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2021年から「大きな物語の歴史」と題して、千葉県の新東京国際空港（現成田国際空港）建設反対運動である「三里塚闘争」をテーマに作品を制作し、継続的に発表してきた。当初は、「1968年」的パラダイムに関心があり、所謂“大きな物語”（リオタール）を作品を通して再検証するというのが作品のコンセプトであった。しかし、闘争について調べ、関係者の方に話を伺う度に、この社会運動の中で一番取り上げるべきなのは、（農民を中心とした）人間の「生」の思想なのではないかと考えるようになった。イデオロギーは大切ではあるが、個々人の抵抗や行動の物語を排除してはならない。（決して当時の暴力主義を肯定する事はできないが。）今回の展覧会では、そういった“小さな物語”を掬い上げるべく、当時の文献から得た情報をキャプションとして写真と共に展示する。しかし、風景を「ここで闘争が起き、人が死んだ」などと、不穏な情報のみを指し示す対象にするのは危険である。闘争以外の人の営みが代々続いてきたからこそ、生活保守の為の運動が盛り上がったのだ。そういったジレンマを認識しつつ、文章を交えての写真展を開催したいと思う。

三里塚闘争とは
1966年、国が一方的に千葉県の三里塚/芝山地域に巨大な国際空港を建設すると発表した。当然、地域住民は大反発し、直後に三里塚芝山連合空港反対同盟が結成。当初は当時の革新政党の支援で運動が行われていたが、途中から学生運動の流れを汲む新左翼活動家が流入し、反対運動が過激化した。反対同盟と国・警察双方が実力行使による衝突を繰り返し、双方に死傷者が多発する事態となる。1978年に空港が開港した後、反対同盟が二派（後に三派）に分裂する。90年代に国・空港公団と反対同盟熱田派が対話のテーブルにつき、二期工事では多数の農民が運動から離脱した。現在でも二つの反対同盟が存続し、闘争を継続している。

また現在、C滑走路建設、B滑走路延伸工事等により、空港の面積が約二倍に広がる広大な開発が進行中である。かつて激しい闘争が起きた地域が移転対象地区に指定されているが、目立った反発も少なく、いまのところ大規模な反対運動には至っていない。

関連展覧会
この写真展に並行し、三里塚闘争についての歴史資料館「成田空港空と大地の歴史館」の企画展示「三里塚と一鍬田過去と現在」にて、作品「大きな物語の歴史」を展示しています。（12月21日まで延長中）ぜひこちらも合わせてご覧ください。
（展覧会ウェブサイト：https://www.rekishidensho.jp/s_exhibition/2025/06/post-14.html）

Statement

Since 2021, under the overarching title “History of Grand Narrative,” I have been developing and presenting a body of work devoted to the Sanrizuka Struggle—the long and turbulent protest movement against the construction of the New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport) in Chiba Prefecture. At the outset, my concern lay with what might be called the “1968 paradigm.” The project began as an attempt to reexamine, through artistic practice, the very notion of the grand narrative as theorized by Jean-François Lyotard. Yet as my research deepened and as I met and spoke with those directly involved in the struggle, my focus gradually shifted. I came to understand that what truly demands attention within this social movement is not ideology per se, but rather the philosophy of life embodied in the experiences of the people—particularly the farmers—who resisted. In other words, I gradually realized that ideological conviction, while indispensable in itself, must not eclipse the singular stories of individuals.(This acknowledgment, of course, does not entail any endorsement of the violence that occurred during the movement.) In the present exhibition, in order to bring forth these “small narratives” that have long remained obscured, I present a series of photographs accompanied by textual fragments functioning as historical captions. Yet I am acutely aware of the ethical risk inherent in transforming the landscape into a mere index of past violence that says only, “Here the struggle unfolded; here lives were lost.” The land of Sanrizuka has always been more than a site of resistance; it is also a place where everyday life has persisted across generations, and it was precisely this rooted continuity that gave rise to the movement in defense of livelihood and community. With this awareness of the ethical paradox between commemoration and representation, I have sought to compose a photographic exhibition in which images and words resonate with one another.

The Sanrizuka Struggle
In 1966, the Japanese government unilaterally announced its plan to construct a vast international airport in the rural districts of Sanrizuka and Shibayama, Chiba Prefecture. The local inhabitants, faced with the forced expropriation of their ancestral lands, rose in opposition and soon organized themselves into “Sanrizuka-Shibayama United Opposition League against Construction of the Narita Airport.”(Japanese:三里塚芝山連合空港反対同盟) Initially supported by progressive political parties, the movement later drew a wave of New Left student activists, which contributed to the radicalization of its tactics. Violent confrontations between demonstrators, the police, and New Tokyo International Airport Authority ensued, claiming numerous lives on both sides. When the airport finally opened in 1978, the opposition fractured into two—and later three—factions. During the 1990s, a process of negotiation began between the authorities and one of these factions, led by the Atsuta group, and many farmers eventually withdrew from the struggle during the airport’s second-phase expansion.

Today, two opposition groups remain active, continuing the protest in new forms. Meanwhile, the airport’s expansion proceeds apace: the construction of Runway C and the extension of Runway B will nearly double its total area. Ironically, the very regions once marked by fierce confrontation are again subject to relocation designations. Yet overt resistance has waned, and no major protest movement has thus far reemerged.

Related Exhibition
In parallel with this exhibition, my work The History of Grand Narrative is also on view in the special exhibition “Sanrizuka and Hitokuwada: Past and Present” at the Narita Airport and Community Historical Museum(Japanese:成田空港空と大地の歴史館), which presents historical materials related to the Sanrizuka Struggle.(The exhibition has been extended until December 21.) I would be delighted if you could take this opportunity to visit that exhibition as well. (Exhibition website: https://www.rekishidensho.jp/s_exhibition/2025/06/post-14.html)

2025.10

写真展「三里塚-大きな物語の歴史III/小さな物語へ」

成田空港 空と大地の歴史館 第19回 企画展示 写真展「三里塚と一鍬田 過去と現在」

写真展「三里塚-大きな(小さな)物語の歴史」

成田空港空と大地の歴史館第19回企画展示写真展「三里塚と一鍬田過去と現在」