosystem of relationships and experiences, a fictional and factual experience of the autumn season.
The text questions binary oppositions between modernity and colony, between East and West, nature and culture, fact and fiction, higher and lower senses, human and non-human, etc. It asks the reader to develop environmental consciousness and imagine with the environment.

Katsura is a tree that resides in the Japanese autumn imagery. Its autumn leaves and its captivating sweet fragrance change the perception of the landscape, reminding us of our connection to the seasons. Often featured in Japanese folk tales and old tales, this book leads to the "Katsura Man" (in Chinese "Wugang"), a monster, legendary figure and gardener, who prunes the katsura tree in Tsuki to create the lunar cycle, linking cosmology to ecosystems as a natural part of us as inhabitants of the Earth. This story is the inspiration and starting point for this project.

The publication introduces the Katsura tree as a point of departure to map a rich ecology of relations and experiences with materials (recipes, exercises, and images) that accompany stories—fictional and “factual”—of a multi-sensorial experience of the fall season.
The writing questions modern/colonial binaries like east and west, nature and culture, fact and fiction, higher and lower senses, and the human and non-human. It calls readers to exercise awareness of their environments and imagine along with them.
The Katsura tree is an elemental spirit of the Japanese landscape in the fall season. As the transformation of the Katsura's colored leaves and their enchanting sweet scent changes the sensory experience of their environment, they remind us of our connection to the seasons. The tree's embeddedness in Japanese folklore and traditional storytelling leads us to a yokai supernatural spirit, legend, and gardener: Katsura-Otoko, or, in Chinese, Wu Gang. His efforts in pruning the Katsura tree on the moon to cause lunar cycles connects cosmology to ecology as a natural part of our earthly existence. The story's premise serves as an inspiration and starting point for this book.

Book by Marjolein van der Loo
Design by Yannick Nuss
Published by Hand Saw Press, Tokyo