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Hiromichi Furukawa (hereafter Furukawa)Yes, I first visited Nemuro in July 2011 and moved there in November of that year.

old riverThe biggest factor was the Great East Japan Earthquake. Until then, I had been doing only my own thing and living for myself, but after the earthquake, I felt that these disasters would happen again, and that if things continued as they were, they would repeat themselves forever. I was sick and tired of it.

old riverFuji. Then, when I happened to come to Nemuro for a fishing trip, I had an intuitive feeling that I might be able to do something here that would make use of what I had been doing. Fuji. When I happened to come to Nemuro for a fishing trip, I had an intuitive feeling that I might be able to do something here that would make use of what I had done up to that point. So I decided to live here first. I didn't know anyone.

old riverThe most important thing is the light. The light was totally different. When the light changes, things look completely different. I had a feeling that we would be able to create something interesting. Then there is the overwhelming nature. It is just so cool. To put it in a vulgar way, the scenery is very Scandinavian. When a good friend of mine, a photographer, came to Nemuro and saw this view, he said, "It looks like Lapland and Finland added together and divided by two.

old riverI have done many things, starting as the chairman of the Nemuro City Culture Promotion Association, Nemuro City Immigration Advisor, Nemuro City Immigration Exchange Promoter Leader, Nemuro City Energy Formulation Committee member, and so on. When I actually lived in Nemuro, I found that there were many things I could do, and the number of things I could do kept increasing. So I would like more and more people to know about Nemuro.

old riverBut in my mind, they are connected. Of course, making jewelry was also a form of self-expression, but my main goal was to make the people who wear my jewelry happy. Then, when I saw how nature was collapsing in the wake of the earthquake, I realized that we need to change our lives in some way. I decided to create ideas for manufacturing by living more closely with nature. I feel that the unit of making jewelry has become larger and larger, and it has become more like town planning or vegetable growing. Fashion alone is a narrow world, so I want to communicate this to people in a more open world. But no matter what I do, jewelry making is always at the center of what I do.

old riverYes, I decided to go when I was in my senior year of high school because I felt that if I was going to study fashion, it would be Paris. I was studying French with earphones in my English class. So I went to a fashion school in Paris.

old riverI studied dressmaking intensively for five years, but it just didn't suit me. It's obvious, but clothes are made through teamwork, and I felt I couldn't proudly say, "These are my own clothes. With jewelry, I can complete the work on my own, and above all, I feel like it comes from within my own hands. I also make the materials myself, such as melting metals or mixing meteorites with iron components. That's why, for my last exam at school, I made a ring instead of clothes.

old riverYes, I did. I did read a book. I read a book called "My First Engraving" or something like that. But, well, you cut, attach, and weld, right? That's it.

old riverThat may be so. There was a fashion illustration class at a school in Paris, and I was better at drawing than the teacher (laughs). Two years later, I became the instructor.

old riverYes, it is. It is a complete meritocracy, isn't it? In addition to myself, there were several other instructors. With the remuneration as a lecturer, most of the tuition fees were waived. It was very helpful.

old riverThe first exhibition was three months after I returned to Japan, and the buyer of "Dresseria" bought all the models at that time. I was really grateful. At the time, more decorative silver jewelry was at its peak, so one buyer said to me, "Please show the pattern on the front. I told him, "If that's the case, please find another brand.

old riverIt has many meanings. In Sanskrit, it is the sacred sound, in English it is the arm, and in French it is the spirit or soul, and I coined the word by combining them. I gave a lot of thought to the spelling.

old riverYes. The basic materials are gold and silver, and the general lines of design remain the same. There are some standard items that we have been making for a long time.

old riverThis is silver. It is 950 silver, or 95% silver. As I mentioned earlier, it is made by cutting, welding, and beating. However, I don't think there are many people who make pieces like this one by one. Everyone makes a mold and pours the materials into it. With this method, it is possible to mass-produce 100 or 200 pieces of the same product.

old riverAt the most, we were making about 50 pieces a month. It was quite hard work. Now I only make my own brand, but when I was working for other brands, I had to wear supporters and taping. It looks like this, but it takes a lot of strength.

old riverCompared to what I made 10 years ago, I think my skills are better now. The world tends to appreciate the time it takes to make something, but if it can be done quickly, it is definitely better to do it quickly.

old riverIt is much more difficult to make things quickly. I would like to make that point clear. Incidentally, the "polishing" process starts here, and it takes a lot of time.

old riverThis bangle is the first one I made after coming to Nemuro. The image source is a whale bone, and I kept touching it with my hands to memorize this shape in my hands. I made this piece based solely on the feel of it. It's not easy to make something like this. It is my favorite model. When I came to Nemuro, I was under a lot of pressure to make something better than when I was in Tokyo, so I am glad I was able to do this. It looks good and feels good. It has a somewhat spacey feel to it, and I recommend it.

old riverIt is "rythme" in French for rhythm. It is very popular. The price is 90,000 yen for silver, and 600,000 yen for gold.

old riverStill, I think it is cheaper. The price of gold, the raw material, has gone up tremendously. Compared to when it was cheapest when I first started working, it is now about six times as expensive. I would like to have one myself, but no matter how cheap I try to make it, it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars just for the materials. So I can make it myself, but I can't afford it (laughs).

old riverNo, we have hardly changed the price. We are able to do that because we are based in Nemuro. I think it would be absolutely impossible if I were Tokyo-based. When you are in Nemuro, your expenses are lower to begin with.

old riverThe same is true of this ring made from Ezo deer antlers. When I was walking along the beach, I found a fallen antler, and when I picked it up, I thought it looked pretty solid and might work. I cut a little off the base of the antler, put it in my pocket, and kept it for about two years. I felt that I had to keep touching it and getting to know the material in order to make it.

old riverFinally, about two or three years after I came here. Silver and gold are things I touched every day for 18 years, so I could do it somewhat by feel, but not so with deer antlers, so it took a long time.

old riverThe fact that something is born from such everyday life is precious, and it is one of the reasons why I came here. Recently, I often meet Ainu people. I was wondering if we could make something together.

old riverI don't get tired of making jewelry at all. I think I like to make something with my hands in the first place. It's the same reason I like cooking. Also, after making jewelry for so long, I get a lot of orders for alterations.

old riverI want to take responsibility for what I make, and since the pieces are quite complicated, only I can fix them. So I think I will continue to make jewelry as long as my hands can work. Above all, I am happy when I receive requests for repairs. It is proof that people have been using my jewelry for a long time.

old riverIncluding Kosuke Nakajima, who runs this store, five people around me have moved to Nemuro so far. I think there are more than 300 people I have guided around Nemuro. Nemuro is very blessed as an environment for creating things. It is a great place, especially for those who are not passive but active.

old riverLiving in Tokyo, we are inundated with information, and it takes a lot of energy to sift through it all. It takes a lot of energy to select and discard information. In Nemuro, however, I can live with my antennae stretched to the fullest, so there is no stress. I can live with my senses as an artist or designer. Also, being in a place like Nemuro, where there is untouched nature, my animal instincts and sixth sense become stronger.

old riverI think there is a relationship. I also think it is very important to know about the land where you live. I want to create something that is born from the locality. I don't think it is right to have something made in a rural area while living in Tokyo. To put it another way, I think it is like exploitation. Instead, I want to make things with ideas that come from living here. I think that is one of the things that will revitalize the rural areas.

old riverYou have to live there. Especially in Hokkaido, people have a strong feeling that we will do things on our own, so it is difficult to communicate or export what we are doing. I think they don't want to be told too much from the outside.

old riverThat's true. It is not until you go outside of Hokkaido that you realize the charm of your hometown. As a side note, there was a movie called "Marnie: A Memoir" by Studio Ghibli. In the movie, the story takes place in a marshy area on the way from Kushiro to Nemuro.

old riverI think it is a good idea. I think that if we just do a good job of publicizing it, we will attract quite a few people.

old riverThere is that kind of clumsiness, isn't there? Well, if you go back to the Edo period in Honshu, Hokkaido was still hunting, so it is not surprising that the lifestyle and culture are completely different.

old riverI am currently writing a book to be released next spring. It is, of course, a book about Nemuro. A good friend of mine, a photographer and an illustrator, pushed me to publish it, but it's quite a challenge because there are quite a few words in it....

old riverI think so. Japan is currently in the midst of an upsurge of excitement in anticipation of the Olympics, but after the Olympics are over, I am sure that a sense of stagnation will emerge, or perhaps a shakeup will occur. When that happens, more attention will be paid to such keywords as "rural areas," "two-location living," and "immigration. This could be an opening for the revitalization of the regions, and I would like to have many things in place by then.

old riverWe are still in the planning stage, but we would like to build an accommodation facility. A place where people can directly feel the nature of Nemuro and experience rain and snow. After all, I think there are many things you can't understand just by staying in a hotel. Just having people take a walk at night, look at the stars, and have those kinds of experiences makes all the difference.

old riverThat is exactly right, and that is why I am involved in various activities in the city, as I mentioned at the beginning. However, since I was just an outsider at the beginning, it was very difficult for me to get people to trust me.

old riverAnyway, I drank and walked around. I went to snack bars and other places until morning every night. I would say things like, "I'm from Tokyo, and I want to do something like this," and people would say, "Well, why don't you tell Mr. Fatty?

old riverThat's right. People call me romantic or fantastic because I moved to a place I have no connection to and am doing this kind of thing, but I am very much a realist in my mind. Sometimes people say, "It's great that you can live where you want and make what you want," but it's not that simple. I am fighting for my future.

old riverI don't really like dreamy things and people. It's easy to just say, "No to nuclear power!" It's easy to just say, "No nuclear power! But if you want to actually change things, you have to start small. In that sense, I think 20,000 people in Nemuro is just right. If Nemuro can change, Doto can change, and Hokkaido can change as well. Don't you think that is much more realistic?

old riverWe always want to think about how we can make our lives more enjoyable and how we can eat good food. We need to live greedily. I believe that if we can build a town with people who feel a sense of crisis about the current situation, we can create a society where our children can live with peace of mind.