Sunday, June 17, 2012

Iconic Pumpkins


n529

The tiny island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea between Okayama and Kagawa is known internationally as an "Art Island" thanks to the Benesse Corporation who have built numerous museums, hotel/museums, and various other art projects and public art on the island.

n497

One sculpture in particular is now so well known that it is the icon for the island itself, Yellow Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama,  a fibreglass sculpture sitting on the end of a small  quay on the islands south shore since 1994 is now seen in almost all the advertising for the island and miniature copies of it are for sake everywhere.

n502

Born in Nagano in 1929, and now 83 years old Yayoi Kusama is now recognized as one of Japans most important twentieth century artists and has influenced such famous artists as Andy warhol and Claus Oldenburg.

n501

Quite probably it is the most-photographed artwork on the island.

n715

In 2006 Red Pumpkin was installed in the main harbor of the island where ferries from the mainland and Shikoku arrive.

n717

Its much larger than Yellow Pumpkin and like a piece of playground equipment one can climb inside the sculpture. Colored lights in the floor intereact with the polka dot patterns of sunlight streaming in through openings in the sculpture.

n720

Friday, June 15, 2012

Vacation 2011 Day 16 Over the Atlas to Marrakesh


j5225

Heading back to Marrakesh by car after 10 days trekking, we retraced our route down the "Valley of the Roses". Some of the country reminded me very much of the Colorado Plateau in the SW U.S.

j5232

We then followed the Dades Valley known as "the valley of a Thousand Kasbahs" for obvious reasons.

j5256

After Ouarzazate we headed north into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. The day we drove here the weather was overcast and rainy, but on this return journey we had good weather to the colors and shadows made it far more photogenic.

j5264

It was a long, slow , climb up the winding road that switchbacks its way to the pass. I recently watched an old B&W French movie about truckers in this part of Morroco and much of it was filmed on this road. Other than a bit more traffic and the fact that now it is tarmaced, nothing else has changed since it was filmed.

j5266

After lunch at the pass we started down to the plain below. This side of the Atlas is greener with more settlements. Parts of it looked just like the red-rock country around Sedona (without mosques :))

j5272

Late afternoon saw us arriving back in Marrakesh and Hotel Ali. After 10 days in the desert the noise and crowds of Marrakesh were too much for me so I spent the evening in the refuge of my room....

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Kotohira


h8209

The draincover for the town of Kotohira in Kagawa on Shikoku, depicts pilgrims ascending the steps of Konpira-san.

h8221

Known also as Kotohira-gu, or simply Konpira Shrine, it was a major pilgrimage site with millions coming from all over Japan.

h8220

In total there are 1,368 steps to reach the highest shrine, but the vast majority nowadays only climb to the main shrine at 785 steps.

h8243

Most of the way up is lined with souvenir shops and eating establishments.

h8262

From the main shrine there are expansive views and I imagine the views from the top must be more impressive.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Sun Hiroba


kobe8241

Sun Hiroba is the name of the atrium-like space in the middle of the Kobe Fashion Plaza complex.

kobe8232

It's 50 meters across and rises to a height of 40 meters.

kobe8237

The Kobe fashion Plaza was designed by Showa Sekkei and opened in 1997.

kobe8244

It is located on Rokko Island, the largest man-made island off Kobe.

kobe8231

Friday, June 1, 2012

Shikoku 88 Temple 11 Fujiidera


h225

The first ten temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage are all on the north side of the Yoshino River. Temple 11, Fujiidera (which means Wisteria Temple) is the first one south of the river.

h226

Reputedly founded by Kukai, the temple was converted to a Rinzai Zen temple in the Edo Period and is one of only 3 Zen temples on the 88 temple pilgrimage.

h227

The main deity is Yakushi Nyorai and legend says Kukai carved the wooden statue (honzon) though historical evidence suggests otherwise. Like most temple, it has suffered repeated fires, but the honzon has always survived unscathed and so the temple has a reputation as offering protection from disaster.

h229

From here its is a steep, long climb up into the mountains to temple 12.

h233

Monday, May 28, 2012

Another Blue Hanya Mask


bh1338

Just shipped off a couple of new masks today. This is the fourth Blue Hanya I've sold and am quite pleased as it is an original design of mine.

bh1337

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Yet More Nio of Kunisaki


kuni8431

Continuing with my cataloging of the Nio found in the Kunisaki Peninsular of northern Kyushu. Nio, temple guardians, ar nowadays found only at temples whereas before the separation of buddhas and kami, shinbutsu bunri, of early Meiji they could be found at many shrines as well. The Nio of Kunisaki are unusual in two ways, one they are made of stone rather than the usual wood, and second that they are still found guarding shrines.

kuni8432

These first two are at Hie Shrine, a branch of the shrine complex below Mt Hie and Enraykuji. The kunisaki area is home to a version of shugendo that was based on tendai buddhism from Enryakuji so its not surprising to find a Hie Shrine here.

kuni8439

When we came upon these next two Yoko remarked that they looked like they were talking on cellphones and now I cant get that image out of my head.........

kuni8440

They are standing guard at Tawara Wakamiya Shrine. We chatted with an old gentleman who was tidying the shrine grounds and he very kindly unlocked the shrines office/meeting room and showed us the shrines "treasures", a great collection of old masks....

kuni8449

There was also this pair of small wooden nio in a style quite unlike anything Ive seen before.....

kuni8450

The shrine was home to an old buddhist painting but it has been removed to a museum.

kuni8466

This final Nio is on the steps to Shirahige Tahara Shrine, a branch of the main Shirahige Shrine located on the shore of Lake Biwa not far from Hie. It enshrines a Korean "king" who settled the area around Mt. Hie and lake Biwa.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

A Walk from Honshu to Shikoku Day 2 (afternoon)


s146

After crossing the Tatara Bridge the Shimanami kaido runs down the SE edge of Omishima. Omishima is the biggest of the islands on the route, and there is plenty to see around the island, but I had been here a month or two earlier so this time I decided to press on and try to get to the next island, Hakatajima, to spend the night.

s149

On calm, sunny days, of which there are plenty in the Inland Sea, the sea is really quite beautiful. There are just a few small fishing harbors on this part of the island.

s154

Omishima and Hakatajima are quite close together, so no suspension bridge is needed. The arch bridge was the first of the bridges to be built on the Shimanami kaido, opening to traffic in 1979, and at that time was the longest arch bridge in Japan with a span of 297 meters. There are a few minshuku on Hakatajima, and I was hoping to rent a room for the night, but I had no luck, not because they were full but because they were empty and didnt want to open at such short notice for just one customer, so I replenished my supplies at the conbini and headed the short distance to the next bridge to try and find somewhere to sleep out.

s166

Hakatajima connects to the last island Ohshima by two bridges. The first reaches to a tiny uninhabited island called Michika Island and there is an exit from the bridge for pedestrians and cyclists because there is a campsite down on a small beach. The campsite was closed and no-one else was on the island so I set up camp in a roofed picnic area right on the highest point of the island. I spent the last hour or so of the day relaxing, eating, and drinking as I took in the great views of the sunset....

s184

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Garden at Kannon-in

Kannon-in Garden in Tottori

The main reason to visit Kannon-in, a Tendai Temple in Tottori City, is for the garden.

Kannon-in Garden in Tottori

The garden took ten years to build, beginning in 1650, 11 years after the temple was rebuilt on this site.

Kannon-in Garden in Tottori

It is a "Chisenkansho-shiki" style of garden which roughly translates as "pond viewing garden", and is meant to be viewed from a fixed viewpoint, not strolled around in.

Kannon-in Garden in Tottori

The viewpoint at Kannon-in is from the veranda of the study hall.

Kannon-in Garden in Tottori

The 600yen entrance fee includes a green tea to enjoy while contemplating the view.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Ichibacho Hachimangu


h209

Ichibacho, which means "market town", is located on the north of the Yoshino River in Tokushima. The village around the shrine is named Yawata, another way of reading Hachiman, and is an example of a place being named after the shrine.

h211

Its a fairly standard village Hachiman Shrine, and unfortunately there was no signboard so I have no information on its history or any of the other kami enshrined there in secondary shrines.

h210

There were some nice big paintings in the main hall, nicely weathered.....

h205

Strangest thing of all were these masks. Never seen anything like them before. None of the locals I asked had any idea what there were about....