Photo : Taro Mizutani
Form is the emptiness. Emptiness is the form.
These words came to mind when I saw Nakayama's work. In Japan, there is a famous passage from Hōjōki by Kamo no Chōmei
Rivers never cease to flow and never stay the same. Even where the water looks stagnant, the bubbles rise, form and disappear with no exception. Nothing stays the same even in human society – man and his home… One is to die in the morning. Another is to be born in the evening. Everything is in an ever-changing flow of birth and death.
I was inspired by her work and researched the beautiful drapery found on the robes of Buddhist statues.
Gandhara art, a Buddhist art form that flourished from around AD to around the 5th century, is centred on the Gandhara region in what is now north-west Pakistan. Also known as Greek Buddhist art, this art style is a Buddhist art that incorporates various Greek, Syrian, Persian and Indian art styles. 
Originating in India, Buddhism initially rejected the worship of idols of the Buddha himself, but it was here that it encountered the Greek civilisation, which produced the first Buddhist statues. Buddhism spread to India, China and Japan, and also gave rise to Mahayana Buddhism.
This series of stories overlaps with the worldview of Nakayama's work and drew our attention to the characteristics of Buddhist statues in Gandhara art.
What struck me most was the line extending from the brow to the bridge of the nose, which is deeply carved in a natural curve. If the yoke is taken along this line, the back of the body can be fitted to the body in a single line from the shoulder blade area of the back to the spine. The rest of the body is expressed as much as possible with a single piece of fabric, creating a drape that flutters like a wave from the chest to the feet.
A panel of ribbed fabric with a linear pattern was used at the armholes to emphasise the curvaceousness of the body and give it mobility as a garment. The main material used was Ventile, a densely woven and water-repellent fabric that can deal with paint and dye penetration. In addition, a tag was tucked into the lower part of the back collar as a holder for the tubes used during the performance.
