The video artwork “Dream which you can see in the backside of your eyelids”

Ekotumi
3 min readMar 7, 2024

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Dance in Japanese temple

I was born in Tokyo, grown up in Tokyo and now I live in Tokyo.
Especially Minato city is my hometown. Do you know Minato city? Some people believe Minato city is totally “city”. Yes, a part of Minato city is “city”. But my hometown “Takanawa” area where I was just born and grown up is NOT “city”. It is…. a little bit nostalgic area. I often felt different time and space when I was child. Maybe I should say a little bit odd area. It is said Takanawa area is TERA MACHI, temple(TERA) town. You will see a lot of temples. Those are not for tourist attraction. It’s for our daily life. Yes, there are no big tourist attractions. Tokyo tower is not far. But different. Tranomon Hills is not so far. But totally different. But something are there. And I love this TAKANAWA area.

When I was a child, I felt fear sometimes. Because I felt some creatures were near. Yokai? Maybe. Ghost? Maybe. Ridiculous dream? Maybe. Especially evening when I was back from my school or piano lesson, obviously the time of other creatures had started. I run to my house without looking back.
Because I felt fear almost always, I became shy. Probably it’s not good for little me. But it’s a wonderful thing for my life. My imagination was raised in this place. My little ideality became bigger and bigger in this area. Maybe it is one reason why I sing about Japanese mythology now. I could believe other lives naturally.

Minato city has many sides. City and nostalgic town, and more. It’s good thing. One-size-fits-all? Boring!
TAKANAWA area doesn’t have big tourist attractions. But the atmosphere itself has worth to visit. It is raised by many decades and many people.
If you walk around this area without any purpose, you may see what you lost before in your dream. Find something by yourself.

“Explore Minato City; unexpected encounters await!”

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Youtube URL

This music video is an exploration and reconstruction of my own memories. Pregnancy and childbirth remind me frequently and deeply of my own childhood. As if to trace back the thoughts that never came true, the regrets of childhood, and events that did not make sense when I was a child, the music video was shot in the place where I was born, raised and familiar with, as my first video work after giving birth. Takanawa, Minato city. The stations are… Sengakuji, Takanawadai (Toei-Asakusa line), Takanwa Gateway (JR Yamanote line), Shirokane Takanawa (Metro-Nanboku line).

*This project has been accredited as a MINATO City Promotion Crew and promote the attractiveness of Minato city.
Minato City Industry Promotion Section, City Promotion Subsection

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Ekotumi
Ekotumi

Written by Ekotumi

Artist, Singer-songwriter, Dancer, performer and novelist inspired by Japanese mythology. Since 2015, performs in concerts over the world, beginning with Europe