eye

museo y arquitectura

eye lo descubrió en enero de 2013

HIROSHI SUGIMOTO

The Izu Photo Museum is part of the Clematis no Oka, a beautiful complex that combines art and nature at the slow pace of the hills of mount Takayama. It is a very understated yet beautiful building where every detail has been designed with the light touch of an intrinsically Japanese manner. The building feels like a journey, a story told through a series of spaces, and gardens that interlink naturally, unpretentiously , allowing the exhibition to talk to the visitor without interruption. The subtlety of details contributes to the overall experience. The display walls, for instance, appear suspended, as supporting structure is painted in black and the white boards do not not touch the floor which lowers its edge as a contribution to the overall effect. The gardens act as pauses in the journey. They are windows to places one wants to stop and contemplate, reminiscent of those photographies that Hiroshi Sugimoto took at the New York Natural History Museum.

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christo

eye lo descubrió en abril de 2013

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eye lo descubrió en febrero de 2013

is a lively restaurant in a small house at the end of a stone footpath. It serves nouvelle delicacies like grilled Japanese yam and yolk with bonito flakes (630 yen, $5.15 at 124 yen to the dollar), and potato dumplings stuffed with scallops and served with a wood-ear crab sauce (630 yen). Dinner for two with sake runs about 5,000 yen.

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Window seat reservations are essential

eye lo descubrió en febrero de 2013

In Tokyo, exteriors can be deceiving. Take Yui-an, an outstanding izakaya built on the 52nd floor of a boring looking office building. The interior is sleek and sophisticated, all polished woods, artfully placed bamboo and low lighting, designed not to distract from the floor-to-ceiling views of the twinkling cityscape below. The food is also surprising, good value à la carte options include three coloured tofu (£4.20) and Yuba spring rolls of chicken breast fillet and cheese (£3.40).

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eye lo descubrió en febrero de 2013

https://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/sankan/servlet/recept/initPlace

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Katsura Imperial Villa - 桂離宮 (built 1620-1663, minor construction later)

The Katsura palace (Katsura Rikyū) is a pivotal work of Japanese Architecture, often described as the "quintessence of Japanese taste." First revealed to the world by Bruno Taut, the great German architect, in the early twentieth century, Katsura stunned the architectural community of the West. Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, pillars of the Modernist establishment, were fascinated by Katsura's "modernity." They saw in its orthogonal and modular spaces, devoid of decoration, clear parallels to contemporary Modernism, going so far as to laud Katsura as a "historical" example of Modernity.

But this approach obscures a deeper understanding. Though the interior of the palace resembles a Mondrian painting at first glance, the designers of course had no such intention. What the Modernists admire in Katsura does not represent an early indictment of ornament, but is rather the deeply personal reaction of its designer, Prince Toshihito, to the social currents of his age.

Katsura's prestige is not lost on contemporary Japan. Unlike most of historic Kyoto, the government tightly controls access to Katsura. Special permission to visit must be obtained in advance through the Imperial Household Agency, the office in charge of the Emperor's affairs. Unfortunately, we did not know this ahead of time and were not allowed inside. Even those who get permission are not allowed to take photographs or venture into the palace.

The above photos are a 1/100 model of Katsura's interior space built by Timothy M. Ciccone, the author. It was on display at the University of Virginia's Weedon Exhibition in February 1999. The scale of the model is 1:100.

Katsura was built in the 17th century, but its origins extend back to the Heian Era a thousand years ago, when Kyoto was known as Heian-Kyo. Around 978 a woman wrote the first novel in recorded history, the Tale of Genji, which chronicles the life of an ideal courtier and his romantic liaisons around the capital. The book gained enormous popularity through the centuries, becoming standard among the 17th century aristocracy. At that time the Togukawa Shogunate was busy consolidating its power, arrogating political control to itself at the expense of the nobles. To keep the aristocracy entertained and out of trouble, the Shogunate encouraged the nobles to pursue lives of cultivated leisure. Blocked from political participation, both the aristocracy and the Emperor diverted themselves with cultural pastimes: poetry, painting, calligraphy, tea, etc., etc.

Prince Toshihito, the founder of Katsura, was born in 1579. He was a younger brother of the Emperor Goyozei. At an early age the boy was briefly adopted by the national unifier Hideyoshi Toyotomi as a son and heir, but separated from this relationship after Hideyoshi sired his own. Toshihito, as a prince, became the head of a new line called the Hachijo family, but it was a rather poor branch without much resources. To improve this situation, it was proposed in 1615 that he marry Sen-Hime, the widow of the second Togukawa shogun, but little interest was shown by both parties. Instead, he took a wife from the Miyazu family, a dignified but not particularly wealthy family, winning the marginal income of 3,000 koku per year (about 15,000 bushels of rice).

The Prince was never fascinated by ostentatious wealth. From an early age he showed great interest in the Tale of Genji and other literature. When some land along the south bank of the Katsura River passed into his hands, he was no doubt aware of the literary significance. In the chapter of the Tale of Genji entitled "The Wind in the Pines" it is written:

Far away, in the country village of Katsura, the reflection of the moon upon the water is clear and tranquil.

Possessing the exact spot of land mentioned in his favorite book, the Prince set about constructing a villa modeled on the pond gardens of the Tale of Genji. Katsura also figured in other ancient literature. The Prince probably knew that at one time a graceful mansion stood at the spot, modeled on the villa of the Tang poet Po Chu-i. Using both of these as a precedent, he set about constructing his own villa.

The limited resources of the Prince compelled him to exercise restraint and fiscal discipline. Accordingly, the first Katsura Villa seems to have been little more than "a teahouse in the melon patch"--for most of the area had given over to melon fields. But by June, 18, 1620 the Prince had made enough of an impression that he wrote in his diary: "Shimo Katsura teahouse built. Guests come often." By June 18, 1624, the Prince had apparently devoted considerably more of his scant resources, for the records of the Shokokuji temple mention that

hills have been formed and a pond dug in the middle of the garden. There are boats in the pond, bridges over it, and pavilions around it. From the pavilions the view of the mountains in all directions is superb.

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eye lo descubrió en febrero de 2013

orientalarchitecture.com/japan/kyoto/tofukuji_gallery.php?p=tofu...

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el jardin seco zen

eye lo descubrió en febrero de 2013

asiawelcome.com/JapaneseGardens03.html

Kare-san-sui (dry garden) or Zen-niwa. It is the most abstract form of the Japanese Garden forms and they are typically found in Zen monasteries. In these Zen temples the gardens took on a very simple form - raked sand to represent the ocean and stones to represent gods, mountains or animals.

Ryogen-in, a temple of the Daitoku-ji Buddhist complex, was constructed in 1502. There are five gardens adjoining the abbot's residence, the most famous of which is the Ryogintei, a rectangle of moss and stones viewed from the veranda of the abbot's house. The group of stones in the center of the garden is thought to represent Mt. Horai, the mythical home of Taoist immortals.

This was the dry garden (Karesansui) full of symbolism where the monks spent many hours in meditation seeking enlightenment from the stone and the sand (Ryogen-in temple garden).

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quizá el jardin mas bello de la tierra

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