A Japanese School House

I have been heavy on tech and bling recently so I thought it would do me well to add something more classically Japanese. This is a beautifully preserved public school from the late Edo period to the Meiji era (say, 18th-19th century). There are not many of these buildings left in Japan and this is now a “living” museum. It’s in Nagano in a lovely little village called Matsushiro. This little village harbors a dark secret though. Something that I might get back to later, should any historically interested people actually be reading this blog. For now enjoy the quaint schoolhouse. I wouldn’t have minded going there as a kid, except for what must have been some killer winters. No heating and freezing cold outside. Poor kids.

School house in Matsushiro

School house in Matsushiro

School house in Matsushiro

School house in Matsushiro

The Tokyo Art School Annual Exhibition

So, I was slightly reborn the other week. I was going out to do a fashion shoot with a young woman who is fighting hard to bring Kimono (Japanese traditional clothes) back into fashion. After the shoot we passed by The National Art Center here in Tokyo. We went to check out this show (link in Japanese) 平成20年度第32回　東京五美術大学連合卒業・修了制作展. It is basically a joint exhibition by the five most prominent art universities in the greater Tokyo area. I went in with very low expectations – I have seen enough bad modern student art to last me a life time – but I was blown away in the first 60 seconds. This was probably the best art exhibition I have ever seen, in my life. And it was for free. We spent three hours just wandring around one third of the exhibition. We would have stayed longer if it hadn’t been for the early closing hours. I loved it, and I can’t wait to go to the one next year (it annual). The best thing about it though, was the fact that I could bring my camera and shoot away as much as I wanted. In the coming posts I will try to highlight some of the best of what I saw over there, I’ll bring you some pictures and my very informal review or critique if you like (don’t worry, I actually minored in art criticism at university, I’m trained). If you are interested in following these posts just click “National Art Center” in the categories list on the right, and please please post your own impressions of these artists work! I can’t guarantee that I will cover the best of the show, just what I managed to catch on (digital) film. Let me know what you think!

The Tokyo National Art Center

Shinmarubiru At Night

So it’s bragging time. I am lucky enough to work with something I am interested in, in the city I love the most. Marunouchi is in the essential heart of Tokyo. You can’t get much more central than where I was when I took this picture. Between Tokyo Station, the old Tokyo GPO and the Shin Marunouchi Building. When I first visited this area it felt like a typical Japanese post-bubble 1980’s business district but starting from a few years ago with the birth of the Marunouchi Building the whole are has started on a very ambitious rejuvenation project. Although I have never been in New York I imagine that this is what it would look like. Sure, it’s not really Tokyo anymore, but Tokyo is big enough to include all sorts of areas and styles. It is the contrasts that make Tokyo the wonderful city that it is. 

 

Also, Tokyo is a city for people, for walkers, rather than cars and bikes. Central Tokyo has narrow streets and wide sidewalks. People commute by trains or subway on the most extensive network in the world. I think there are 852 stations serving Tokyo city alone. 

 

I wish I could have shown you a better picture, but this is the best you’ll get from a Nikon D60 on automatic and a slightly sleepy blogger. 

 

Shinmarunouchi Building - Tokyo