Tuesday, 29 April 2025

Reflections on Art

My first day in Japan we took the train to Tokyo and went to the Ueno Park to the National Museum and the Metropolitan Art Museum. The Joan Miro exhibition was so extensive that we didn't have time to look at anything else, but it was ok as it was fascinating and we learned a lot about him.

The island of Naoshima was my inspiration for our trip to Shikoku, so at the other end of our holiday we took the ferry from Takamatsu to see the extensive collection of modern art. Much of it is very large and site specific. First up Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama, hundreds of metal spheres, floating in a huge pond, filling the garden and inside the rooms of a concrete bunker, reflecting the viewer, each other and their surroundings:

We moved on to the Benesse House Museum,
Fish and Bread by Jennifer Bartlett
Inland Sea Driftwood Circle by Richard Long, which I photographed for my dad, who has made driftwood art himself, and the lovely muddy circles on the wall that are made with River Avon mud, transported all the way to Japan.
100 live and Die by Bruce Nauman

The Secret of the Sky by Kan Yasuda (who has a very cool website), 
and I thought the little sign said no climbing on the stones, but on second glance realised it meant 'take your shoes off the climb on the stones' and look at the sky.
Seen/Unseen Known/Unknown by Walter De Maria, reflecting the view across the sea.
Don't know what/who this was: a circular structure of mirrors that you can enter, creating a surreal illusion ... here we are actually facing each other on either side of the central divider:
Is this a sculpture that is also a bike park ... or a bike park that is also a sculpture?
(What's more fun is the little sign that says 'no 
bikes' and 'no parking')
We took the bus to Honmura to the Art House Project, where seven abandoned houses have been repurposed as art. This is the Go'o Shrine, the glass steps continue down into an underground cavern beneath the huge stone.
One of the transformed houses. 
The Yellow Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama. It was this image that I saw online, never imagining that we would actually end up here. The queue of Instagrammers is just out of shot.
So much art, so little time, we had to catch the boat back at 3 to stay on schedule for the mountain ... 


Reflections on Trees (part 2)

I spent a lot of time thinking about, noticing, the ways in which Japan and Britain are different. Japanese cities are very grey, not much in the way of green spaces, and domestic gardens (certainly in urban areas) were very minimal, often just some pots outside on the doorstep. It made me feel that my tiny yard was quite generous after all. But the Japanese take their trees very seriously. The cherry blossom forecasts on the telly tell people where the best blooms are and autumn leaf displays are treated with the same enthusiasm. 
On my second day in Japan I took the train while Monkey was at school to Omiya to the Bonsai Museum. I assumed it was 'just' a bonsai museum, but it turns out it is 'the' bonsai museum. It was created as part of the Bonsai Village, established 100 years ago for bonsai growers who came to live together (who's gardens you can also apparently visit) and be a centre of bonsai growing.
Some of them have names: this one is Juun and is an 800 year old Japanese Juniper.
There are words for all the different styles of bonsai and for things like the whitened dead wood that is created as a decorative feature. 

It would be lovely to come again in the autumn to see the maples change colour, as of course many were not yet in leaf, but there was this beautiful bonsai cherry.
First morning on Shikoku we are driving up into the mountain when Monkey spots a sign that says 'Big Tree', so what else could we do but stop off. Many trees are sacred in Japan (and not necessarily just the ones in shrines like this) indicated by the rope, which was frustrating as I assumed it meant no touching. Though split at the trunk I believe it was one tree:
and you can see here panels of copper that had been used to protect the hollow parts from rotting away. 
This is the camphor tree at the Oyamazumi Shrine on Omishima. 
It is 3,000 years old.
We visited it for breakfast when we stayed nearby:
I didn't seem to take as many photos of cherry blossom as I imagined. There were random blossom trees in amongst the evergreens on mountain sides everywhere but they were not quite in full bloom and I kept waiting for one that stood out. The magnolias on the other hand were almost over, and Monkey kept referring to them as 'poor man's cherry blossom' but we did try to appreciate them too.
This is Neagari Goyo-Matsu Pine Tree, in the Ritsurin Garden, originally a bonsai, then planted out and allowed to grow (more of the garden to come):
Definitely go to Japan for the trees ... and not just the blossom.

Reflections on Trees (part 1)

I read 'The Overstory' by Richard Powers several months ago now, but pre-holiday stress left it languishing by the bed, unreviewed. I wanted to love this book so much, but it depressed me, because the tale is one of such wanton destruction. It's a book about trees, whats not to love, and the people who love them. We follow the lives of some of these people and watch them struggle to save the trees they love. There are triumphs ... and there are devastating losses. It was a hard read.

One of the characters in the book writes a book, it's about how trees communicate with each other and other amazing skills. Over the course of the story she is first ostracised by academia then after years doing other tree-ish stuff the book is rediscovered and it's truth discussed widely, it becomes a talisman for the story. I remember wondering, while I was in the Bonsai museum, whether the tiny trees in pots miss their companions. Struggling with having lost my list of quotes and want to get on and post other Japan pictures, so here is a quote about two other characters reading the book:

"They read The Secret Forest again. It's like a yew: more revealing on a second look. They read how a branch knows when to branch. How a root finds water, even water in a sealed pipe. How an oak may have five hundred million root tips that turn away from competition. How crown-shy leaves leave a gap between themselves and their neighbors. How trees see color. They read about the wild stock marker trading in handicrafts, aboveground and below. About the couples limited partnerships with other kids of life. The ingenious design that loft seeds in the air for hundreds of miles. The tricks of propagation worked upon unsuspecting mobile things tens of millions of years younger than the trees. The bribes for animals who think they're getting a free lunch.
They read about myrrh-tree transplanting expeditions depicted in the reliefs at Karnak, three thousand five hundred years ago. They read about trees that migrate. Trees that remember the past and predict the future. Trees that harmonise their fruiting and nutting into sprawling choruses. Trees that bomb the ground so only their own young can grow. Trees that summon air forces of insects to come save them. Trees with hollowed trunks wide enough to hold the population of small hamlets. Leaves with fur on the undersides. Thinned petioles that solve the wind. The rim of life around a pillar of dead history, each new coat as thick as the maker season is generous." (p.367-8)

This is a writer who loves trees.
I love trees too.
More to come.

Monday, 21 April 2025

Reflections on Food

Looks like a doughnut, crispy and delicious ... but then it has curry in the middle😮
Breakfast most days came from the konbini because we got up so early, onigiri mostly and little crispy croquette things, some days steamed buns with pork filling.
Other favourite konbini finds were these edamame snacks:
We aimed to try and eat different every day ... sushi, ramen, rice, and miso soup with everything.
For the authentic Japanese experience we had bento boxes on the Shinkansen. I picked the one on the right ... picking each thing up and wondering what it was.
Monkey was keen for me to try Yakiniku, tabletop cooking at its best, just order plates of meat and cook it yourself. 
After our boat trip down the river and a visit to the Ghoul Museum we had wild boar and venison burgers at the cafe:
In Kochi we had the local speciality, Katsuo no Tataki, seared tuna, cooked while we watched:
and it was my favourite meal of the trip, utterly delicious;
Eating udon, prior to going to the Udon making workshop:
Eel is the speciality in Kawagoe but we didn't manage to have any while we were there so we had some in a lovely little place in Matsuyama ... served in beautiful lacquered boxes:

Monkey had a sudden need for pancakes. We spotted a place by the roadside and did very precarious U-turn ... and it was worth it.
Last night ice-cream selfie at the Tokyo Sky Tree

Go to Japan ... eat food ... enjoy.

Reflections on Japan

When you plan something for as long as I planned my trip to Japan the comedown was always going to take a while. We packed every day with interesting and delightful experiences and I came back knowing it cannot be the only time I visit. As a place Japan manages to feel both familiar and utterly different. I was very keen to follow Monkey's advice so as not to be seen as a 'bloody foreigner' by doing stupid, disrespectful things. I confess, I did not manage to speak much Japanese.

Some things will get their own post but this one is an overview of the trip, not necessarily highlights. We tried not to be distracted from what we were doing or seeing by taking too many photos, allowing ourselves to just look and enjoy. 

After a couple of days in Kawagoe and Tokyo we took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima. This was the one place I had very much wanted to visit and really the only tourist stop, though it feels weird to call the Peace Memorial that. It was utterly overwhelming to see the shell of the building and to learn more and understand the impact, both immediate and long term, that the bomb had on the city and people of Hiroshima. The building was iconic even before the war and it marks pretty much ground zero of the explosion and was one of only a few brick structures that remained standing, and after much local debate the city decided to retain this stark reminder of the bomb's impact as part of their commitment to strive for a peaceful future. The Peace Museum tells the background history and then tells the stories of many of the people whose lives were affected, some who died and others who survived. Some of it is quite graphic and not for the faint hearted or those who want their history nicely sanitised. 

From Hiroshima we travelled to Onomichi which is the start of the Shimanami cycle route across the inland sea. This was taken from the top of a small cablecar and looks across the sea towards Shikoku (though I think all the islands are in the way). Mountains were quite a big feature of our trip.
Over two days we cycled about 100 kilometres stopping off half way on Omishima at the Miyaura-Goten hostel, eating wild boar curry and watching the sunset behind the mountains. It was a wonderful traditional old building with 'shoes off by the door please', sliding doors, futons and tatami mats. It was just the kind of place I had hoped to stay since the rest of the time we had boring modern hotels.
The final stretch across to Shikoku is the Kurushima Kaikyo bridge which is 4km long:
We then travelled to Matsuyama to hire a car and spent the next week exploring the island of Shikoku.
We had meals in random roadside restaurants:
Saw the Pacific Ocean (from the other side):
We took tea in the teahouse in the Ritsurin Garden:
Made udon noodles:
Made paper at the Paper Museum:
Crossed the vine bridge in the Iya valley:
Got used to the squatty toilets:
Learned quite a bit of Japanese history, such as the significance of Sakamoto Ryoma:
Saw some castles ... and learned more Japanese history:
Saw lots, and lots and lots of cherry blossom:
... and very much admired the lack of rubbish anywhere that people happened to be gathering:
Walked the very narrow pavements without incident
Travelled by Shinkansen, train, bus, tram, bike, car, cablecar, chairlift, 

riverboat and ferry (back across the Seto Inland Sea to Naoshima):
Spent the night Japanese style:
and visited lots of onsens ... but you cant take photos inside so here is the outside of the Dogo Onsen, one of the oldest hot springs in Japan, claiming a 3,000 year history:
And I didn't use a knife and fork for a fortnight ... but more of that to come.