Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Nagi Moca, "Moon"



The Museum of Contemporary Art in the tiny town of Nagi in Okayama is a unique collaboration between architect and artist. The building entitled "Moon" is by architect Arata Isozaki and artist Kazuo Okazaki.

 


The name "Moon" refers to the orientation of the building, a long narrow shape composed of an arc and a straight line. The line points towards the moon at 10pm on the Autumnal Equinox.

 


The artwork is titled "Hisashi that which supplements" and is composed of 2 small sculptures on the flat wall and 2 curved granite benches along the curved wall.

 


It is a large minimal space filled with light. Hisashi is a Japanese word for eaves and refers to the sculptures which are made by pouring plaster so it overhangs an edge, and when dry is then hung on the wall.

 

The other two architectural installations that make up the museum are Earth, and Sun.



Monday, June 27, 2011

Kenkun Shrine

shg45

Kenkun Shrine, also known as Takeisao Shrine, is located on a small hill, Funaoka Yama, in the northeast of Kyoto.

shg37

With its roofs of cedar bark shingles, the shrine looks to be old, but in fact was not founded until 1880. It enshrines the great warlord Oda Nobunaga.

shg39

The shrine is very much a part of State Shinto, the emperor-centric religion created in the Meiji era. Many of the old Japanese heroes who were considered to have been imperial loyalists were enshrined at this time, as well as Nobunaga, Toyotomi was also enshrined in Kyoto at Toyokuni Shrine.

shg40

This is an Onusa, a purification wand used in all ceremonies.

shg42

There were several smaller shrines on the hillside, including this Inari Shrine.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Manhole Fish

dzm1

This is the manhole cover for Nishinoshima, one of the islands that make up the Oki Islands. I know a squid is not a fish, but its close enough.

A walk from Tsuwano to Masuda 7164

Masuda down in the southwest of Shimane has the Takatsu River and I'm guessing these are carp.

ys4

This is from Taki Town up in Izumo and its hard to tell from the design exactly which fish it is meant to be, could be flying fish or it could be an Orca.

miho6439

Fukuura is a village on the Shimane Peninsular and now a part of Mihonoseki. The fish is probably a Sea Bream (tai) as Kotoshironushi, popularly known as Ebisu, used to enjoy fishing for Tai here.

miho6479

The draincover for Mihonoseki also features the Tai.

kamate4983

Another one from Masuda, and these look like Ayu, called Sweetfish in English. The Takatsu River is a popular place fro Ayu fishing.

sh427

Not sure which town this belongs to, but it was on the banks of the Shimanto River in Ehime, Shikoku. They might also be Ayu.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Seamark Building

fuk657

The Seamark Building is located on Island City, a man-made island in Hakata Bay.

fuk655

It houses various offices and a "Cyber University".

fuk658

It was designed by architect Kojiro Kitagawa, who I have not come across before.

fuk737

It opened in 2008.

fuk668

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Vacation 2011 Day 4 Canary Wharf

lcw3810

For my last day in London I headed out to Canary Wharf. For a long time I had been wanting to photograph the Tube station there. It was a Saturday so not many people about.

lcw3830

Built on top of what was once dockland, Canary Wharf is home to the offices of gangsters and robber barons nowadays known as banks, insurance companies, and other "financial service companies".

lcw3854

Paying themselves huge sums of money for the privilege of gambling with other peoples money, if their gambles dont pay off they suck the public purse dry.

lcw3857

In keeping with their own high opinion of themselves they build huge palaces of steel and glass.

lcw3876

One security guard tried to tell me I couldnt photograph "his" building, which was simply not true. I checked the law beforehand and when I explained that to him he said if he called the police they would take my camera.

lcw3885

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Buddhas, Jizo, & other statues of Kunisaki 1

kuni8172

The Kunisaki peninsular is home to an uncountable number of buddhist statues, mostly made of stone.

kuni8124

Some are by the roadside, and some are in the grounds of temples, but many are at the sites frequented by Yamabushi, the mountain ascetics who lived and visited here.

kuni8134

Some are carved directly into the rock itself, but many are placed in the man-made caves that were used by the ascetics for their meditation practices.

kuni8137

There are a bewildering array of characters in the Buddhist pantheon. As well as various buddhas there are numerous bodhisatvas as well as saints, disciples, and other deities often derived from hindu deities.

kuni8152

Its only recently that I have started to visit buddhist sites, mainly for an interest in the statuary and other art.

kuni8153

I am beginning to recognize some of the figures, but the identity of others still eludes me.

kuni8160

It is my hope that one day I can return to kunisaki and follow the old pilgrim trail as there are for sure many wonders to be found off the beaten track.

kuni8167

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Tabira Church

shim139

Though it is located on the mainland of Nagasaki Prefecture, Tabira is included in the island Hirado.

shim142

Like many other churches in Nagasaki it was designed by Tetsukawa Yosuke.

shim136

Construction began in 1915, and the church was dedicated in 1918.

shim598

Built of brick, and using them decoratively, the church features an octagonal belfry and a lot of stanied glass and gold leaf.

shim133

Japan is trying to get the churches of Nagasaki listed as a World Heritage Site.

shim592

Monday, June 20, 2011

Izumoji Sainokami Shrine

shg26

The shrine is tucked away a little to the west of Shimogamo Shrine, though it was originally located on the bank of the Kamo River nearby.

shg27

The name refers to the old "road" to Izumo, and sainokami is a later name of dosojin, the phallic stones at roadsides and crossroads that were the site of spirit-pacification rites. Plagues travelled along the roads and were experienced as demons, so these sites were to protect from such demons.

shg28

The dosojin became associated with Sarutahiko, and he is the main kami enshrined here. Also enshrined is Uzume, his wife, Ninigi, who Sarutahiko guided down to earth, Okuninushi and Kotoshironushi, the Izumo kami, and several others.

shg29

Sarutahiko took on the visage of a monkey, hence the image on the numerous ema.

It is said that in olden days women who wanted a divorce would come here to pray.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Big Roof Kawara

ichiki6341

Kawara are ceramic rooftiles originally brought in from Korea to roof the first Buddhist temple in Japan in Asuka. Initially produced by immigrant artisans, they were only used on temples.

sail303

During the Heian Period is was stipulated that senior members of the court must roof their homes with them, but most people still used thatch or cedar-bark shingle until the Edo Period when mass production began.

sh9885

There are currently more than 1,000 different styles.

tera2465

The Iwami area and specifically Gotsu is a major producer of kawara, mostly in the distinctive red-earth color, though many colors are now available.

tad2367