Serialization 【 Afro-Japanese Blues. 〜The second visit to Cote d'Ivoire. My heart was filled with nostalgic reunions and new encounters in Cote d'Ivoire.

Fascinated by black culture and passion forLamrofand an African jewelry label calledAFLOGICAL JEWELRYSDaisuke Sakamoto, aka Shirley, is a fashion designer who pours generously into the "Shirley" brand.

In addition, in recent years, the company has been developing a new label, "Miscellaneous Goods," which focuses on items from the American mid-century period, which it had been operating for some time.Aflogical AntiquesHe has also changed the direction of his business to mainly African goods, expressing the black culture he loves from various angles.

The term "Afro-zero" means "of African origin. In this sense, Sakamoto is an "Afro-Japanese" with roots in Africa, even though he is Japanese.

In this series, we introduce the people, things, and things that Mr. Sakamoto has seen while wandering around the world, especially in Africa, through his own filter. We present the realities of black culture as he sees it, how he incorporates it into his products, and the realities of the black culture that has fascinated him, through actual photos and Sakamoto's own voice.

Photo_Sha-Le (Daisuke Sakamoto)
Edit_Naoya Tsuneshige

There is Africa.

After changing planes from Morocco to Munich, Germany, and then to Brussels, Belgium, Mr. Sakamoto headed for the Ivory Coast.last timeThis was his second visit to Cote d'Ivoire since his cross-country trip to the United States in 1985, and he made full use of his network of contacts to make a fulfilling trip to Cote d'Ivoire.

Mr. Niaoui, who runs a Japanese language school in Cote d'Ivoire and was introduced to me when I visited the Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire to obtain a VISA, picked me up at "Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport". He is a teacher at a Japanese language school. He is a teacher at a Japanese language school, so communication was smooth. I did feel a little uncomfortable, though (laughs).

We enjoyed our first day's meal while listening to Mr. Niaoui talk about why he is running a Japanese language school in Cote d'Ivoire and how he became interested in the Japanese language in the first place. Once again, I was reminded that the food in Cote d'Ivoire is delicious!

The first day ended with travel. While dancing with excitement at the new encounters, they went to sleep early to prepare for the buying trip starting the next day.

I had planned to spend from morning till night on the second day buying everything I could find. As a result, I was very satisfied with my purchases, which totaled nearly 100 kg on this day alone. It had been almost a year since my last visit, but I was impressed that all the dealers remembered me and welcomed me with hugs.

In addition, Sakamoto visited dealers in search of trade beads (African beads that have developed as trade goods mainly between Europe and West Africa), and bought a considerable amount of beads during his three-day stay.

The trip to Cote d'Ivoire seemed smooth, but the next day they had a little accident on the way to the airport.

In Cote d'Ivoire, the bus service called "UTB" is basically the main way of transportation. I went to the bus station to use it that day, but when I arrived at 11:00 a.m., it was extremely crowded.... I managed to buy a ticket, but it was only for the 13:00 departure, and I didn't want to leave any time open, so I decided to negotiate.

I had planned to go to Buaque via Yamoussoukro, so I negotiated with him to see if there was a bus that could get me to Yamoussoukro earlier, and to my surprise, a friendly young man offered to exchange my ticket for the 11:30 bus! I thought I would be able to go shopping without losing any time... but to my surprise, the bus arrived 4 hours later at 3:30 p.m.!

Well, there are things that happen in Africa," he said. I was really tired of it. Of course, the day ended with the transportation and we were not able to buy anything, but this is what Africa is all about and this is the moment when you can really feel it..." I thought to myself as I looked at the vast and beautiful nature illuminated by the full moon. It was a beautiful night."

Thanks to a friend.

After the big move the day before, this day was finally a buying day in Bouake (the second largest city in Cote d'Ivoire and the main commercial city in the north).

I met Adoma on my last trip and we stayed in touch when I was in Japan. I met Adoma on my last trip, and we have stayed in contact with each other even when we were in Japan. So, with Adoma's help, we had a hotel booked for us."

The main reason for visiting Bouake is that there is a dealer of African trade beads here, who is arguably the best in Cote d'Ivoire. He is strictly by appointment only and does not accept first-time visitors. It was actually Mr. Adomah who connected me with this person.

As he has done in previous trips, Sakamoto makes full use of his connections in his travels to make purchases. He visits places and people he would normally be unable to enter, and scavenges through the treasure trove. There is another reason why the jewelry he sells is so special.

「『AFLOGICAL JEWELRYSThere are two types of items in the "Beads" section: items for which I buy and sell the work of local artists, and items for which I purchase the material itself (trade beads) and work with artists I trust to create the final product by sharing ideas. In terms of differentiation, it is very important to collect rare beads.

Adma, who booked the hotel and showed me around, ended up supporting me through the whole buying process. He dropped me off at the bus station and coolly said, 'I'll see you again, take care. He left the place coolly, saying, "See you again, take care of yourself. This is really rare in Africa. However, I think that among African countries, Cote d'Ivoire is one of the countries where this kind of kindness with no payback is sometimes seen. It is a nice country after all.

Only a few days left of his stay in Cote d'Ivoire. Next, Mr. Sakamoto headed for Daroa, the fourth largest city in Cote d'Ivoire. It was his first visit to this city, and he told us that he was disappointed that nothing went as planned in Daroa, as the area where dealers gathered was demolished and he was hit by an unbelievable squall on the way there.

Well, it happens. If you worry about every little thing, your trip won't last long, so you have to be optimistic."

The next day, we spent packing the items we had purchased. This was a difficult task because of the large amount of items they had purchased.

The packing and shipping process took up an entire day. In order to take folk art out of Côte d'Ivoire, you have to apply for all antiques at the National Museum of Côte d'Ivoire, and you have to pay them properly before you can take them out."

It is rare that immigration checks the application in detail, but if something should happen, it would be a big problem, so we need to be careful and follow the regular rules here. It is really difficult because there are so many application forms to fill out.

Finally, he summed up his second visit to Cote d'Ivoire in this way.

There were many happenings, but it was a meaningful time for me. I was able to purchase jewelry and folk art at a high level, of course, but it was also a time to appreciate people once again.

I have reunions and new encounters, and my local friends lead me to places I could never get to on my own. I live at my own pace, but I am also willing to extend a helping hand to others. I love this country because it has a positive influence on my way of life. Aniche, Cote d'Ivoire