Omori in 2D

Omori

Most the photos in the previous post on Omori used perspective quite strongly.

For this series, I want to concentrate more on flat, two-dimensional compositions.

Traditional Japanese architecture  tends to have quite pleasing proportions and ratios, as well as combinations and contrasts of differing texture. and I think this is true of many traditional architectures around the world.

The vast majority of new Jaoanese houses are quite ugly.

Another thing that contributes to this flat, geometric comosition is the decoration done by the inhabitants of a building.

Sometimes these are quite formal and follow a rigid set of rules.

At other times they can be quite individualistic and idiosyncratic.

Yakumo Honjin Museum

 

Yakumo Honjin is a large, Edo-period residence formerly owned by the Kowata Family that also functioned as a honjin, a guesthouse for the Daimyo while he was traveling. It has aso been epanded with the addition of various high-ranking samurai residences that were dismantled and moved from Matsue.

I previously posted  more info and a series of photos of the interiors. This time I will show you some of the displays of artworks and artifacts that were owned by the family.

There was the obligatory suit of samurai armour, but no swords. There was a palanqui, pictured above, and a series of lanterns.

Much of the art in traditonal Japanese residences was in the form of painted folding screens and painted sliding doors, some examples of which you can see in the previous post, but I was intrigued by this object. Not sure what it is, but seems to be a crane ridden by I presume a Daoist "immortal".

There were quite a few examples of hanging scroll paintings.

However, the most interesting displays for me were the collection of old masks. The first is either a tengu or Sarutahiko. The second one of the "strong men" heroes, and the third a Kitsune, fox.

Yakumo Hoinjin is located in Shinji about halfway between Izumo and Matsue, on the south shore of Lake Shinji.

Itohara Residence

 

The Itohara were a family of high-ranking samurai who served the Matsue Domain. They moved into the Okuizumo area in the Chugoku Mountains in what is now Shimane in the early 17th century. They have occupied the site of their current home since the end of the 18th century.

The Itohara were one of a group of samurai families that controlled the production of iron in the region.

The current residence was built in the early 20th century but was built in a traditional style. The family still lives in the house so it is not open to the public, but the garden is and so the interior of the house can be glimpsed.

The home has 40 rooms and covers more than 16,000 square meters, so here you can literally see just glimpses.

The main formal garden is viewable from many rooms, and I posted pictures of it before.

Adjacent to the house is the Itohara Memorial Museum that has many displays about the historical production of iron, but also family heirlooms like weapons, armour, tea ceremony utensils, clothing etc.

The closest station is Yokota on the JR Kisuki Line, accessible using the Orochi Tourist Train.

Mundane Manhole Mandalas

Usually for my ongoing series on Japanese manhole covers I post a design and then show photos of the subject, but sometimes the designs are not particularly interesting, so today just a collection of less than inspiring designs.



Misumi Town, Shimane.



Yasugi. Shimane.



Iwami Town, Shimane.



Hamada City, Shimane



Kamo Town, Shimane,

To see more interesting designs click here

Shimane by numbers. Part 3

Continuing my look at some interesting statistics concerning the prefecture I live in,... Shimane.

This time just one statistic.

Shimane has the oldest population in Japan.

What that means is that 27% of Shimane's people are over 65 years old. And that figure seems set to continue to grow. I know up in the mountains near here is a village where the youngest person is 73!

Like Mrs. M, the lady we bought our house from.

Or Ebiya-san who lives over the river in Kawado, who at 83 years old is a damn site more spritely than many much younger than him. He designed and makes Hero Flutes, kagura flutes that can be played more easily than traditional kagura flutes.

Of course the one place you will see these old people is in the gardens and fields. I read that the average age of farmers in japan is 70!

The young people continue to leave the countryside for the cities, and I find it hard to imagine what it will be like in another 20 years as many of these elders pass on.

For now I enjoy learning from the grandparent generation. They are often sharper and smarter than those who grew up in the 1960's and 1970's, and still know how to make things and live in the environment they are in.

Shimane by numbers. Part 2

More fascinating fun-fun-filled facts and statistics about where I live.

Per capita there are more museums and art galleries in Shimane than any other prefecture bar one. I have been unable to find out what that prefecture is, so if anyone knows, please let me know.

Why do we Shimaneans have more museums and galleries?

The answer is simple, because we are an incredibly sophisticated and cultural people!

We have museums for sand!

And we have museums for water! Actually this is one of my favorite museums I've come across in Japan, it's only a few minutes from my house. I will post more on it later.

In Hamada we have a huge Childrens Art Museum.

And lets not forget concert halls and auditoriums like this one in Daito, a town of 5,000.

The cynical among you might suggest that the real reason we have so many museums is because Shimane is the biggest recipient (per capita) of central government public works funds, so as well as all the museums we have...

........bridges to nowhere..........

... well protected mountains,........

.. and well protected rivers and coastline!

One final statistic...... it is estimated that 90% of the public works in Shimane are subject to dango! Dango is the Japanese word for bid-rigging, whereby a small group of companies get together and decide among themselves which company gets which project, and then they set an extremeley overpriced bid.
Bid rigging is of course illegal, but like many laws in Japan it masks the fact that bid-rigging is the standard way of doing things in Japan. The construction companies make huge profits, some of which is channeled to the political parties that bring the pork, the bureaucrats that award the contracts get nice cushy post-retirement jobs in the companies they have awarded contracts to, known as amakudari, and the prefecture gets infrastructure it neither needs nor wants. The losers are of course the tax-payers who fund the process.

I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago, so was really miffed when someone sent me this link to a New York Times article last week that covers the same subject even using Shimane as the example.

Shimane by numbers

or, everything you ever wanted to know about Shimane (but were afraid to ask)

I live in Shimane Prefecture. It's not a well known place, in fact I had lived in Japan for 2 years before I had even heard of it.

Shimane Prefecture, along with the other 46 Prefectures, was created in 1871 when the Meiji government redrew the political boundaries. Shimane was formed by combing the 3 former provinces of Izumo, Iwami, and the Oki Islands. These old provincial identities remain strong today which is why I rarely mention Shimane, rather Iwami, Izumo, or the Okis.

The size of Shimane is 6,707 sq. kilometers. which makes it the 18th largest prefecture. It is roughly the same size as the county of Devon in England, or the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.

Shimane has a population of roughly 761,000, making it the 2nd least populated prefecture.
That is roughly equivalent to the population of Devon. Actually that figure is probably a little smaller as it is a few years old and Shimane continues to depopulate. People are still moving to the big cities, and as far as I can tell the reason is often for work and "convenience"! Not exactly sure what convenience is, but personally I don't find indentured servitude and rabid consumption at all convenient!

The population density is 114 people per square kilometer, which is the 4th least densely populated prefecture. (compare that to Tokyo, with a population density of more than 100 times that)

79% of Shimane is forest. Almost none of it is original forest, and this century an awful lot of cedar and cypress plantations have been planted. Being mostly forest, and not heavily populated is probably why Shimane often has the most bear sightings per year in Japan.

Shimane has the cheapest building land prices in Japan. The average cost is 27,000 yen per square meter (approx $250), and as that is the average it means much cheaper building land can be had.

This is my house. I'm not going to give you the price, suffice it to say it cost the same as one years rent for the tiny apartment we lived in in Kyoto. The house is more than 10 times larger than the apartment. Actually, because of Japans strange property market the house was free, we just paid for the land. The house is more than 50 years old which means in japan it has no value.

It is what could be called a "fixer-upper", but perfectly habitable when we moved in. Since adding insulation and a woodstove it is very comfortable, and I am gradually renovating and remodelling it.