It was during a trip with friends three years ago that I came up with the idea for ISHI GA ARU. We went to a vacation home in Nagano owned by my friend’s parents. The home was deep in the mountains, surrounded by nothing but nature.
As we walked along the nearby river, one of our friends sat down and started looking at stones. Following him, we each began to look for our favourites. We would pick up a stone that caught our attention, and simply stare at it. Again and again.
How much time did we spend there? Gradually the stones became harder to see, and we realised that the sun was setting. Clutching our favourites, we began heading back home. Suddenly, my friend yelled “I dropped my favourite stone.” We asked him to explain its characteristics and started searched for it, lighting the banks of the river with our cell phones. However, it proved impossible to find it in the dim light. We gave up and returned home.
The next morning, I woke up early. Everyone was still sleeping, so I headed to the river to search for the stone my friend had lost. Looking at the river, I couldn't help but smile. The endless number of stones sat illuminated in the morning sun. How could I ever find my friend’s favourite among them, having only ever heard it described? I doubted even my friend who lost it would be able to recognize it. Regardless, even if we found it what purpose would it serve?
I just stood by the river, appreciating the humour in the situation.
This experience raised many questions. Why did we devote so much time to the act of picking up and examining stones? Why did I choose “this stone” instead of “that stone”? These are very trivial questions, but I felt that they should not be ignored. We decided to examine this experience through filmmaking.
Tatsunari Ota
