Creativity Nurtured by a 'Showa-Era Park': A Workshop to Change How We See Our Local Woods

[Official] As part of a Kyoto City note project, we are holding a '#KyotoPartiality' collection where people can talk about the things they love about Kyoto.

As someone whose 'way of life changed through park work,' I naturally want to promote parks! So, this time, I will introduce Funaokayama Park in Kita Ward and the initiatives taking place there.

Those who read this will surely develop a partiality for parks, and their lives will become richer??

A Recommendation for Park Partiality

What kind of parks do you like?
Parks with lots of playground equipment?
Parks with nice benches?
Parks with stylish cafes?

Leisure magazines and the like often introduce many such parks, don't they?
However, those parks are just a handful, and the majority of the more than 110,000 parks nationwide are small parks known as 'neighborhood parks' (what used to be called children's parks).
Moreover, many of them are aging.

It is true that parks with well-maintained playground equipment and facilities are convenient and comfortable, and I understand the feeling of wanting to go out of your way to visit them by car.

But even local parks have many ways to be enjoyed if you change your perspective a little and use some ingenuity.
Above all, when you develop an attachment to one, it feels like your own garden, and if it's within walking distance, you can cherish it every day.

Don't you think life would be much richer if such a 'Cherish Park' were created nearby?

My 'Cherish Park,' Funaokayama Park, is a historically important spot

Funaokayama Park is located on a small hill about 112 meters high, south of Daitoku-ji Temple in Kita Ward.
Because its terrain resembles a ship, it has been called Funaoka since ancient times, and it has excellent views and many historical sites.

It is said that Emperor Kanmu looked out over the Yamashiro Basin from the summit of Mt. Funaoka and decided to move the capital, making it the 'birthplace of Kyoto,' and...
It appears in the literature of Prince Shotoku, Sei Shonagon praised it in The Pillow Book by saying 'The hill is Funaoka...', and it served as a battle camp during the Onin War and other conflicts.
Furthermore, in 1880, Kenkun Shrine (outside the park area), which enshrines Oda Nobunaga, was built on the hillside facing east, and was later moved to the summit.

Such a historic site is actually a memorable park that was opened in 1935 as Kyoto City's first urban planning park. With an area of about 56,000 square meters, it is quite a large park within Kyoto City.

Even so, Kyoto is a historic city that turns places where the names of historical figures appear one after another into parks; it's truly formidable...

A place where diverse people meet and mingle: 'Funaokayama Park Open Park'

Overall, the park's facilities, such as the playground equipment, are old, and the entire place has a Showa-era atmosphere.
Furthermore, because a criminal incident occurred in the park during the Showa era,
it became a sad park designated as a place where elementary school students should not go alone.

However, several years ago, as part of a social experiment for park utilization, the 'Funaokayama Park Team,' led by the first-class architect office STUDIO MONAKA, began managing the park by conducting patrols and picking up trash while utilizing the old park office building, and they also hold a community exchange event called 'Open Park' during the day on the third Sunday of every month.

Since then, on 'Open Park' days, people ranging from young people from inside and outside the city to the elderly, as well as creators, community development groups, and welfare organizations, have gathered to showcase what they want to do and what they value, making it a place for taking on new challenges.

Especially recently, I feel that it has become an interesting place unique to a 'student city,' as young people are starting to 'play' with one edgy project after another.
For more details, please see the article below.

Even on days other than Open Park, activities like 'Free Flower,' where high school students give away flowers for free, take place,
and young people have started participating in the famous radio calisthenics held rain or shine, which has even been featured in town magazines.

The atmosphere of the park has become lighter, and it seems that the designation of it being a 'park where elementary school students should not go alone' is currently moving toward being lifted.

Even in a park where aging is progressing, it can be transformed into a fun place by utilizing it well through public-private partnerships.
Through this social experiment, I feel that a park full of prohibitions is being updated in a modern way, and I am truly happy about it.

What is the 'Workshop on Changing How We See Nearby Forests' (abbreviated as 'Midi-Mori')?

This is the place in Funaokayama Park that I personally cherish.
It is a green space along the park path, a place you would normally just walk past.
Here, in conjunction with the 'Funaokayama Park Open Park,' we hold a 'Workshop on Changing How We See Nearby Forests' basically every month.

In this workshop, we use tools with various holes cut into cardboard to get as close as possible to 'nature that is everywhere'—such as trees, grass, and the ground—and observe it intently, creating an opportunity to discover the wonders of nature that you hadn't noticed before.

You might encounter small creatures, notice mysterious shapes, discover edible fruits, or see vintage trash that looks like treasure.
Also, if you stare at it for a long time, you might feel like a dwarf, and the small scenery can feel like the stage of a grand story.

'The nature I had been overlooking was packed with micro-symbiosis and the wonders of nature.'
'My senses were sharpened more than usual, and I realized the richness of my own sensitivity.'
As we receive such comments from participants,

'Even without the latest playground equipment, nature can be a playmate as much as you want.'

I have started to feel that way myself, and even when I am walking in other places,
I have more opportunities to notice the interesting aspects of nature.

In this workshop, several people form groups to share their respective discoveries.
Since nature acts as a medium to create opportunities for small encounters,
if you are coming to Funaokayama Park Open Park for the first time, please join us to make some new friends.

Below is the official Instagram account for Midi-Mori.

About the background of the 'Midi-Mori' project

Midi-Mori started in November 2023.

It all began when a young professional who always came to Funaokayama Open Park said,
"I'd like to try organizing something related to plants myself."

What I had hoped for through the utilization of the park was that
"everyone would move from being a participant to being a player."

This is because I have keenly felt the difference in enthusiasm between those who are actively involved in community development and those who are not in various situations.
The philosophy currently advocated by Kyoto City, 'a place and a role for everyone,' is truly difficult to achieve.

However, if public spaces like parks become open places, they should serve as an entry point for that.

For someone like me who believed in that, it was a truly happy suggestion, and I decided to support it immediately.

That said, since we had no experience in holding workshops related to plants, I consulted a student I personally resonated with who was researching nature observation workshops in graduate school.

The three of us decided to give it a try, and that is how 'Midi-Mori' began.

Since then, supported by many people, and while being stimulated myself by the curiosity of the two young people, we have been making minor changes little by little and challenging ourselves with new projects.
Being able to have flat discussions with two people from different generations and engage in such activities brings color to my own life.

It's okay to be an amateur and it's okay to fail.
"For the sake of the town" doesn't have to be something grand; something modest is fine.
I realized that it is important to have a place where you can do what you want to do yourself.
If countless such places, even small ones, increase, creativity will be nurtured.
The town and our lives should become richer.
Believing in that, as a city hall employee, I would like to continue to take action in the future.

Conclusion / Let's Enrich Our Lives with 'Aide-Park'!

Thank you for reading this far.

This time, I introduced Funaokayama Park and the initiatives taking place there, but even if you don't hold any events, why not take a slightly more careful look at the scenery in nearby parks or green spaces that you usually pass by?

I am sure you will encounter wonders of nature that you hadn't noticed before.

And when you find your favorite 'Aide-Park,' your life will surely become a little bit, but definitely, richer than it was before.

Let's head out casually in search of the small nature in the city of Kyoto!