北白川宮能久親王、台灣縱貫鐵道與荒城之月 |
Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, Taiwan West Coast Line, Moon Over the Ruined Castle |
雙頻道錄像Two-Channel Video,19:07,2019.
本計畫創作背景為台南日治時期的地方歷史與臺南市美術館二館前身為台南神社的地緣歷史,並以其御祭神北白川宮能久親王(Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa)的一生為引,帶出大日本帝國在台灣島上留下的歷史脈絡及其從奮起到崩壞的進程。首先改編作家西川滿以帝國視角撰寫乙未戰爭的《台灣縱貫鐵道》(Taiwan West Coast Line)小說,詮釋殖民統治下,被塑造出來的能久親王形象,即他晚年在1895台灣割日之際,對明治政府的忠心與犧牲,最後病逝於台南的過程。後續的《荒城之月》(Moon over the ruined castle)則是透過藝術家的自撰故事,以能久親王曾與日本千年怨靈崇德天皇曾共祀於高雄神社(今高雄忠烈祠)的歷史淵源,將帝國在二戰失敗的前因後果,連結至戊辰戰爭、乙未戰爭及平安時代末期的怨靈傳說,順勢帶出能久親王早年在日本幕末之際,曾被東北的德川幕府殘餘勢力奧羽越列藩同盟擁立為「東武天皇」與京都皇室和薩長同盟領軍的新政府對抗,且在大日本帝國成立後一度被視為政治禁忌的前半生。本計劃則透過自撰故事結合歷史檔案、神怪傳說、攝影與錄像的創作形式,期待以能久親王的一生為藍本,解讀戰前台日之間,在錯綜複雜脈絡交會下產生的歷史密碼。
The creative backdrop of this project is based on Tainan Art Museum Building 2’s history as the Hsinchu Shrine, with Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa’s life referenced in recounting the history of Imperial Japan in Taiwan, depicting the empire’s rise and its collapse. Adapting the novel, Taiwan West Coast Line, by Mitsuru Nishikawa, which portrays the Japanese invasion of Taiwan from Imperial Japan’s perspective, the project interprets the image of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa shaped by the colonial regime and examines his loyalty and the sacrifices he had made for the Meiji government later in his life when Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, with him ultimately died in Tainan due to an illness. The subsequent Moon Over the Ruined Castle is a story written by the artist based on the history of the Kaohsiung Shrine (present day Kaohsiung Martyrs’ Shrine), which at one point in time was where Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa and Emperor Sutoku (who, according to legend, turned into an infamous vengeful spirit after he died) were both commemorated. The story connects the causes and the consequences of the Empire of Japan’s defeat during World War II with legends of the vengeful spirits of
|
the Boshin War, the Japanese invasion of Taiwan, and also from the later years of the Heian period. It also revisits Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa’s life in his earlier years during the end of the Edo period (also referred to as Bakumatsu), when he received support from the remaining partisans of the Tokugawa shogunate (the last feudal Japanese military government) from the northeastern region of Japan and the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei (a Japanese military-political coalition). Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa was made the head of the alliance and named Emperor Tōbu, whereby he fought against the new government led by the imperial family in Kyoto and the Satchō Alliance. The story goes into the first half of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa’s life, when he was thought of as a political taboo after the Empire of Japan was established. Through a self-written story combined with historical archives, myths and legends, photography and video art formats, the project seeks to use the life of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa as a blueprint for decrypting the historical codes and ciphers that have arisen from the complex entwining histories of pre-war Taiwan and Japan.
|