1. Here are two highly recognizable traditional Japanese elements, the sliding panels called fusuma and tatami floor mats.
2. A private guest house at Yagyunosho looks like my next vacation accommodations.
3. I really like this garden at Tofuku-ji in Kyoto. It looks like a model.
4. Here's something you don't see everyday, and I'm not talking about the deer. This structure is one of the oldest wooden buildings still standing in the world, Todai-ji in Nara Prefecture.
5. Washitsu is the term for traditional interiors. This is a gorgeous sample at an unknown location, which is probably just as well or I'd be trying to move in on unsuspecting homeowners.
6. Here's the Yugao-tei tea house in Kanazawa. A cup of green tea sounds mighty fine right about now, if you ask me.
7. These ornate screens are called kin-busuma (golden fusuma). Have you wondered yet why the spaces don't showcase furniture? Japanese dwellings, particularly in past eras, did not have rooms dedicated to specific functions such as Westerners are accustomed. A bedroll might be stored away and replaced by a table, for example.
8. This might be familiar to world travelers. It's the Ginkaku-ji Zen temple in Kyoto. I understand that "-ji" designates a building's status as temple.
9. Here's another classic, a 7th century pagoda and kon-dō (main shrine of a Buddhist compound) in Nara. I can't wrap my head around a structure surviving even a fraction of that time.
10. Here is a Kyomachiya Ryokan guest room. Panels can open right to the garden. Apparently, insects aren't a terrible problem. I like that idea.
11. This is the Mutsukaze Ryokan, which looks to have very cozy bedding. It makes me want to take a nap.
12. There's nothing like fall foliage, especially outside the Tanzan Shrine, Nara Prefecture. I'd never heard of Nara before doing this research. Now I might make a point of seeing the area.
13. This is actually a tea garden in San Francisco. I missed this on my visit years ago and need to back for it!
Oh, I've actually visited the tea garden in San Francisco and had tea there. It was fun.
ReplyDeleteThe buildings look so elegant and graceful. It's hard to believe #4 is so old.
I miss the tea garden in SF. It's so beautiful there you'd never know it's in a busy metropolis.
ReplyDeleteAwesome pictures and I love the different aspects of Japanese culture you've shown here. Gorgeous.
I love #12. It looks like such a nice place to sit and enjoy tea.
ReplyDeleteOur botanic gardens in town have a Japanese garden and tea house - they're gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm too Western for the bedroll concept, though.
I have to say, I absolutely adore Japanese architecture and landscaping. Awesome pictures, I especially like 1, 5, 8 and 10.
ReplyDeleteEverything is so precise. No clutter whatsoever. Thanks for the pics. Happy T13!
ReplyDeleteI love Japanese gardens and Ikebana floral arrangements.
ReplyDeleteI got to go to the Japanese tea garden in SF when I was twelve with my 6th grade class. I'd love to go again. :)
ReplyDeleteJanice~