Wearing memories in the summer of Morioka

Project Overview

Sansa Dance and the stories of the people are captured in yukata

This is a snapshot project in which people with ties to the city of Morioka will appear wearing original yukatas designed by HERALBONY.

Someone to serve the soba noodles, someone to brew the coffee, someone to hammer the metal, someone to keep the food on the table...
The people who live in this town, who have supported their daily lives in their respective places and spent time together with the community, shared their "personal memories" and "family stories" that emerged as if lured by the sounds of the Sansa Odori dance.

My daughter's smile, my grandmother's flower hat, a word said as we passed by, and the parade that my husband and I looked up at.
Tradition lives on in each and every one of these aspects of life.

Clad in yukata, they all look dignified and beautiful as they speak of their feelings.

This project gently captures the story of the place called Morioka and the people who live there.

01

Rika Sato | Azumaya

A time spent with mother and daughter, eating soba noodles, enjoying Sansa dance, and connected by smiles.

At Azumaya, a long-established wanko soba restaurant in Morioka, the sight of soba noodles being presented as if they were dancing as the waiter calls out is one of the local traditions.
Rika Sato has been working at Azumaya for 40 years. She has been with the restaurant since she was a teenager, and now as the manager, she greets customers with the same smile every day.

A daughter appears in a festival representing Tohoku

"I first learned about Sansa Odori when I was a teenager. I learned that it was a huge festival that was listed as one of the four major festivals of Tohoku. Secretly, I hope it will beat the Nebuta Festival (laughs)." Although Sato says this, he now has a special feeling for Sansa Odori.
"My daughter has become obsessed with Sansa Odori and now dances in parades. In fact, she also works at the Azumaya family, working hard with me. She works hard at the store, interacting with customers, and in the summer she expresses herself through dancing outside. It makes me so happy to see my daughter like that. In both of her appearances, she is just like herself, and those moments are the happiest."

The smell of soba and smiles on festival days

During the Sansa Odori festival, the town becomes more lively, but the atmosphere at Azumaya is a little more relaxed.
"The number of tourists is increasing, but most of them are there to watch the festival, so the restaurant is actually quite quiet. We sometimes sneak out to go and watch the festival as well." The heat of the festival and the steam from soba noodles seem to collide in this typical Morioka summer routine.
A story of a family that spanned 40 years, a place called the Azumaya family, and the Sansa Odori dance. Sato's gentle smile subtly reflected the accumulation of her life experiences.

Soba Restaurant Azumaya

02

Yukari Nagasawa | Nagasawa COFFEE

Coffee, flower hats, and memories of my grandmother.

Nagasawa COFFEE, located in Ueda, Morioka, is a roaster cafe that handles everything from purchasing green beans to roasting, brewing, and serving. HERALBONY's flagship store, HERALBONY ISAI PARK, uses an original HERALBONY blend roasted by Nagasawa COFFEE. We spoke with Nagasawa Yukari of Nagasawa COFFEE, who spoke about her quiet daily routine and her memories of summer in Morioka.

The back view of my grandmother wearing a flower hat

"When I think of Sansa Odori, I think of my grandmother. I still remember her wearing a flower hat and quickly leaving the house. She passed away last year, but I have her flower hat on my Buddhist altar," says Yukari quietly, and for her, Sansa Odori is linked to "memories of people I miss."It's for this reason that she feels the passion and sense of unity with the dance even more vividly now.

Festivals and everyday life.

"One dance can create bonds between people, and between people and the community. That's an amazing thing." Despite this, Nagasawa COFFEE's business style remains unchanged even during the Sansa Odori festival. "We are a store that is close to everyday life, so Sansa hasn't had much of an impact on us. I think it's good to have time for both festivals and everyday life."
A gaze at the city beyond the steam of coffee. Even in my usual cup of coffee, the memory of Hanagasa and a quiet heat were gently present.

Nagasawa Coffee
Instagram

03

Kei and Ayumi Yokoyama | RHINO

Summer arrives with the sound of Sansa Odori. The city of Morioka and daily life at RHINO.

Kei and Ayumi Yokoyama, the husband and wife team behind the popular Morioka restaurant RHINO, are experts in food and life. What does the Sansa Odori dance, a symbol of summer in Morioka, mean to them?

"The first time I saw it, I cried."

Ayumi is originally from Niigata and says that she first saw the Sansa Odori dance after moving to Morioka. "My husband took me to see it, and it was amazing... I was moved to tears. It's rare to see a festival where so many people dance together." "I especially like the students' dancing. It's energetic and you can see how hard they work. I think it's great that the younger generation is trying so hard to preserve this tradition."

Since I was in elementary school, I have been a fan of my local "Kurokawa Sansa"

"My hometown is the former Tonan Village, which has now been merged into Morioka City. When I was in elementary school, I first danced the local "Kurokawa Sansa." This traditional Sansa dance was revived in 1968 by local volunteers." Kei-san says this, laughing that he is now the "watching type." "I used to dance when I was a child, but now I enjoy watching. As the Sansa Odori festival approaches, I hear the sounds of flutes and drums from all over town, and it makes me feel like 'Ah, summer has arrived.'"
Summer is a time when the sounds of the Sansa Odori dance intersect with the everyday life of RHINO in the streets of Morioka. From this store, the time of people casually choosing beautiful items unfolds quietly.

RHINO | Instagram

04

Suzuki Morihisa | Suzuki Morihisa Studio 16th Generation

"Sansa" and "metal casting" - quiet traditions and individuality that live on in the city of Morioka.

Born in Morioka in 1972, Suzuki Morihisa studied metal casting at the Department of Crafts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. In 2008, he began to fully explore the world of metal casting, his family business, and in 2022 he will assume the name of "16th Suzuki Morihisa." His approach to carrying on tradition while also gently incorporating new trends is a reflection of the current state of this town. We spoke to Suzuki about the Sansa Odori dance, a summer tradition.

"Sansa, I like watching."

"I've never participated in a parade myself, but elementary school students in Morioka learn the Sansa Odori dance at school and perform it at sports days." Suzuki-san says that although Sansa Odori has been familiar to her since she was a child, she prefers to watch rather than dance. "When I was younger, I would go to the Sansa Odori festival, but I was more interested in the food stalls. But as I got older, I began to appreciate the different types of dance and the beauty of traditional Sansa. Now I simply enjoy watching the dances." When asked about the state of the workshop and shopping district during the Sansa Odori festival, he smiled and said, "Nothing has changed in particular." Perhaps it is this unchanging nature that sustains his daily life.

Heralbony yukata and everyday life in Morioka.

What really caught the eye in Heralbony's original yukata outfit was the trademark beret. "I like hats, and I used to wear hats and caps a lot, but recently I've been wearing berets almost exclusively, and they've become my trademark (laughs)." Local people passing by often say, "Wow, that's lovely." Suzuki-san is loved and known as "Morihisa-san" in the town of Morioka.
The quietness of the workshop and the bustle of the shopping street. Seeing Morihisa standing naturally in both places taught me that tradition is the accumulation of "continuity."

Suzuki Morihisa Workshop

Crédits

Creative Direction / Planning / Writing Rina Park (HERALBONY STAFF)
Project Management / Web Design Mei Komori (HERALBONY STAFF)
Styling TOM
Styling Assistant Haruka Maekawa (HERALBONY STAFF)
Photography Yui Sugawara

Yukata and tenugui

Collaboration items with Kyoya Dyeing Shop in Iwate Prefecture - A special yukata and tenugui towel have been created that combine tradition and unique art.

￥手ぬぐい「marina - moji003」marina￥手ぬぐい「marina - moji003」marina
残りわずか
marina-moji003

marina

Hand towel "marina-moji003"

€22,95
￥手ぬぐい「ホタルブクロ」Masahiro Fukui￥手ぬぐい「ホタルブクロ」Masahiro Fukui
ホタルブクロ

Masahiro Fukui

Hand towel "Firefly"

€22,95
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Masahiro Fukui

Masahiro Fukui /
Currently working at Art Space Karafuru (Tottori Prefecture)

His creative style is to paint with acrylic paint while looking at the motif. He has been painting flowers as a motif for many years, and in recent years he has focused on one flower, sometimes painting the same flower for months. Another appealing feature is his ability to compose his paintings by simplifying colors and shapes. His works, painted with a thick brush, are charming and transport the viewer to a gentle world.
On the other hand, works using the original "Fukui font," boldly expressed with a magic marker, exude a dignified atmosphere and confuse the viewer.

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Marina

marina /
Individual (Tokyo)

Currently attending a special needs school in Tokyo. She loves sushi, games (Mario Kart), cooking, and drawing. While she creates various images using stickers, stamps, dripping, etc., her favorite is writing her own typography across the entire page of a notebook, perhaps in an ancient, space, or future language.

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HERALBONY