{"id":37246,"date":"2019-06-28T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T08:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.nl\/?p=37246"},"modified":"2022-10-16T22:59:29","modified_gmt":"2022-10-16T20:59:29","slug":"avo-interview-with-ekotumi-i-want-to-tell-this-fantasy-like-story-to-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/2019\/06\/avo-interview-with-ekotumi-i-want-to-tell-this-fantasy-like-story-to-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"AVO Interview with Ekotumi: &#8220;I want to tell this fantasy-like story to the world&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Japanese artist Ekotumi, singer, author, poet, who based her work on Japanese traditions and legends will have a couple of shows in Belgium and France. Currently working on the promotion of her upcoming release, Ekotumi took some time to talk about her work as an artist, which artists inspire her and what is keeping her busy lately.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>AVO: You\u2019ll be in Europe this Summer, for a few performances. We noticed on your social media that you have special feelings for France and Europe. Can you tell us more about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I sing about Japanese mythology, because I feel it brings joy to those who have an interest in historical culture. Europe has a rich history and it seems like people are proud of it. Although our distance on the map is very far, Japanese people have a big interest in European history. As you may know, there are many novels and manga about it. Japanese mythology is like fantasy, such as the Eight-Headed Dragon (Yamata no Orochi) and the Land of the Dead (Yomi-no-kuni), but it is called &#8216;our history&#8217;. I sing songs that are based on a book entitled <em>KOJIKI<\/em>. This book was published more than 1300 years ago and is officially the oldest book in the history of Japan. I am fascinated by this book and I want to tell this fantasy-like story to the world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AVO: You\u2019ll perform at Japan Expo in Paris, one of the biggest events in the world dedicated to Japanese pop-culture. What\u2019s your opinion of such an event?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I would like to say, \u2018Thank you!\u2019 Until events like this existed, manga and anime were not taken as seriously in Japan. It seemed like it was just for kids and geeks! But now we see that was wrong. As a result, I think this event creates more possibilities and freedom for creativity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AVO: Your style is very specific; you write and sing about mythologies and traditions. Can you tell us where this passion comes from?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because that is still a way of life in Japan. Do you know the Jinja\/shrine in Japan? Every morning, day and night, a Shinto priest prays there. The gods and goddesses are the characters in Japanese mythology, and many places, such as Miyazaki, Mie and Shimane prefecture are the settings for these stories.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ekotumi - Before You Were Born English ver \/ \u30fb\u30a8\u30b3\u30c4\u30df\u30fb \u3046\u307e\u308c\u308b\u524d\u304b\u3089\u3000\u82f1\u8a9e\u7248\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pJyV9YQgNfs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong>AVO: Musically speaking, what\u2019s personally your favourite genre? Do you have some musical heroes?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Oh, I have so many heroes. The first thing I liked was theatrical music. Cirque du Soleil\u2019s <em>Alegr\u00eda<\/em> by Rene Dupere is still one of my favourite CDs. After that, I like calm music and music that gives me a view of the world. For example, I love <em>Emilie Simon<\/em> by Emilie Simon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AVO: Let\u2019s talk about a serious topic: you wrote on social media about some trauma and hurtful events you had to endure in the past. That was a very brave move. Do you feel that you have helped give a voice to women, especially in Japanese society and\/or in the music business?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes. I really think so. In extreme terms, Japanese culture is a \u2018shame culture\u2019 and shame cultures are concerned with reputation. I don\u2019t know why, because a criminal person is a bad person. But until recently it was thought victims have somehow caused the crimes themselves. When I was attacked with a knife, which ended with an attempted rape, some people blamed me. They said, \u201cYou were open to attack!\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s because of how you dressed!\u201d The most terrible comments were \u201cBecause you wanted to be raped\u201d and \u201cYour life energy balance was bad.&#8221; Come on! What are they thinking? I&#8217;m not the police, a lawyer or a psychologist. I may not be able to stop the criminal who tried to rape me directly, but I want to at least do what I can to prevent attempts in the future. It\u2019s easier now to open up about it, but I needed several years to talk about\u00a0this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AVO: We heard that you are currently writing a novel. Can you tell us something more about it? Do you feel that being a writer and a musician are different sides of the same creative project?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I will publish my novel soon! Though it is written in Japanese, I hope it will be translated into English someday! Japanese mythology has many stories similar to Greek mythology. This time I wrote about one of those stories. I mentioned earlier that Japanese mythology is part of history, but in my book, I tried to write more fantasy. Creatively, when I wrote, I felt a part of my soul or something move into the novel. After writing I felt almost empty. When I compose and sing, I feel that I absorb some energy. Especially when the audience and I can share the same vision during a show, I feel that I am so full with energy that I may be able to sing all night even after the performance. My theme is always the same, namely Japanese mythology. But the ways I express that in music and in novel-form are different for me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AVO: Are you interested in European writers or artists in general? If yes, do you have some favourites?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are so many wonderful artists in this world. When I was a child, my favourite painter was Claude Monet. I still love his paintings. But also Marcel Duchamp, Yves Klein, Rene Magritte. There are so many. When I was a university student, my professor researched Samuel Beckett. That is how I began to like his books. What about <em>Une vie<\/em> by Maupassant, <em>Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/em> by Hugo, <em>L&#8217;\u00c9tranger<\/em> by Albert Camus, <em>Les Fleurs du mal<\/em> by Charles-Pierre Baudelaire? Ah, I need an hour to talk about all the writers and artists I like!<\/p>\n<p><strong>AVO: Do you have a message for our readers here in Europe?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This will be my fifth time performing at Japan Expo and my first time performing in Belgium. I\u2019m so excited! This time, I will bring my new album and photo book with me. The story on this album is about Izanami, the goddess that gave birth to Japanese nature and land. I hope you love it! See you soon!<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Ekotumi through the social media, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ekotumi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ekotumi.fan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ekotumi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram<\/a> and don&#8217;t miss her performances in Paris, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/2301188879963530\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bobble Caf\u00e9<\/a> in Lille (Lomme) on Friday 12 July and at <a href=\"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/nl\/2019\/06\/realive-organiseert-japans-festival-un-jour-dete-au-japon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Un jour d&#8217;\u00e9t\u00e9 au Japon<\/a> in Liege on Saturday 13 July.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Programme at Japan Expo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>4 July: 11:00 &#8211; 11:30 &#8211; Fashion show in collaboration with Refashion Caravan at Sakura stage<br \/>\n5 July: 14:45 &#8211; 15:05 &#8211; Art stage at WABI SABI Pavilion<br \/>\n5 July: 15:50 &#8211; 16:15 &#8211; Art stage at WABI SABI Pavilion\u00a0 with Refashion Caravan<br \/>\n6 July: 11:00 &#8211; 11:20 &#8211; Art stage at WABI SABI Pavilion\u00a0 with Refashion Caravan<br \/>\n7 July: 11:35 &#8211; 12:00 &#8211; Art stage at WABI SABI Pavilion<\/p>\n<p><strong>Programme outside and after Japan Expo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>3 July: Japanese Night in Paris @ Alimentation G\u00e9n\u00e9rale 64 &#8211; Paris, France<br \/>\n4 July: Film screening at Peniche Cinema (Parc de la Villete) &#8211; Paris, France<br \/>\n8 July: Jardin du Luxembourg &#8211; Paris, France<br \/>\n11 July: Chez Adel &#8211; Paris, France<br \/>\n12 July: Bobble Caf\u00e9, Lille, France<br \/>\n13 July: Un jour d&#8217;\u00e9t\u00e9 au Japon @ Le Garage &#8211; Liege, Belgium<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japanese artist Ekotumi, singer, author, poet, who based her work on Japanese traditions and legends will have a couple of shows in Belgium and France. Currently working on the promotion of her upcoming release, Ekotumi took some time to talk about her work as an artist, which artists inspire her and what is keeping her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":37185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"0","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"3085","hide":""},"jnews_social_meta":{"fb_title":"","fb_description":"","fb_image":"","twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":""},"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3067,3085],"tags":[5937],"class_list":["post-37246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-interviews","category-musicians","tag-ekotumi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37246"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78129,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37246\/revisions\/78129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}