Here are some pictures from Inuyama in Aichi prefecture, which we visited last month. By clicking on the spherical images, you can explore a fully immersive 360 degree view. Inuyama Castle is supposed to be the oldest castle in Japan: the original fort was built in 1440, and the current structure was completed in 1537. However as you can see from the scaffolding in the … [Read more...]
Kawai Kanjiro’s House
This is the house of Kawai Kanjiro, a legendary potter and a key figure in the mingei or Japanese folk art movement. His beautiful wooden townhouse has been preserved as a memorial run by his family. The building itself and the garden are wonderful, but you can also see here many of his works: ceramics, sculptures, and woodcarvings. His kilns are preserved at the back of the … [Read more...]
A Trip into the Past at Meiji Mura
In 2011 McKinsey & Company commisioned 80 writers and thinkers to contribute to an anthology rather grandly titled Reimagining Japan: The Quest for a Future that Works. I bought my own copy after browsing through it at Kansai Aiport and reading Alex Kerr's piece "Japan after People". His contribution was a wry form of dystopian projection that took various current trends, … [Read more...]
Ten Year Plan to Reafforest Kyoto’s Mount Ogura Goes Ahead
Good news today! The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) has thrown its weight behind a plan to restore the natural beauty of Kyoto's Ogurayama. The ten-year reafforestation project aims to undo the damage wrought by human neglect and the recent of blight of diseases that are killing off much of the native oaks and pines. Mount Ogura has been famed since Heian times as the … [Read more...]
Pine felling on Mount Ogura
Once again last Saturday I joined P.T.O. (People Together for Mt. Ogura) for another day of pine cutting on the summit of Mount Ogura. Above you can see a misty view of the Hozu river gorge. To the right of the view in the foreground is a pine tree that is completely brown. It has unfortunately succumbed to the pine disease that is killing so many trees not only on Mount Ogura … [Read more...]
October on Mount Ogura
On Saturday my colleague Chris Carver and I joined PTO for another day of conservation work on Mount Ogura. After a solid day of rain the day before I had fully expected Saturday's work to be cancelled, but the rain held off in the morning and the planned day of work went ahead. It was very humid up on those forested slopes, but we were fortunate with the weather as the next … [Read more...]
Hiking Along the Old Hozu River Towpath
Last Saturday I joined Stephen Gill and Okiharu Maeda of the conservation group P.T.O. for a hike along the Hozu River. The hike wasn't purely for the pleasure of getting out into the fresh country air though, Maeda-san and Mr. Gill were making a detailed report, with photographs of the exact location of trees on Mount Ogura that have been affected by a deadly oak disease. Even … [Read more...]
Music in a Bamboo Grove
Earlier today, I joined the conservation group P.T.O.'s activities in Arashiyama. We spent the morning preparing bamboo switches that will be used to repair the fences along the bamboo groves this autumn. These fences are important because they keep the wild boar out and prevent them from eating up all the new bamboo shoots in the spring. After we had finished our work we were … [Read more...]
Two Views from Yasaka Shrine…
...separated by time. Both images give us a "bronze lion's eye view" down Shijo as seen from the entrance to Yasaka Shrine. The first is a recent image painted by my hopelessly romantic friend Ichsan. Do please visit his website to see more of his wonderful paintings. This is the image of Gion with which we are familiar today. And now here is the same view, as it was … [Read more...]
The Artist Brian Williams
Last week I visited the artist Brian Williams at his studio, sat down for a chat and had a sneak preview of his upcoming exhibition at Kiyomizu Temple. Brian is due to have a special one night exhibit of his parabolic paintings this Saturday evening (May 14th) - the first time ever in 1200 years that any art has been exhibited on the famous Kiyomizu balcony. Brian is famous for … [Read more...]
Clearing up the Mountain
Lovely view, isn't it? Sadly, right below where I stood to take this picture there are piles of rubbish that people have illegally tipped down the wooded slopes of Mount Ogura. A lot of the discarded trash is domestic; buckets, bicycles, old refrigerators, motorbikes... But in this case a building company seems to have dumped some unwanted bags of cement. Perhaps they … [Read more...]
One Hundred Poets on Mount Ogura, One Poem Each
朝に夕 眺めし小倉の 山にきて 幼き頃の 山路楽しむ To Ogura I have come, the hill I have looked at every morning and eve: enjoying again it's mountain paths I once walked as a child (Yoshihiro Tsuchida from the collection One Hundred Poets on Mount Ogura, One Poem Each) In a previous post I wrote about the environmental action group P.T.O. (People Together for Mt. Ogura) and the … [Read more...]
People Together for Mt. Ogura – The Poets’ Mountain
...to feel the presence of this graceful Poet's Mount, we should go there. If possible, climb up a bit and take in the view. Listen, as the sounds of the city dwindle and those of nature take over. The trail at your feet will soon turn to earth and rock... - Stephen Gill For the last two weekends I've been taking part in conservation work with the environmental action group … [Read more...]
