The Mainichi web site has recently published an interview with Murakami Haruki in five parts, about his inspiration in American literature, his translation work, his upcoming new novel, and the situation in the world: one, two, three, four, five.
Test your poetic inspiration by participating in the 12th Mainichi Haiku Contest.
The Japan Times feautures an interview […]
Read Full Post »
In the past I have written a post about “lists of three bests” in Japan, based on a huge list I found on the Japanese Wikipedia. But also the English Wikipedia has a page called “List of Records of Japan.”
It contains a mix of both national records and world records. I have picked out 10 […]
Read Full Post »
The title says it all: this is a museum about the ancient Sayama Irrigation Pond (the oldest in the country) and the most important exhibit is a huge slice of mud of the dam built to create the reservoir 1,400 years ago (and enlarged over the centuries). This mud wall (62 meters long and 15 […]
Read Full Post »
Japan Newbie has a nice piece on a kushikatsu restaurant in Juuso, Osaka, run by an elderly couple. The cook wears berets and the wife is extremely forgetful, but the taste is great.
The New York Times features Mori Minoru of Roppongi Hills fame in The Builder Who Pushes Tokyo Into the Clouds. Yes, Mr Mori […]
Read Full Post »
Sometimes buildings can be lost so thoroughly that you would never suspect their original existence. I am not talking about your favorite restaurant in Tokyo that has suddenly disappeared. Another one will take its place. Much more serious of the loss of things that cannot be replaced.
I am referring to the Taitokuin Mausoleum in Shiba, […]
Read Full Post »
There is nothing more soothing than the fragrance of fresh, new tatami. In my first flat in Kyoto, I had several tatami rooms, and used to stretch out on the floor to inhale the smell…
Unfortunately, since then I have only lived in western-style apartments and houses. My dream is that my next place will […]
Read Full Post »
Do old superstitions still influence our modern lives? Are you afraid of the Devil Gate?
In ancient Japan (and even to some extent in modern Japan) certain directions were considered as negative and especially the northeast - called Devil Gate - was seen as a quarter from which demons could assault you.
We are in the realm […]
Read Full Post »
The British newspaper The Independent has undertaken a survey into the relative status of national (and regional) capitals. Tokyo scores fourth overall, behind London (surprise, the home ground of the newspaper), New York and Paris. It is therefore the capital of Asia!
But contenders are giving chase at high speed: Peking, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong […]
Read Full Post »
When I first saw elevator testing towers in Japan (one stands next to the Hankyu line between Osaka and Kyoto) I first wondered what these ungainly, eye-sore contraptions were for.
I found out years ago: they are for testing elevators and always stand inside an elevator factory of companies as Hitachi or Fujitec.
Mitsubishi Electric makes elevators […]
Read Full Post »
Kyoto is often seen as purely a historical city for tourists. Indeed, when you sit in a quiet Zen garden you tend to forget that it is also a hothouse of advanced research and industry.
That was already so in the past. In the last 30 years of the 19th century, after the capital was transferred […]
Read Full Post »
With sadness we note the passing of Clifton Karhu on March 24 at age 79, the great American-born blockprint artist who made Kyoto his home. Karhu’s prints are known for their strong lines and vivid colors and his themes pay tribute to the beauty of Japan’s old capital. Norman Tolman, founder of the Tolman Collection […]
Read Full Post »
There is not much to see in literature museums, but in the case of the Kamakura Museum of Literature you come for the great house and spacious garden. A Western-style villa right in the middle of the old warrior capital! The art deco manor was built in 1936 by the Maeda family, who had been […]
Read Full Post »
As a “Kyotophile” I am glad to read in the Asahi that the Kyoto city government has decided to tighten building rules. For parts of central Kyoto this is already too late, but prevention of further damage is welcome. The proposed new rules:
Building height for new buildings will go down from 45 to 31 meters.
Flashing […]
Read Full Post »
Traditional Japanese houses, or minka, are something I am very fond of. My dream is to live in one in the future! For now, I have to do with open-air museums, and that is not so bad, as there are beautiful traditional houses in parks like the Japan Open-Air Folk-house Museum in Kawasaki, the Shikoku […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Architecture, Fun, Tokyo on Oct 25th, 2006 No Comments »
What is the largest building in Tokyo? You never would guess: the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway! This concrete monster on heavy pillars is now about 280 kilometers long and crawls like a mighty dinosaur through the metropolis. It runs along the third or fourth story of buildings, stamps on high legs through Tokyo’s pityful canals, splits […]
Read Full Post »
Omotesando is the name of the tree-lined avenue leading up to the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. It is the most fashionable part of Tokyo and also features the highest number of shops by famous fashion designers; adjacent Harajuku is the fountain of youth culture. Omotesando is a place often crowded with photographers trying to capture […]
Read Full Post »
The Himeji Museum of Literature is a case of a Japanese museum where the building is much more impressive than what it contains. But as that building is one of the masterpieces of modern architect Ando Tadao, it certainly is worth a visit, if only for the architecture. There are many literature museums in Japan […]
Read Full Post »
After writing my A New Victory about the Narita temple, I found the article Naritasan Shinshoji and Commoner Patronage During the Edo Period on the web, written by Patricia J. Graham of the University of Kansas.
I encourage you to read the whole article, but here are a few points I have picked up in addition […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Architecture, Tokyo on Jul 31st, 2006 No Comments »
In Europe you will not easily find any imposing skylines (but we have those cosy red-tiled roofs), while in Asia skyscrapers are shooting up one after another. Italian Luigi Diserio has made a list of his 15 favorite skylines and no wonder that 6 of the 10 best ones can be found in Asia.
No. 1 […]
Read Full Post »
In the Middle Ages, all Japanese cities imitated the then capital Kyoto, which resulted in a large number of “small Kyoto’s,” as lovely Tsuwano; in the Edo-period, the model was Edo, so we have numerous small Edo’s as, for example, Kawagoe. Now the model is Tokyo and all cities in Japan seem bent on imitating […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Architecture, Art, Tokyo on Jun 28th, 2006 No Comments »
A new design center (21_21 design Sight) is now under construction at Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi and if you look at the big names of the participants it promises to be very exciting when it opens in 2007. For starters, the architect is Tadao Ando, who continues to delight us, as with his recent Chichu […]
Read Full Post »
The Ginza, Japan’s major upscale shopping district is full of interesting galleries and design shops as well. On Gridskipper I found this suggestion for a design tour through the area, from the Ginza Graphic gallery to the International Forum.
[Inside the huge hall of the Tokyo International Forum. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Some Ginza suggestions (non-design) I […]
Read Full Post »
