Posted in architecture, art and photography, museums, news on Mar 28th, 2007 No Comments »
Ai-mitsu is one of the most tortured (and fascinating) Japanese painters from the middle of the last century - he died in China during the war. He is undeservedly unknown outside of Japan, so the Ai-Mitsu Exhibition starting March 30 in the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and lasting until May 27, is a […]
Posted in travel and places, kyoto on Mar 27th, 2007 No Comments »
Last weekend in central Kyoto we came across a stark white wall with black metal lanterns hanging in front of it. It appeared to belong to the dining bar and Japanese restaurant Rebirth. Unfortunately, we had no time to try it out…
Posted in travel and places, kyoto on Mar 26th, 2007 No Comments »
Yesterday at the end of the afternoon, when the weather all of a sudden became bright after a rainy day (something which reminded me of Holland), we climbed up to Suwayama Park above Yamamotodori, on the flank of Mt Rokko. The park was not much as there was nothing in bloom yet - it is […]
Posted in nature on Mar 26th, 2007 No Comments »
Yesterday I showed you a rather miserly sakura tree from Kobe - here is a much better one I saw today in the grounds of Osaka Castle, near the Nishinomaru Park. Unfortunately, it was the only one and it was surrounded by people taking its picture with their mobile cameras!
Posted in travel and places, gardens on Mar 26th, 2007 No Comments »
The best Japanese-style garden in Kobe is Sorakuen, established by a former mayor of the city, Mr Kodera. It is a typical stroll garden with a central pond, but characteristic and not wholly traditional are the huge sotetsu trees standing along the path that leads into the garden - sotetsu are tropical trees, in English […]
Posted in news on Mar 25th, 2007 No Comments »
This morning at 9:42 there was a rather large earthquake on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture (near Kanazawa). I visited this area last September (see my introduction of the region) and was shocked to learn about the quake this evening when I read the news on the internet. I hope all the friendly people […]
Posted in nature on Mar 25th, 2007 No Comments »
Spring is finally here. The last few weeks were unexpectedly cold, but although rainy, this weekend the temperature rose to a more agreeable level and… the first sakura in Kobe started budding on this small tree a block away from where I live. Just a simple beginning of spring, but from now on it will […]
Posted in travel and places, temples, kyoto on Mar 20th, 2007 No Comments »
Now overrun by young crowds, the Shinkyogoku area originally was temple land: in the late 16th century Hideyoshi, in his remaking of the city, moved two temples, Seiganji and Konrenji here (Konrenji has since moved again). The area became a “town in front of the temple gate”, with theaters and teahouses and that is how […]
Posted in crafts, travel and places, museums, news on Mar 19th, 2007 No Comments »
March is the time of dolls (hina ningyo, the dolls for Girl’s Day) in Japan and there are four ongoing exhibitions in Kyoto:
At the Kyoto National Museum “Girl’s Day and Dolls” (until April 8);
At Hokyoji Imperial Convent the annual spring exhibition, this year for the 100th time (until April 3; take bus no. 9 from […]
Posted in culture, religion and philosophy, intercultural on Mar 19th, 2007 1 Comment »
At the rear of a building at the crossroads between Nakayamatedori and Kitanodori, in central Kobe, a metal fence is opened every night to reveal a peculiar stone statue. The figure is lighted up which makes it even more eerie. A plaque at the back tell that this is a good luck deity called “biriken.”
[Billiken […]
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