Making "Shiritori" More Fun

Introducing "Ideas to Make XX More Interesting" from Dentsu Inc.'s young art directors. This time, Shintaro Tagashira presents "Making Shiritori More Interesting."

Turning familiar letters into unfamiliar ones.

──Why did you choose "shiritori" as your theme?

Tanigashira: I've loved characters since university and created a typeface called "Kunoichi Font" for my graduation project.

The origin of the female ninja "kunoichi" comes from the characters "く" (ku), "ノ" (no), and "一" (ichi) hidden within the character for "女" (woman). Following that rule, I created all the common kanji characters based on hiragana and katakana. By creating a simple rule and rearranging characters, a new visual perspective emerges. I applied that same concept to create these intertwined shiritori characters.

By rearranging characters according to the rule of intertwining and connecting them, familiar characters gradually transform into unfamiliar ones.

Actually, I've created intertwined characters before, but this is the first time I've applied them to shiritori. Shiritori is fundamentally a game played through vocal exchange, something heard with the ears, so I thought it would be interesting to visualize it.

"Cosmic Bathing": Merging with the Universe in a Secret Hot Spring

──What are you interested in right now?

Tanagashira: Secret hot spring tours. I've visited about 20 places so far. It's been tough to go since my child was born. The first one I visited was a secret hot spring deep in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture. It had a huge open-air bath, like a 25-meter pool. Late at night, while soaking in the hot spring, I casually looked up at the sky and saw nothing but stars. It wasn't just stars; I felt the overwhelming presence of the universe itself, and it scared me. It felt like the immense universe was surging right toward me. I felt myself standing on Earth within this vast cosmos, realizing, "Ah, I'm part of the universe too," and it gave me chills. I got hooked on that feeling.

Sinking into the hot spring up to my ears, leaning my head against a rock, lying back, and gazing up at the starry sky. Deep in the mountains, the moonlight is mystical, and you see a shooting star about once a minute. After a while, you gradually start to feel yourself existing within the universe. I call this "space bathing," and it's amazing. That feeling of merging with the universe. Your everyday worries feel ridiculous. You can't feel the universe if it's cloudy or if the streetlights are too bright (laughs), so "space bathing" only happens occasionally. Maybe that's why I'm so hooked. I highly recommend it.