by Takao Iba, c1997 (WWW Version by Kobe
University Library, c2001)
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Takao Iba Born: 1947 Place of birth: Higashinada-Ku, Kobe |
| I was born in Nakano of Motoyama-cho
(currently Motoyama Kita-cho) in Higashinada-Ku in the city of Kobe.
During my junior high school years, I took pleasure in recording and
listening to sounds such as the "snores" and "sleep talking" of
my late father and the barking of our family dog using a tape recorder
that was in my home. Once, I fastened a microphone to a tree on the
grounds of Kobe Women's College of Pharmacy (currently Kobe Pharmaceutical
University) near my home and produced a live recording of the cicadas.
I will never forget the thrill I felt. During those years, I would
repeatedly create recordings and then erase them, leaving me with
only memories today and not a single tape. If I had some of those
tapes, I am sure I would recall the circumstances of the recordings.
Sounds create different images for different people, and intensify
the imagination. I was raised listening to the radio, in an age without
television. Perhaps that is why my passion for the power and charm
of sound has turned into a fascination with "live recordings." The years around 1970 brought about a live recording boom, and battery-operated recorders from various manufacturers hit the market. Many monthly magazines geared toward amateurs were published, and often I came across recording buffs in the city carrying microphones. At about that time, I started to keep and organize the recordings I liked, and seek out dynamic sounds. For example, I recorded "Goodbye Kyoto Tram," "Hankai Railway Line," "The Discontinued Japan National Railway Kajiya Line," "The Local Wadamasaki Line," and "The Discontinued Nokami Railway" on the various railways I liked. I also recorded "Yoshitsune-go Test Run," "Yamaguchi-go of the Yamaguchi Line," "Wakasa-go Commemorative Run," and "Tanba Woody Commemorative Run" on various steam locomotives. I created anthologies of festival sounds such as "Gion Festival Yamahoko Procession," "Kishiwada Danjiri Festival," "Osaka Hirano Danjiri Festival," "Kobe Festival," and the spring festivals of the region in which I was born and raised, "Danjiri Miyairi" and "Motoyama Danjiri Parade." And I recorded sounds of nature such as "Wild Birds of Mount Rokko," "Jubilant Frog Chorus," and "Thunder and Lightning." I also recorded regular events such as "Port of Kobe Fireworks Display at the Ocean," and the recording that I continued for over ten years, "Steam Whistles at the Port of Kobe Bringing in the New Year." The number of ships that anchor in the port to bring in the New Year, however, has decreased, and the recordings are starting to lose their charm. I thought I'd create something that represented my interest in live recordings and produced the following records and CD at my own expense.
In 1987, due to various circumstances, I left the city of Kobe in which I was born and raised, and moved to Kamioichi in the city of Nishinomiya. Around the fall of 1994, I decided to pick a theme for the year and document sounds pertaining to that theme in Nishinomiya. Thus, I created an audio pilgrimage of the sounds of the seasons. The anthology included recordings of the Muko River, high school and professional baseball cheers in Koshien Stadium, and the sounds of the landscape of Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor. I entitled the collection "An Audio Landscape of Nishinomiya." This was my first excursion into consciously developing an abstract theme for a project. I decided to start "An Audio Landscape of Nishinomiya, 1995" with a recording of "Temple Bells Ringing in the New Year" from Kannouji Temple of Mount Kabuto. I rode the Hankyu Line to Koyoen Station on the last day of the year when they offer all-night service, walked approximately 30 minutes from the station, and placed the microphone inside a bell at Kannoji Temple. The sound of the conch shell being blown and visitors consecutively striking the bells echoed within the temple grounds. The recording was even better than I had imagined, so I returned home feeling quite satisfied. I then planned on recording the atmosphere at the festival for warding off evil at Mondoyakujin Shrine on January 17, but was suddenly scheduled to go to Tokyo on business on the 17th. I rescheduled the festival recording for the 18th. At 5:01 in the morning on January 17, 1995 (Tuesday), I submitted my ticket at Hankyu Kotoen Station and boarded the first train for Nishinomiya Kitaguchi. When I eventually arrived at Umeda, I suddenly felt a great tremor beneath the elevated sidewalk which leads from the Hankyu Umeda Station toward the JR Osaka Station. I quickly made a telephone call to my home. The house was totally destroyed. When I tried to call again 10 minutes later, the call did not go through. The transit system was at a standstill. I walked about five hours to get home. The house was destroyed to the point that it was uninhabitable. I took refuge in the elementary school near my home. The creation of the one year audio diary, "An Audio Landscape of Nishinomiya," was suspended after only having recorded the New Year's bells at Kanji Temple. To ensure that I had a place to sleep and that my residence would be within walking distance from work, I moved to Nakajima-Dori in Chuo-Ku of Kobe. It was one week after the earthquake. On February 20, 1995, I utilized the public transportation system which had partially resumed service and departed for Osaka. As I boarded the Hankyu Line at Oji Koen Station, out-of-the-ordinary train announcements resonated in my ears: "The next station is Mikage. This is the last station. The train does not run from Mikage to Nishinomiya Kitaguchi due to the earthquake. To continue on to Osaka or Umeda, please make the appropriate transfer at the JR Sumiyoshi Station or Hanshin Mikage Station." Perhaps I took notice of the announcements due to my interest in railways and my previous experience recording such train announcements. It occurred to me that once each train resumes normal service, we will no longer hear announcements of final stations that are normally not final stations or explanations of how to utilize the bus system. Thus, every morning, starting February 22, I would take a first scheduled train which would be carrying few passengers and I recorded the announcements. For example, I rode the JR Nishi-Nihon Line, Hankyu Line, Hanshin Line, Kobe Subway, Shintetsu, Sanyo Railway, and Sanyo Bullet Train (Himeji Station Platform). I also received recommendations to "somehow document the sounds of the quake-stricken area," and hence produced 200 cassette tapes under the title, "Audio of the Great Hanshin Earthquake - The Crippled Transit System." The project got coverage in the papers, and orders poured in. Some of those who received copies of the tapes voiced that they wanted a more permanent copy, and asked if I planned to create CDs. Inspired by the inquiries, I added audio recordings of the Portliner, Rokko Liner, and Kobe Kosoku Railway, re-edited the collection, and produced 200 "Audio of the Great Hanshin Earthquake - The Crippled Transit System" CDs. Once I finished recording the train announcements in the attempt to leave behind a record of the interrupted Kobe railway service resulting from the Hanshin earthquake disaster, I no longer had the desire to pursue my subjective interests as far as recording sounds is concerned. I felt that walking around with a microphone in the midst of such tremendous damage and suffering transcended the limits of decency.
While 1995, the year of the earthquake disaster, resulted in cancellations of many regular functions and events, a new event was held: "Kobe Luminarie," a December light festival showcasing a corridor of lights. The event was designed to pay tribute to the memory of the earthquake victims and to inspire hope for reconstruction. The moment the illuminated arch appeared, cheers and applause reverberated on the streets of Kobe which had lost all of its lights in the disaster. This is it! This is the sound! The moment was breathtaking. I did not have a microphone with me, but I vowed to record the cheers and applause the following year. 1996 would certainly prove to be an important year of recovery. I resolved to replace the Nishinomiya audio anthology that I started in 1995 with sounds of Kobe. Sounds continually flood around each one of us. If noise exists, so does a pleasant sound. If an unnoticeable sound exists, so does an annoying noise. These sounds I recorded for a period of one year in the city of Kobe. (Supplement to "An Audio Landscape of Kobe, 1996") The set of CDs that I am creating will not only include the sounds of reconstruction after the earthquake disaster, but also the sounds of the seasons that can be heard in the city of Kobe. |
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1996 Kobe Sound Scene c1997 Produced and written by Takao Iba |
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