DMJAPAN

Japanese Garden

2009-05-09T15:03:00.001+09:00

Shrine

2009-05-09T14:55:00.001+09:00

Yama

2009-05-09T14:46:00.001+09:00

Seiichi Fujimoto

2009-05-09T14:08:00.003+09:00

Seiichi Fujimoto is a freelance graphic designer. In 2007 he designed this calculator, which won a Good Design Award in Japan and is now avaible to buy in MoMA. His design beat that of Naoki Fukasawa, head of product design for MUJI.

Camping

2009-05-09T13:59:00.001+09:00

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+44 (0) 7713 640 543
www.dannymcneil.com

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DMJAPAN
http://dm--japan.blogspot.com/
-A blog document a trip to Japan
made between April and May 2009
with a focus on visual culture.

Street

2009-05-09T13:58:00.003+09:00

··
+44 (0) 7713 640 543
www.dannymcneil.com

··
DMJAPAN
http://dm--japan.blogspot.com/
-A blog document a trip to Japan
made between April and May 2009
with a focus on visual culture.

Shojin Ryori

2009-05-09T13:58:00.001+09:00

Rice

2009-05-09T13:56:00.003+09:00

Cafe 8

2009-05-09T13:54:00.004+09:00

The tip off from Sunplaza was very useful - www.vegetokyo.com - lists all totally vege or vege-friendly cafe, bars and resturants in Tokyo. From the list we visited Cafe 8, a totally vegetarian restaurant in Naka Meguro. I had (tofu) steak. Very good.

Shinkansen

2009-05-09T13:54:00.003+09:00

Gallery of Horyuji Treasures / Tokyo National Museum

2009-05-09T13:53:00.001+09:00

Wabi-sabi. Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect

2009-05-09T13:51:00.003+09:00

Wabi-sabi is the most characteristic feature of what we think of as traditional Japanese beauty and it "occupies roughly the same position in the Japanese pantheon of aesthetic values as do the Greek ideals of beauty and perfection in the West." Andrew Juniper claims, "if an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi." Richard R. Powell summarizes by saying "It (wabi-sabi) nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."

This Japanese tea set that I found at the Tokyo National Museum are a good example of Wabi-sabi. In Japanese tea ceremony, cups used are often rustic and simple-looking, with shapes that are not quite symmetrical, and colors or textures that appear to emphasize an unrefined or simple style. In reality, the cups can be quite expensive and in fact, it is up to the knowledge and observational ability of the participant to notice and discern the hidden signs of a truly excellent design or glaze (akin to the appearance of a diamond in the rough). This may be interpreted as a kind of wabi-sabi aesthetic, further confirmed by the way the glaze is known to change in color with time as tea is repeatedly poured into them (sabi) and the fact that the cups are deliberately chipped or nicked at the bottom (wabi).

Festival

2009-05-09T13:50:00.000+09:00

··
+44 (0) 7713 640 543
www.dannymcneil.com

··
DMJAPAN
http://dm--japan.blogspot.com/
-A blog document a trip to Japan
made between April and May 2009
with a focus on visual culture.

Taisuke Oyama "Entropix"

2009-05-09T13:49:00.005+09:00

Considering the changing city environment as equal to all kinds of lifeforms in nature, Koyama takes digital photographs of the superficial details of artificial objects, which seem to materialize a city's metabolic activities. Tokyo Artbeat

Sake

2009-05-09T13:48:00.002+09:00

Koi-Nobori - Children's Day

2009-05-09T13:46:00.001+09:00

Tokyo Timelapse

2009-04-29T01:05:00.005+09:00

Seizi's Birthday

2009-04-28T16:46:00.006+09:00

Yesterday was Seigi's birthday. To celebrate Sally arranged a small soiree at his flat, involving beer and (vegetarian) Nabe (a sociable one-pot stew, made to be served at the table). The only small problem being the misspelling of Seigi's name (as Seizi) on the Masison De Takagi cake. He still ate it.

Roppongi Hills / Mori Art Museum / Tomo

2009-04-28T15:39:00.018+09:00

Today I caught up with Taka, from LCC Typography and Tomo, a graduate from Design Interactions at the RCA at the Mori Art Museum.

Tomo works for an interactive design studio 4Anchor5La6 in Omotesando, who's work sits somewhere between art and design. While at the RCA he produced a piece called Luminos made up of a chain of light omitting/light reactive cubes.

Currently there are two exhibitons at the Mori; 'The Kaleidoscopic Eye' and 'Made in Cassina', both very interesting and both largely made up of non-Japanese art and design. While the exhibitons were world class, perhaps the best thing about the Mori is it's location, on the 52nd and 53rd floors of the Mori Tower offering specatular panoramic views of Tokyo.

Bakafu-Slump

2009-04-28T11:23:00.006+09:00

On Saturday night we went to the 8th birthday party of Cafe Na in Harajuku. Sally, Seigi's girlfriend is a friend of the owner and knows quite a few of the regulars here, one of which is Sunplaza Nakano-kan. So far he is the only Japanese vegetarian I've met so I tapped him for information on how to survive as a vegetarian in Tokyo (vegetokyo.com). Later Seigi told me that he was in a famous 80's Japanese rock band called Bakafu-Slump. There are quite a few of their videos on youtube - this being the highlight.

Polaroids

2009-04-28T11:00:00.005+09:00

Raining Shibuya

2009-04-26T11:23:00.009+09:00

On Saturday we had planned to go out of Tokyo to visit the temples of Kamakuro. But as it was such a horrible day we opted to stay in town to eat Udon, play Pachinko and shop in Shibuya.

Pachinko is a cross between a pinball and a slot machine. As far as I can tell, you have to turn a handle to split out metal balls at different speeds, adjusting the direction of the handle to land in a centre hole. When the balls are go in, numbers on a central screen start revolving. If you win more balls come out. It was confusing. I didn't win.

Vending Machines

2009-04-25T10:45:00.008+09:00

Jidohanbaki (literal translation 'automatic selling machines') are ubiquitous in Tokyo. You can find one selling pretty much anything: soft drinks (hot and cold), cigarettes, alcohol, tobacco, batteries, condoms, rice, tights, ice cream and even sex toys. I'm amazed by how you can find a machine on pretty much any street corner, none of them are vandalised and are always working.

Ryoji Ikeda

2009-04-25T10:42:00.005+09:00

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

2009-04-25T10:32:00.006+09:00

Naka-Meguro

2009-04-24T11:28:00.015+09:00

On Wednesday Seigi gave me an introduction as to how easy it is to get lost on the Tokyo transport system. The rest of the day was a jet-lagged blur.

Back in action on Thursday and with my new found knowledge, I visited The Ginza Graphic Gallery to see this year's Tokyo Type Directors Club Exhibiton, took a leisurely walk through the Imperial Gardens and got back on the Metro, heading for Kiba to see the Ryoji Ikeda exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

In the evening I met up with Seigi and his girlfriend for dinner plus ping pong in Naka-Meguro. Naka-Meguro is the coolest area of Tokyo right now - cheap rent has attracted a design-concious crowd who live and work in the area. Seigi works for graphic design agency Rich Black and lives two stops away on the Tokyu Toyoko line. The area has a european feel to it, the main focus being the Meguro river which is lined with with cafes, boutiques and book shops. Most of the stores are independent (a rarity for Tokyo) highlights being Cow Books, which sells out of print books and vintage magazines (I picked up an 80's edition of IDEA magazine) and Higashiya (owned and designed by interior designer Shinichi Ogata) a stunning store selling traditional Japanese bean sweets. The packaging and interior are amazing. The sweets an aquired taste.

In Tokyo

2009-04-23T11:49:00.004+09:00

The Arlington Businessman's Guide to Japan

2009-04-19T05:10:00.017+09:00

Until last week I had no idea of my Grandfather's affinity with Japan. I had heard about 'his book on Japan', but always thought of this in the 'belonging to' rather than 'written by' sense. Over six years he had spent twelve months on business trips to Japan and eventually left industry to become a full-time writer and consultant in business with Japan. He often talked of his attempt to grow the worlds largest Bonsai tree.

Published in 1979, The Arlington Businessman's Guide to Japan by Ian McNeil aimed 'to explain the complex structure and hierarchical nature of Japanese commerce and society' and 'provide answers to the many questions which frequently arise about this unique market'.

It seems economic and cultural shifts of the last 30 years have rendered much of the business side of this book redundant. But the sections on language and history retain their relevance - and have a patriarchal resonance with me. On language:

'Could you learn all the words in a Japanese dictionary you would not make yourself understood in speaking unless you learned to think like a Japanese person – that is to say, to think backwards, to think upside-down and inside out!'

Lists

2009-04-13T23:31:00.008+09:00

- Reading

Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto

Tokyo Wallpaper City Guide

15-minute Japanese

Tokyo Timeout

The Businessman's Guide to Japan - Ian McNeil

- Watching

Lost in Translation - Sofia Coppola

In Search of Wabi Sabi - Marcel Theroux

Great Railway Journeys Japan

Japan in Colour - The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn

Adam & Joe Go Tokyo

2009-04-12T08:28:00.003+09:00