Too Much Magazine, Issue 9

Too Much gathers thoughts about cities, the people who live in them, and the changes affecting our society and our environment. It’s a magazine about romantic geography. Too Much is made by international writers and photographers, along with a Japanese design team, and a sharp mind on research with the same strong care for texts and images. There are more and more people who care not only about architecture and design, but also for the changes within the city and the impact of globalism, and have an international curiosity. Too Much is for them.

In this issue:

This volume of TOO MUCH Magazine asks: Who is to say what is sacred?

We begin on the shores of the Okinawan islands, where we meet the Yuta shaman, who see people as characters playing roles in a larger narrative arc of life. We venture to the beguinages of medieval Europe to learn how women have related to the divine in ways that ensure their own earthly survival and independence. We visit mosques in contemporary Japan and elaborate festivals for ancestor worship in China. We look at the work of Jae-Eun Choi and Camille Henrot, which shows us how plants and trees can grow tall in desolate landscapes and emotional wastelands. We travel to the slopes of Osore-zan and hear the cries of crows and the bereaved before peering into the living room of Yokoo Tadanori and beholding the reclining Budhha and the Odalisque.

Issue 9 of TOO MUCH Magazine ultimately explores the nature of the sacred in an increasingly profane world, taking us into our own belief structures — both old and new — and questioning what will remain and what may evolve as we move forward into the unknown.