{"id":1328,"date":"2024-03-18T08:44:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T23:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usaginingen.com\/?page_id=1328"},"modified":"2026-06-02T20:50:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:50:22","slug":"homepage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/usaginingen.com\/","title":{"rendered":"Home en"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/div>
\"\"<\/div>
\"\"<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Life Becomes Art:
Performance, Space, and Everyday Creation<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/div>
\"\"<\/div>
\"\"<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Life Becomes Art:
Performance, Space, and Everyday Creation<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

Profile<\/h3><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

usaginingen<\/b> is an artist family formed in Berlin, Germany, in 2011, consisting of Shinichi Hirai, Emi Hirai, and Minagu Hirai.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their work centers on live performances using self-built visual machines and musical instruments, combining video, music, shadow play, and mechanical craftsmanship into a distinctive artistic language. They have performed in more than 30 countries worldwide. In 2014, they received the Grand Prix at the Reykjavik Visual-Music Festival in Iceland. In 2021, supported by a grant from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (AFF), they toured nationally with 38 performances and were featured in an advertising campaign for Apple Japan. In 2026, they presented their first solo museum exhibition at the Takamatsu City Museum of Art.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, usaginingen relocated to Teshima, a small island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea with fewer than one thousand residents. While continuing to operate a theater and create new work, their practice gradually expanded beyond the stage and into everyday life.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Teshima, they transformed a former carpenter’s warehouse into the Teshima usaginingen Theater, where they regularly present performances for audiences visiting from Japan and abroad.<\/span><\/p>\n

They have also reclaimed abandoned land to create a park and cultivated fields, providing a place where children can play freely. Using bamboo, driftwood, and other locally found materials, they have built playground structures, constructed a kiln, and gradually developed the site into a gathering place for the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2023, they were entrusted with the stewardship of a disused former infant care facility, which they reopened as ShinAiKan. Today it functions as an artist-in-residence program, hosting artists from Japan and overseas while regularly organizing communal meals, exhibitions, film screenings, and workshops.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2025, with support from Tokyo University of the Arts and Kagawa University, they have been developing a community-led festival project. Working closely with families raising children on Teshima, they continue to explore new forms of local cultural practice grounded in everyday participation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, Emi has expanded her practice into painting and picture-book publishing. In 2024, usaginingen created their first outdoor installation work, commissioned by the City of Setouchi in Okayama Prefecture.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2026, they began revitalizing a building adjacent to the theater that had remained unused for nearly thirty years, establishing it as the usaginingen Kunsthaus. The project is not centered on renovation itself, but on treating the processes of living, making, and ongoing experimentation as forms of expression.<\/span><\/p>\n

What began in Berlin has gradually expanded through life on Teshima. While each family member continues to develop their own creative practice, together they pursue an art practice rooted in the experiences and rhythms of everyday life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Biography<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div>
Techrider etc..<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

What we do<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

On Teshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea, they continue their practice centered on live performance, treating everyday life in its entirety as an art practice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Audio-visual live<\/div><\/div>

Performance<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

They began their activities in 2012, using unique handmade visual machine and instruments to combine analog and digital elements in their live performances. In 2024, their son will join them and take their activities to a new stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
The Seto Inland Sea’s remote island, Teshima<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Theater<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

Once a carpenter’s warehouse, this place has been transformed into a live space that manipulates color, light, and sound. It offers an original story that can be experienced by everyone, from children to adults.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Where daily life becomes art practice<\/div><\/div>

Kunsthaus Project<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

A building next to the theater that sat unused for nearly thirty years. We are bringing it back to life little by little as usaginingen Kunsthaus. Rather than a place to display finished works, it opens up the very ground where making and living meet.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info \/ support<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
Various productions<\/div><\/div>

imagination and creation<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

Separate from Usaginingen’s performances, this is a creative activity that extends the boundaries of art, encompassing everything from painting to community activities, in a world of expressive possibilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A new cultural hub born from a postwar orphanage<\/div><\/div>

ShinAiKan Project<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

Once an orphanage that protected children in the aftermath of the war, this building has now been reborn as a cultural hub. Connecting island life with artistic expressions from around the globe, ShinAiKan \u00d7 usaginingen embraces the challenge of creating new cultural possibilities through Artist in residence and festivals.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
Meeting of creativity and learning<\/div><\/div>

Stay Village<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

After being inspired by the island’s nature and art, you’ll find an environment where you can turn your creative desires into reality, giving shape to your imagination. Stay on an island alive with daily life, and enjoying infinite possibilities through your creativity.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Audio-visual live<\/div><\/div>

Performance<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

They began their activities in 2012, using unique handmade visual machine and instruments to combine analog and digital elements in their live performances. In 2024, their son will join them and take their activities to a new stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
The Seto Inland Sea’s remote island, Teshima<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Theater<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

Once a carpenter’s warehouse, this place has been transformed into a live space that manipulates color, light, and sound. It offers an original story that can be experienced by everyone, from children to adults.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Various productions<\/div><\/div>

imagination and creation<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

Separate from usaginingen’s performances, this is a creative activity that extends the boundaries of art, encompassing everything from painting to community activities, in a world of expressive possibilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Meeting of creativity and learning<\/div><\/div>

village<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

After being inspired by the island’s nature and art, you’ll find an environment where you can turn your creative desires into reality, giving shape to your imagination. Stay on an island alive with daily life, and enjoying infinite possibilities through your creativity.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Where daily life becomes art practice<\/div><\/div>

Kunsthaus Project<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

A building next to the theater that sat unused for nearly thirty years. We are bringing it back to life little by little as usaginingen Kunsthaus. Rather than a place to display finished works, it opens up the very ground where making and living meet.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info \/ support<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A new cultural hub born from a postwar orphanage<\/div><\/div>

ShinAiKan Project<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

Once an orphanage that protected children in the aftermath of the war, this building has now been reborn as a cultural hub. Connecting island life with artistic expressions from around the globe, ShinAiKan \u00d7 usaginingen embraces the challenge of creating new cultural possibilities through art and festivals.<\/p>\n<\/div>

more info<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Member<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Emi Hirai<\/h4>Visual Artist<\/div><\/div>

Emi Hirai<\/h4>\n

Born in 1980 in Yokohama, Japan, Emi graduated from Joshi Art University and went on to forge a successful career in Tokyo as both an art director and a graphic designer. In 2010, she expanded her creative horizons by moving to Berlin, Germany, where she transitioned into a visual artist and began performing in 2011. Emi has since returned to Japan and currently resides and works on Teshima Island, continuing her artistic journey. In 2021, she held her first drawing exhibition, marking a significant milestone in her evolving career as an artist.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Shinichi Hirai<\/h4>Musician<\/div><\/div>

Shinichi Hirai<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Born in 1977 in Kagawa, Japan, Shinichi initially pursued a career as a radiography technician following his graduation from Kitasato University. His musical journey began during his time in Brighton, England, where he delved into the music scene. In 2010, Shinichi relocated to Berlin, Germany, and joined the ensemble Usaginingen, furthering his career as a musician. Currently, he has returned to his roots in Kagawa and now resides and works on Teshima Island.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Minagu Hirai<\/h4>Punks<\/div><\/div>

Minagu Hirai<\/h4>\n

Born in 2018 on Teshima Island, Kagawa Prefecture, is a student at Teshima elementary School. In 2024, Minagu participated in Usaginingen’s performances as a narrator and actor. Minagu finds each day brimming with joy, a soul dancing in the endless delight of life’s pleasures.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>

Harmonizing Dichotomies<\/h2><\/div>

Harmonizing Dichotomies<\/h2><\/div>

A Journey Beyond Contrast through Art and Performance<\/h2><\/div>
View video<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

usaginingen\u2019s practice extends from the stage into the fabric of everyday life. Beginning with live performances of video and music, they see making things, shaping spaces, and the events that unfold in a place as performance.<\/p>\n

Daily life itself emerges as their art practice.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

usaginingen\u2019s practice extends from the stage into the fabric of everyday life. Beginning with live performances of video and music, they see making things, shaping spaces, and the events that unfold in a place as performance.<\/p>\n

Daily life itself emerges as their art practice.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

instagram<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t