KANAMI HANO
波能かなみ
Mujina / むじな
Woodblock / 木版画
28h x 31.5w cm
In response to Lafcadio Hearn’s ‘Mujina’
ラフカディオ・ハーンの「むじな」に寄せて
Artist Statement
In Hearn’s Kwaidan, ‘Mujina’ appears to be the only frightening story that has a funny and positive tone. How charming it is that Mujina’s mischievous antics, which have nothing to do with death and grief, have been passed down through generations and transformed into a ghost story. For my print, I depicted Mujina stroking her face with her hand and revealing her eyeless face, using a charming egg-shaped outline.
八雲の『怪談』のなかで「むじな」は唯一面白おかしいポジティブなおどかし話だと思う。死や悲しみとは離れた、ただのむじなの悪ふざけが語り継がれて怪談になっているなんて愛らしいものだ。私の版画も手で顔をなでて、出てきた顔には目がない、という様を愛らしくたまごのような輪郭で描いている。