Taiwan to Publish Japanese Artist’s Sketches of Hakka Impressions

TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach - 15 March 2021 - To further bolster the friendship between Taiwan and Japan, the Hakka Affairs Council (HAC) invited Amigos Koike, a renowned Japanese illustrator, to serve as a resident artist in seven Hakka townships along Provincial Highway 3 during August-September 2019. This unconventional marketing initiative was also intended to bring the beauty of Taiwan's Hakka culture to the broader international community. For the Japanese illustrator, it proved an uncommon experience in which he developed a profound appreciation of Taiwan's Hakka culture, people, and sensibilities. Over the course of his stay, he came up with some 280 sketch illustrations—depictions of the encounters, scenery, and food in those Hakka communities that left him a lasting impression.

A Hakka ancestral hall

The HAC is now in the process of putting together the Japanese illustrator's wonderfully conceived works that exhibit a moving human touch. To be supplemented by texts fitting for his Hakka experience, this collection is due to be published between the end of 2021 and early next year. To be available in both Taiwan and Japan, it will hit the shelves of brick-and-mortar as well as online bookstores.

Prior to this publication, Amigos Koike is hosting an exhibition at Space Yui, an art gallery in Tokyo, March 8-17. In the highlight are his watercolor works on the scenery, flowers, and people of the Hakka communities he visited. The artist hopes to make Taiwan's Hakka townships known to more people of his home country.

Through its upcoming compilation of Amigos Koike's works—one that is set to derive from the perspective of a Japanese artist—the HAC expects to interest a greater number of Japanese about getting to know Hakka culture better themselves. Hopefully in the post-pandemic era they can begin travelling to Taiwan and visiting the Hakka townships along Provincial Highway 3. It promises to be an unforgettable experience with an abundance of hospitality and friendliness.