Scrap Book

I have been writing every day about some specific thing, which has meant that there is a lot that does not get said.  I wanted to take this morning to post some images that are not necessarily connected, but that are pretty cool.  So here we go, starting with an image from Honganji, a temple that is the largest wooden structure in Japan.  They need a lot of fire extinguishers.

A really nice bench.  Super simple but quite lovely:

Used book store in Kyoto.  So lovely.  The books are stitched, but with paper covers.  I just love them.

Not sure what this box is for, but I love the curves in the handle.  Probably will make one of these at some point.

Creative re-use is everywhere here.  This is a particularly nice one.

I find the smooth plaster wall dying right into the curve of the wood to be so pleasing.  It enhances both the smoothness of the wall and the organic shape of the column.

Sweeping up bamboo leaves at a Zen temple.  As one does.

Some exquisite drawings on a screen in Katsura.  This one is for Jaime especially.  I wish you could see some of these drawings, photos don't do them justice.

Bibs on Buddhas at Kiyomizu-dera.  All the Buddhas are wearing bibs this year, apparently...

A lovely, simple, effective fence, and made easily from bamboo.  Pretty great idea.  I am storing it here so that I can remember to do this.

A terrible photo of a really wacky place:  We went here with our students.  If you want, you can sit on the boat and fish off the side and then they will cook what you catch.  Osaka is full of weird stuff like this.  We did not have that kind of patience, but wow.  Just wow.

A really nice square-link chain around a memorial in Osaka.

This wood finish is ubiquitous here in older villages.  The wood is scorched, which stabilises it and makes it weather proof.  It is a very cool finish, and looks great next to the window grill.  It is a smart way to weatherise your house, and does not cost any money for paint.

Once again, being smart:  these are little paper filters that you can use to make real coffee in your hotel room.  These were at Benesse House.  Pity they make the coffee taste terrible.  But still, a really good idea!

On Teshima Island, an art installation in a bamboo forest.  I went down to the end, where there arethe  ruins of an old farm house.  Just the hearth, really, and a bit of the foundation.  There is no signage, and nothing to indicate why that site was chosen.  Also it is really creepy.  Beautiful, but man, it creeped me right the heck out.

Lovely wabi-sabi on a chain at Teshima harbor.

We are in Kobe for one night only, and this is a wedding chapel attached to our hotel.  No, really.  Western style weddings are all the rage here, there is a bridal shop in our hotel as well.  But check this joint out:  blue lit runway for the bride, and a skylight so you can see Kobe Tower, a great big, lit-up steel and glass phallus, just so there is no ambiguity about expectations.  When Karen and I renew our vows I want to do it here.  Holy cow.

So there are some unconnected images, things that did not make it into other posts.  There are more, of course, over a thousand and counting, but this will do for now.  Today we visit the Takenaka Carpentry Tool Museum, and holy god will I write about that tomorrow!