THE PAPER is a curated magazine by T_LOPLAN.

This fourth issue, titled 《古韵新_ Quaint Compose Issue》, takes the classical Chinese poetic technique “古韵新_” as its starting point. It explores how newness and antiquity are not polar opposites, but rather that newness is contained within the past, and that the future can be found by traveling back in time. It also reflects on how the Eastern view of nature has faded, and how only by returning to the ancient Eastern view of nature can we glimpse a new form of humanity.


The editorial features look visuals from the T_LOPLAN Autumn Winter 2023 collection, photographed by Nico Perez, alongside collaboration visuals shot by photographer Fumika Endo at the Odawara Cultural Foundation's Enoura Weather Station.

The editorial features “Unconscious Leaders,” a series where we spoke with three women who, by returning to the culture and ideas of an era where people coexisted with nature and bonds were strong, internalize the current state and challenges of the world seen from a macro perspective as their own problems, and strive for change step by step from the ground up. It also explores the YATO Project, an initiative that, using the Yato region in Machida City, Tokyo, as its subject, involves repeated activities to learn about and experience the history and nature of the land formed over long periods, and attempts to design the structure for a cultural event to continue for the next 500 years. -Unspoilt Land by Nico Perez -Time to Remember Our Origins by Ayaka Endo -Unconscious Leaders The magazine also features two written contributions exploring community: “Let the Wind Blow,” which examines the nature of community through the words of cultural figures exploring and nurturing connections among people in the YATO Project area. This project involves repeated activities to understand and experience the history and character of the land formed over long periods in the Yato and Chuusei districts of Machida City, Tokyo, aiming to design the structure for cultural events to continue for the next 500 years.


-Unspoilt Land by Nico Perez
-Time to Remember Our Origins by Ayaka Endo
-Unconscious Leaders
-Let the Wind Blow


List of Participants (in no particular order, honorifics omitted)
Lisa Tani
Masaki Sugaya
Nico Perez
Kazuhiro Naka
Chihiro Yamada
Mona Kawasaki
Kenji Misawa (sculpture works)
Ayaka Endo
Waka Adachi
Tamayo Yamamoto
Liye Zhong
Asuka Ito
Nami Kunisawa
Akio Kunisawa
Akiko Kikumoto
Yuri Shiino
yae
Kohra Saito
Haruka Shine
Shuhei Hatano
Anna Miyoshi