The Invisible Dog (New York City) and BUoY Arts Center (Tokyo) are thrilled to present a workshop and storytelling as part of NAFAS TOKYO.
This workshop is part of NAFAS, an international festival exploring the relationship between art and food with an exhibition of 60 artists and a series of performances, workshops and events. Discover the full program here
Omusubi can be a meal or a quick snack. A brand-new omusubi will be born, using flavors and textures connected to Japan, Brazil, and Egypt. This will be a time to make omusubi, eat together, and listen to the stories behind the rice and ingredients.
During high school, Karin and Miki were members of the Cooking Club, where they learned practical skills—from preparing ingredients to experimenting with creative techniques—from people of diverse backgrounds and regions. Cooking and sharing meals with local residents became an important part of their experience.
Over time, both became aware of the different realities behind the food we eat today. One day, Miki noticed discarded onigiri wrappers and food waste along a road leading to an industrial area. She imagined the person who had eaten there—perhaps rushing against the clock, eating on the move or during a short break from driving a truck. The memory brought her back to her own experience working at a food-sorting facility, where efficiency and speed dictated every movement to ensure food reached its destination on time.
Meanwhile, through her work as a nutritionist, Karin encountered the hidden realities of food production, including ingredients discarded because of strict risk-management protocols. Seeking a deeper understanding of where food begins, she started visiting farms and rice paddies to learn directly from the land and its growers.
As they shared their experiences, their conversations eventually led them to a rice field, where one day in May they found themselves planting rice together, covered in mud.
For NAFAS, Karin and Miki invite participants to make omusubi, Japan's simple yet deeply meaningful rice ball. Infused with flavors and textures inspired by Japan, Brazil, and Egypt, each omusubi carries stories of place, labor, and exchange. As participants shape the rice with their own hands and share it together, they are invited to discover the narratives hidden within each ingredient and filling. Through the simple acts of making and eating together, the workshop asks: what sounds, conversations, and moments of connection can emerge when strangers gather around the same table? also serves as the artist's alter ego. Like a reflection on the surface of water, Mizuumi accompanies visitors into an imagined landscape where forgotten words lie buried like fossils within the geological layers of memory.
Together, artist and audience excavate these fragments, discovering new meanings through conversation, imagination, and shared experience.
Karin Unemoto holds both a professional cook's license and a registered dietitian qualification. Having grown up in a community with a local children's association where she was looked after by various adults, she now views cooking at a "children's cafeteria" (kodomo shokudo) in Chiyoda Ward as her life's work—hoping to provide a welcoming space for children, just as others once did for her. She also handles large-scale food preparation for catering and parties commissioned by both corporate and private clients.
Miki Hakozaki has a background that includes working as a theme park cast member and managing music education and art projects for El Sistema Japan. She currently handles planning and composition at miotoki, creating works that facilitate a two-way exchange with participants regarding unfolding events through music and theater. Her projects include *Structure and Sound* (part of the 2025 "Mui Fes Vol. 3: Silent Breath"), selections for the Tokyo Performing Arts Festival 2025/2026 Open Call Program and Strange Seed Shizuoka 2026 Open Call Program workshop.
Location
BUoY Arts Center
49-11, Senju-Nakacho, Adachi-ku,
Tokyo
Admission:
Free, Reservation required / 要予約
Date
Saturday September 5, 2026
from 2.30pm to 4pm