Telling the story of Kyoto's underground waters
Water Calling is a project initiated in 2022 by designer Isabelle Daëron and curator Yoshiko Nagai that aims to raise awareness of the relationship between water and our environment, expressing Kyoto's unique landscape through an artistic approach.
Kyoto is a territory rich in water, both visible and invisible. The Kamo and Katsura rivers have shaped the urban landscape, gardens are fed by springs and ponds, and the Lake Biwa canal supported the industrial development of the Meiji era through hydroelectric power generation and water transport. Groundwater also gave rise to lifestyles and cultural practices such as sake-making, tea ceremonies and dyeing.
As early as the Heian era, the capital's builders knew that water was everywhere. They lived in awe of nature's sometimes uncontrollable power, yet were grateful for its limited resources. Many aspects of the relationship between man and nature cannot be fully explained by science. How did people perceive the existence of water at a time when education and information were not as widely available as they are today? How has the relationship with this resource evolved over time?
The project began as a collaboration between Yoshiko Nagai and Isabelle Daëron, with the aim of telling the story of groundwater in Kyoto, through the evolution of its landscape, myths and folk tales, and human activities related to water.
After extensive fieldwork involving visits, meetings and under the supervision of researcher Edani Hiroko, the book Water calling was published in 2023.
In the same year, an exhibition was held in Kyoto, Tokyo and Paris, and several guided tours took place in Kyoto.
In 2025, at a new exhibition in Kyoto, Isabelle Daëron and Yoshiko Nagai presented Water Calling: Map of traveling Water around Kyoto, a map depicting Kyoto's aquatic landscape. It traces the journey of these waters, from their underground journey to their use in the city. It establishes a link between remarkable sites and the presence of an aquifer.
More information is available at watercalling.net
Concept and drawings: Isabelle Daëron
Concept and text: Yoshiko Nagai
Graphic design: Hideyuki Saito
Book publisher: Shoshi Saicoro
Textile: Kione
Book available in Japan via Materia Prim and in France from Laurel Parker Book, Librairie Volume, Librairie sans titre, Librairie Cahier Central, Librairie Yvon Lambert