This afternoon I cycled across the river to the Higashiyama area of the Kyoto to the National Museum of Modern Art to see the current exhibition of paintings by the Japanese Avant -Garde group “Rekitei Bijutsu Kyokai”. Founded in the late 1930’s, the painters in this group sought to break with the traditional Japanese painterly […]
Each time I see Fuji It appears changed And I feel I view it Ever for the first time. How shall I describe Fuji To those who have not seen it? It is never seen twice alike And I know no one way Of describing the sight. Date Masamune (1565-1636), from Zen and Japanese Culture, […]
Last night I went to Nankano to meet with Tokyo-based composer and musician Christophe Charles and to the home of video artists Sei Kazam and Hatsune Ohtsu, who work under their collective name- “Visual Brains”. Over a wonderful meal provided by Sei and Hatsune, and with the aid of Christophe’s translation skills, I asked them […]
Today I took the Tokyo Subway to Roppongi, and since the National Art Center was closed (a fact I failed to notice in my guidebook), I visited the impressive Mori Art Museum in the Roppongi Hills Complex. I was fortunate to find that there was a particularly interesting exhibition currently on show- Sensing Nature: Rethinking […]
Arrived in Tokyo yesterday later afternoon and found my hotel in the Shinjuku district without much trouble, navigating the Tokyo Metro is easier than it looks- even for someone with my compromised sense of direction! This morning I explored the area near the JR Shinjuku railway station on foot- visiting the observation room in the […]
This evening I did an evening walk along the Pontocho, a narrow lane full of restaurants and bars, crossing the Kamo-gawa in search of Ozawa, a highly recommended tempura restaurant. It was worth the walk!
I was awake early and spent the morning visiting some of the sub-temples of the Daitokuji Monastery. The Daisen-In, which has a well-known Zen Garden did not allow photography, and was full of tourists, but the Koto-In, which has a wonderful moss garden was peaceful and contemplative. However, it seemed that I saved the best […]
Last night I had an enjoyable evening with Prof Shinsuke Ina and his two colleagues- Isanori Oha and Naoki Nishigushi, who are currently working together on the book translation. They treated me to a delicious meal (as well as several bottles of Kirin Beer!) My Tokyo visit is also now taking shape. I have booked […]
Much of this morning was spent arranging to visit Tokyo and co-ordinating with the curators and artists I want to interview for my research into early Japanese Artists’ video. My plan is to travel to Tokyo on Sept 19th and to stay for several days. It is not proving as easy as I had hoped […]