English is below. 古来より、麻は日本人の暮らしと精神文化に深く根づいてきました。神事や儀式、衣服や寝具、生と死をめぐるすべての場面に、静かに存在していた素材。 しかし戦後、その神聖な意味や役割は急速に失われていきました。そして私たちは、「清め」「つながり」「祈り」といった大切な感覚を、素材とともに忘れてしまったのかもしれません。 今、麻と向き合うことで思い出せる“根”の感覚。このエピソードでは、麻を通じて、喪失された精神性と再び出会う旅にご案内します。 For centuries, hemp was woven into the spiritual and everyday life of Japan —from sacred rituals to daily garments, from birth to death. But in modern times, we lost more than a material.We lost the spirituality, purity, and connection it represented. In this episode, I invite you on a journey —to remember what hemp once meant, and what it can awaken in us today. [English script] Hello, this is HIROMI KIM.In this podcast, I explore the relationship between art, materials, and space — from the perspective of an artist. The theme of Episode 9 is hemp, and the spirituality we've forgotten. In the past, hemp in Japan was not just a plant.It was a symbol of purification and connection — a sacred material woven into the very center of daily and spiritual life. In Shinto shrines, hemp was used in sacred ropes (shimenawa), bell cords, priest garments, and ritual wands.This is because hemp was believed to hold the power to cleanse impurities and purify spaces.Even today at Ise Grand Shrine, bundles of hemp — called Ōnusa — are still used in sacred purification rituals. From the moment a baby is born, to a bride’s ceremonial kimono, to the cloth that wraps a body in death —hemp has been with us throughout the journey of life.It was also a part of everyday life: used in summer clothing, bedding, mosquito nets, and farming wear —valued for its strength, breathability, and lightness. In other words, hemp was deeply rooted in the wisdom of living in harmony with nature. But after the war, with major shifts in societal values,this spirituality that once dwelled in hemp began to fade from memory.The reasons are many — political pressures, economic changes, imported ideologies.Over time, hemp’s sacredness and cultural meaning were diminished, even feared.At times, it was treated as something forbidden — something to be avoided altogether. This, to me, is a profound loss.Not just the loss of a material, but the loss of our original sense of prayer and connection.Most people may not even realize what’s missing —but I believe this has created a deep emptiness in the Japanese spirit. As an artist, I now find myself returning to hemp —reaching for its memory, not out of nostalgia,but because I believe it holds something vital for the future. In this era of disconnection — from nature, from others, even from ourselves —I believe hemp’s quiet strength of purification, connection, and renewaloffers us a path forward. Hemp gently asks us:“What are you truly connected to?” Now, more than ever, I want to listen to that voice. Some say that plants emit their own energy —and that sensitive people can even “speak” with them.They say you can feel kami-ki — divine energy — when entering sacred spaces.But many of us have lost that sensitivity. This planet is a realm of plants.We are alive because of them.And yet, we’ve forgotten to listen. There’s still much more I want to share about hemp.Because I believe it’s time for us to remember.To awaken. In the next episode, we’ll dive into:“Hemp as Resistance — Awakening the Inner Voice Through Material.”Please subscribe, and stay tuned. I hope this episode has offered some inspiration —for those involved in creating spaces, in the arts, or anyone searching for a new form of expression.If you enjoyed it, I’d be so grateful for your subscription or a follow. Thank you for listening all the way to the end.This was HIROMI KIM.
