Human Sushi (Asahikawa)

Year: 2022
Format: Performance / Participatory performance
Dimensions: Sushi roll, including fillings: W2000 × H100 × D1800 mm
Materials: Fabric, cotton, polyethylene sheet

During a one-month residency in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Imai collaborated with local residents to create the rice cushions that form part of her participatory artwork Human Sushi. Through a series of workshops, participants drew, sewed, and stuffed individual rice-grain cushions, which were later assembled into a site-specific Asahikawa version of the work.

The project culminated in a public performance along Heiwa-dori Shopping Park, a permanent pedestrian boulevard stretching approximately one kilometer through central Asahikawa and known as the first permanent pedestrian zone in Japan. Together with participants, Imai carried out a walking performance while inviting people to become part of Human Sushi.

Organizer: Artist in Residence Asahikawa
Supported by: Asahikawa City, Asahikawa City Board of Education
Special Thanks: Machinaka Bunka Goya, Ichinichiju Asagohan Café Sunao, and the people of Asahikawa

Workshop (May 1–13)

Workshops were held over seven days at Ichinichiju Asagohan Café Sunao in the Ginza Shopping Street and at Machinaka Bunka Goya, located within Heiwa-dori Shopping Park. One workshop session was co-organized with Chachacha World.

Participants drew patterns, cut fabric, and stuffed cotton into nearly 400 rice-grain cushions. Together, these individually crafted pieces became the rice component of the Asahikawa version of Human Sushi.

In addition to the existing fillings—tuna, egg, salmon, and cucumber—Imai created a new filling inspired by the local environment: gyoja-ninniku (Alpine leek), a wild edible plant harvested in Hokkaido during spring. During her stay, Imai frequently encountered the plant in local restaurants and markets, and was introduced to various ways of preparing it, including soy-marinated dishes and jingisukan (grilled lamb). She also made her own soy-marinated gyoja-ninniku, making it a particularly memorable part of her experience in Asahikawa.

Let's Get Rolled into Human Sushi! — The “Makasaru-kai” in Asahikawa (May 14)

The final public event took place on May 14. Beginning near Asahikawa Station, the performance moved through several locations along Heiwa-dori Shopping Park, including Marukatsu, OKUNO, FOOD TERRACE, and Machinaka Bunka Goya.

Over the course of just over two hours, 31 people participated, and a total of 24 Human Sushi rolls were created, including those involving the artist herself.

The event was titled Makasaru-kai, using the Hokkaido dialect expression makasaru. Unlike the standard Japanese passive form “to be rolled,” makasaru carries a nuance that combines both passivity and agency—as if one both chooses and allows oneself to be rolled.

From the workshops where participants created the rice grains to the final performance in the city center, people from across Asahikawa shared the experience of being “rolled” together, collectively shaping the work and its presentation.