Erwin Miyasaka

In the medieval Japan the castle was the most important place in a town, because it was the center of the lord’s power. Today, the few cities still having an original castle are thriving from tourism, and many other cities rebuilt their castles, having them as the main tourist attraction. The castle of Nakatsu , in the Oita Prefecture, was rebuilt in 1964, and it is advertised on the city’s artistic manhole covers, nicely painted in its original design, with wooden boats anchored in the castle’s moat. Click on photo for higher resolution: Manhole Cover, Nakatsu, Kyushu If you want to license my photos for commercial use, please contact me EXIF Info: Nikon Df Lens: 24-70mm F/2.8G Focal Length: 35mm Aperture: F/6.3 Shutter Speed: 1/200s ISO Sensitivity: ISO 200 Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Hokora at Yamadera Ver fuente

Almost anywhere in Japan, by the roadside, next to Shinto shrines or in the woods, you may see this kind of miniature constructions called hokora . They are genuine shrines, dedicated to minor or local kami deities, and they mark (like the large shrines) the presence of a sacred place. Photographed here is a beautiful hokora located inside the amazing Yamadera temple in Yamagata. Click on photo for higher resolution: Yamadera, Yamagata If you want to license my photos for commercial use, please contact me EXIF Info: Nikon Df Lens: VR 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6G Focal Length: 28mm Aperture: F/6.3 Shutter Speed: 1/200s ISO Sensitivity: ISO 320 Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Cherry blossom front, Sakura Zensen 2018 Ver fuente

Like this post? Help us by sharing it! You’d be hard pushed to find someone who’s been to Japan and hasn’t been inspired in some way, but for artists working with textiles it has become something of a mecca. Whether it’s amateur seamstresses moseying around Nippori Fabric Town, each shop heaving with chunky rolls of […] The post Art and textiles inspired by Japan: Penny Leaver Green appeared first on InsideJapan Blog . Ver fuente

The first cherry blossom forecasts of the year are made in Japan at the end of January. Although they are made two and a half months in advance, most of the time they are surprisingly accurate. For 2018, the sakura trees are expected to be in full bloom in Kagoshima between March 29 and April 8, in Kyoto between April 4 and April 12, in Tokyo between April 3 and April 11, and in Hakodate between May 3 and May 10. Click on photo for higher resolution: Maruoka Castle, Fukui If you want to license my photos for commercial use, please contact me EXIF Info: Nikon D700 Lens: 24-70mm F/ 2.8G Focal Length: 38mm Aperture: F/4.5 Shutter Speed: 1/320s ISO Sensitivity: ISO 500 Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Kyoto Orinasu-kan Museum Ver fuente

Located in the Nishijin district of Kyoto, in a beautiful traditional house that was originally a workshop, the Orinasu-kan Museum exhibits handmade Nishijin-ori textile, produced here for several generations. Photographed here is a second floor room, displaying several kimono made of this material, displayed in a way that makes possible to admire the fabric craftsmanship from up-close. Click on photo for higher resolution: Orinasu-kan Nishijin, Kyoto If you want to license my photos for commercial use, please contact me EXIF Info: Nikon Df Lens: 24-70mm F/2.8G Focal Length: 24mm Aperture: F/7.1 Shutter Speed: 1/60s ISO Sensitivity: ISO 3200 Yesterday’s Japan Photo: 500 TYPE EVA Shinkansen to end service in May Ver fuente

Over winter break I usually spend a good deal of time with my nephew, codename Loke, now 11 years-old. Over the past few years, I have hidden a bonus Christmas present somewhere for him and developed a puzzle that reveals its location. I began with a cryptography puzzle that involved decrypting a message using a double transposition cipher for which the key was supplied. The second year’s puzzle was called “The Bestiary” and involved chasing down references to lots of monsters in various literary traditions and using their names to spell the location of the prize. This time I created a two part puzzle: one involving a translation exercise, and the other, a classical Chinese philosophy-inspired text adventure in which the translations were required to win the game and reveal the location of his prize. I first gave Loke a printed out image of fifteen bamboo slips with snippets from Kongzi, Mengzi, Laozi, and Zhuangzi in classical Chinese, along with a glossary tailored to these snipp

Two years and a half after it entered service, the Shinkansen train decorated both outside and inside with motifs from the famed anime Neo Genesis Evangelion , will end its service. Until then, the 500 TYPE EVA Shinkansen train still runs between Hakata and Shin-Osaka as a Kodama service, accessible with a regular Shinkansen ticket. Click on photo for higher resolution: 500 TYPE EVA If you want to license my photos for commercial use, please contact me EXIF Info: Nikon Df Lens: 24-70mm F/2.8G Focal Length: 24mm Aperture: F/6.3 Shutter Speed: 1/2000s ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1250 Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Shimbashi old fashioned street night view Ver fuente

At the beginning of the Meiji Period, when the first Shimbashi train station was built, the surrounding area was an entertainment venue, with restaurants and a geisha district. Over the years the geisha district disappeared, but the general specific remained and the old fashioned streets of Shimbashi are still lined with restaurants, pubs and izakaya . Click on photo for higher resolution: Shimbashi, Tokyo If you want to license my photos for commercial use, please contact me EXIF Info: Fuji X100 Lens: Fujinon Focal Length: 19mm Aperture: F/2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/60s ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1600 Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Kokin-Denju-no-Ma tea house Ver fuente

Like this post? Help us by sharing it! With staggering landscapes and ancient cultural practices alongside polished metropolitan centres, photography enthusiasts certainly aren’t short of inspiration in Japan. Photography tour in Japan: Hiroshima Prefecture As the home of well-preserved Edo towns; traditional industries; a picture perfect island; and important, although tragic, history; Hiroshima Prefecture draws […] The post Hiroshima in pictures: A photography tour in Japan appeared first on InsideJapan Blog . Ver fuente

The little tea house of the Suizenji garden in Kumamoto has a very special history, because it was originally in the Kyoto Imperial Palace. It was moved here in 1912, in the garden of the Hosokawa family, to mark the place where Hosokawa Fujitaka , a well known scholar of the Sengoku period, was teaching the younger brother of Emperor Go-Yōzei, Prince Hachijō Toshihito, the art of traditional Japanese poetry ( tanka ). Click on photo for higher resolution: Kokin-Denju-no-Ma tea house, Suizenji Garden, Kumamoto If you want to license my photos for commercial use, please contact me EXIF Info: Nikon Df Lens: 24-70mm F/2.8G Focal Length: 24mm Aperture: F/6.3 Shutter Speed: 1/1000s ISO Sensitivity: ISO 200 Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Old merchant house in Obi Ver fuente