Into the Cave

This work is an auditory document on the echoes of water in a limestone cave. The cave is situated in mountainous Okutama area far western part of Tokyo and one of the biggest caves in Kanto region. This cave once was a mecca for mountain worship. From the Kamakura period in the 13th century to the Meiji period in the 19th century, this place had been a holy place of “Shugendou” to collect the faith of nature worship. Vestiges of those days to liken stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars to various Buddhas still remain in the religious names of various places in the cave and preserve a few “Kannon” and “Jizo” inside. Now this cave becomes a sightseeing spot in this area.

There are various spaces inside the cave, some are very narrow, others are spacious, and each space has different acoustic characters. I can hear water dripping or flows almost anywhere, and the character of each space such as spatial size, kind and physical shape of rocks, various contact surfaces together with the presence of people and the amount of rain in recent days create a diversity of the simple acoustic phenomenon. Inside the cave also have many fluorescent lights, still stairways and rubber hoses function as a transducer for the sounds to be heard differently.

I found a small “Suikinkutsu” installed in the cave, and as walking deep inside listening to the echoes of water, I noticed the whole cave itself can be regarded as a huge “Suikinkutsu”. Once stepping into the cave, I became part of the natural acoustic device, listening and resonating with it from its inside.