TANAKA NAGAMINE Ryosuke

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TANAKA NAGAMINE Ryosuke

Participating Project	Local Emerging Creator Residency Program
Activity Based	Tokyo
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2025.9- 2025.11

Purpose of the residency

I would like to conduct research on the “Sanya” area, which is located near Ryogoku, the place where I will stay during this program. Sanya used to be an area where many day laborers gathered, and where simple lodgings called “doya” were located. I first visited the area in 2014, and I am currently also working night shifts at a nursing home in the area. The city has continued to change over the past 10 years and is on the verge of losing its memory. I believe that recalling its existence is also a form of “care,” and through this program, I would like to face the memories of Sanya.

Plan during the residency

• I will visit the Sanya area, walking around, carefully observing and photographing the landscape. I would like to look at, imagine,
　and research the fragments of the past in this area, where the landscape of the past is disappearing.
• I plan to connect with and talk to people who live in the Sanya area. Depending on each person’s situation and how they prefer to be approached,
   I will consider appropriate methods for recording our conversations.
• I will speak with and interview individuals involved in care work in Sanya, especially at Sanyukai, where I am currently employed.
• I hope to reach out to scholars and others who study the Sanya area, and ask them to share their insights from a historical perspective.
• I would like to collect images of the past landscape of the Sanya area, either taken by residents or found in books, movies, etc., and exhibit them
　in the studio. 

Activities during the residency

Driven by a desire to engage with the personal memories of individuals living in Sanya, I spent my residency visiting places within the area that I had not previously explored, such as long-established shops, welfare facilities, and simple lodging houses. Through conversations with local residents, I listened to many valuable and personal stories connected to their experiences of living in Sanya. When possible, I asked for permission to document these encounters through video recording as important records. At the same time, I researched literature related to the history of Sanya and spoke with staff from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Sanya Countermeasures Office and the Johoku Labor and Welfare Center to learn about recent administrative initiatives. Through these combined activities, I was able to consider the memories and present conditions of Sanya from a wider range of perspectives, deepening my understanding of the area and its ongoing transformation.

Outcome of the residency

During this residency, I filmed interviews with four individuals living in the Sanya area, each sharing their personal memories connected to the place. For the open studio, I edited these interviews together with video footage documenting the current landscape of Sanya, and presented the work in a format where one viewer could listen to one person’s story at a time. I also exhibited video footage of a man I met and spent time with during my first visit to Sanya in 2014. In addition, I performed a piece that addressed bodily memories—sensations and experiences that are difficult to capture through documentation alone. Through this process of production and presentation, I feel that my relationship with the area has deepened in a personal way, and I hope to continue valuing each encounter as I move forward. Although this presentation took the form of an open studio, my project in Sanya will continue, and I would like to carefully consider future formats for sharing this work. Discussions with artists, curators, and researchers who were in residence at the same time were also deeply influential, and I hope to remain in contact and continue learning from one another.

Creator Information