Message

I was working for Hiroko Murata at Youkobo from 1988-1990. At the time, Youkobo was a painting classroom, and I was a teacher for children and adults. When, for some favor or other I unwittingly said “Murata sensei”, she replied "DON’T call me teacher". But even after that, despite myself, I continued to call her by that name. The classroom was reached by taking off your shoes and going up the stairs next to the door. For some reason, I liked the staircase, and would often sit absent-mindedly on the stairs, waiting for my students. Now that I remember, I would often see foreigners coming and going from the house. When I asked, they turned out to be sculptor or painter friends of Hiroko. They stayed at Youkobo and were given a place to create at a time when the notion of ‘Artist-in-Residence’ was still unfamiliar.　I left the class at the end of 1990, and headed to Europe at the start of the New Year. I returned to Japan 5 years later, and paid a visit to Hiroko after my long absence. Youkobo had now become an official Artist-in-residence. The classroom on the second floor had been reformed into a gallery, but the staircase remained the same. As Murata came down to meet me from the 2nd floor and as I ascended, I said without thinking "Murata sensei"! In a split second she replied " DON'T call me teacher, O JUN sensei!"
(2008)