Thursday 26 November 2015

The impact of one man, take 2; the wheel in Japan

In Hakone Shelley and I researched and found the mysterious and ancient old Tokkaido Road when we spent the weekend in Hakone. These are the remains of the main road artery that traversed Japan. This section was the most heavily travelled section between Kyoto, where the emperor resided, and Edo (Tokyo) where the Shogun resided. We were thrilled to discover this on the map so we decided to hike the trail (in the rain of course!).

We were immediately struck by the work put into this road. You could clearly see the side channels for the water run-off:



But we were surprised to see the surface texture of the road:



We thought about walking on the weathered stones of Roman roads around the Mediterranean where all of the joints are carefully linked for a smooth surface. The surfaces were so well connected you could still see the cart wheel grooves warn into this surface after so many years of travel.

We were surprised to see how the road basically went straight up the slope at a very steep gradient with no switchbacks:



The whole hike we kept wondering about the engineering of this road. Our first thought was that the surface was weathered and therefore was rough, but how would that explain the sharp stones with no flat edges on most of the surface? How on earth could a carriage go up and down this road?

Considering that this was a main thoroughfare we found the surface extremely challenging to walk on increased by the slippery surfaces due to the rain. It actually felt quite hazardous. How could crowds of people travel over this road?

Upon our return from the hike I did some research about the era during which this road was built and I learned some amazing things about the impact of one man... again. Enter Tokugawa Ieyasu one of the greatest Shoguns in Japanese history. At the beginning of the 17th century he was able to unite the entire Japanese islands under one leader (himself) after hundreds of years of bitter civil war. He was the subject of James Clavell`s book Shogun. His unification of Japan brought on one of the Edo period which was one of relative peace, tremendous cultural growth and is still seen by many as the peak of Japanese history.



What was fascinating was to read how he maintained the military superiority to keep Japan united. He mandated a huge series of edicts that prescribed everything from dress, to class, to transportation for all Japanese.

One of the things he mandated was to ban the wheel!!! There used to be carts in Japan but they were banished.



Seen from a defensive perspective this ensured that more people were kept busy at work and that it was much harder to travel; good for the stability of the empire. This is one of the reason the Japanese were so surprised by trains/cars/wagons etc. in the 1800s. There were no wheeled vehicles in Japan at that time!

He also built roads that were steep and difficult to walk on... to DECREASE the amount of travel. Too many people travelling meant too much risk of attack.

Read more of the background about these amazing edicts here. We kept thinking about how these edicts changed that society and what impact they had right up to today as we seek to understand the Japanese culture. Wow!



The Tokugawa era:



One of my next reads:




Art in the park; a surprise for us again

Shelley and I slipped away from Tokyo for another journey into rural but busy Japan. This time we headed to Hakone, a destination for Gaijin (foreigners) and westernised Japanese since the turn of the century. Once again we went, despite the weather, knowing that an umbrella is an all-purpose tool in this country essential to any outing.

Once again we were totally surprised and amazed by the art collections found in so many of the cities we go to. This one was the Hakone Open Air museum which we had never heard of so we wandered in with few expeditions. Well... once again this was an OMG moment for us, even though it was pouring rain.



A sumptuous rolling park of manicured trees, shrubs, water falls lawns and streams interspersed with the most astounding variety of world class sculptures and collections. Sprinkled around the landscaping there are sculptures of Rodin, of Calder, of Nikki St. Phalle and on and on, including a magnificent collection of Picasso pottery and paintings. Click here for a description. Who would have thought?

There was a separate building for the Picasso collection:



Along the paths...



Blowing in the wind...



What is up?



Or not...



Nikki St. Phalle, one of our favourites, "Black Power"



And an extensive collection of Henry Moore's work



And a six story stained glass tower with a circular staircase inside to fully appreciate the details:



Check out some of the details:



This society clearly values art in its' many forms and has many facilities to share this art with the public in beautiful settings.






Thursday 12 November 2015

Introducing Shelley to the Tokyo Islands




Come and join us for a quick trip around some of the beautiful Tokyo Islands. Last time I was here I was on my own because Shelley had returned to Canada to be with Helene. Recently we had the opportunity to travel there together. I created a special slide show using Google Plus. Click here to view the show.

Takashi Murukami ( the Japanese Andy Warhol) and his 500 Arhats

During our stay here in Japan we keep stumbling on the 500 Arhats... literally. We have stumbled on 500 Arhats carved out of stone:

Daien-ji Shrine Tokyo

Daien-ji Shrine Tokyo

 as well as carved out of wood:

Gohyaku Rakan-ji Tokyo

Gohyaku Rakan-ji Tokyo

Gohyaku Rakan-ji Tokyo



As we see examples of these statues carved by a single monk as a statement of faith in various temples throughout our travels we have been more and more fascinated by this tradition. Each Arhat is highly individual with a whole range of expressions from humour, to reverence to mischief. Many of these 500 Arhats collections have been carved by one monk over a period of many many years as a spiritual quest. If you click here you can read more about this practice. 

Enter Takashi Murukami known as the Japanese answer to Andy Warhol: 


and his amazing 500 Arhat exhibit at the Mori museum (on the 53rd floor of Roppongi Tower just to add to the excitement!) Click here to see the Japan Times article on this. 

Once again, being complete ignorant of so much in Japan, we were blown away by Murukami`s work. This is a modern Japanese artist who has totally integrated the ancient Japanese beliefs and ezthtics and given them an entirley new face to share with the world. The exhibit starts with a series of his paintings that he created in response to a ancient classical literary treasures. In the Edo period this was a game that had on Samurai read a poem while the competitor would respond visually with calligraphy or art. In the same way Murukami responded with a whole series of incredibly creative responses. 

From this start he went on to create the largest painting in the world with his 500 Arhats as an artist` response to the devastation caused by the tsunami and earthquake in Fukushima. Re-creating the Renaissance concept of an art studio he hired several hundred bright young artists to help him complete his project. Like the wooden Arhats, EACH Arhat was researched, given a diffeent personality and given appropriate symbolism. After 2 years of intense work he and his team created a brilliant blend of ancient Buddhist come Dr. Zeus imaginary that is breath-taking. These photographs are meant to convey not only the broad power of this huge painting but also the details of each individual Arhat.
Enjoy!

 







The exhibit also included some of his other very striking and powerful imagery that he has developed over his career.




And then, of course, we needed to sit outside for awhile and debrief sitting on this beautiful public art:



And to really digest the experience at a cool French creperie discovered at random in a back alley:



Ah yes... another AMAZING day in Tokyo!