Autumnal shades

Asa and I went for a quiet walk today, to take in the Autumnal shift in colour.  It was a reminder that I do not have long left in Japan and the chill in the air reminded me of home. 

Sunset

I have recently been taking pictures of the sunsets here in the mountains for documentary purposes as living in London doesn't provide anywhere near this kind of colour array. The sun is at its most spectacular at 4.30pm, when it starts to sink down over the horizon.  The days here pass so quickly that it is important for me to not only notice my progress in printmaking, but also the surrounding environs.  Winter has arrived, the nights are drawing in and over on the far mountain a shower of red is emerging as the maple trees start their descent into sleep. Over the last three days I have taken 150 pictures of the sunset.  Here are a few of these beautiful, temporal moments that I hope will stay with me for a long time. These are all taken from my view out of the studio window.

Kokoro 3

Here is the next image from the kokoro tryptych. This is going to be number 3.  The background was printed with antique green going into antique black.  The same pallette as before has been used - the Iridori Holbein colours. On this and the subsequent block, no nori has been used. This is to texturise the image.

Then a blue layer.

Then a gold and yellow layer.

Then a brown layer.

Then a purple layer to bring out detail on the hat.

Finally a grey/black layer, which provides the shadow on the hat and the outline of the face and the front line of the kimono.  There is also a small amount of magenta on the lips.

This image is based on a traditional Japanese dance to celebrate the end of Autumn.  So far the two images have been the head and the feet.  Now to complete the tryptych one final image is required, that of the heart.  

Residency..

As promised a couple of days ago, here are some pictures of the residency studio.  This is the view over Awaji from where my desk is.

This is the studio. 

And finally my desk.  Here all my brushes and carving implements are laid out ready for work.

And finally, this is one of the new blocks I have been working on since we moved studio on Monday.  I am creating three images, based on some of the patterns within Noh theatre. By patterns I mean both of the costumes that are worn during the performances and the patterns of movement that the actors use.  This is a five block print which will be built up in twelve passes. This is the keyblock, or to use laymans terms, the block that is printed first and every other block aligned to.

Underneath the pond

Yesterday we went to the Water Temple built by renowned architect Tadao Ando. He designed the temple to be underground, beneath a 41m wide pond of lilies. Here is the entrance.





Here are the steps down to the temple.



Here is the inner sanctum. The fact that above my head lotus flowers were blossoming in the pond was not lost in the occasion.







Outside there was a small shrine. As usual, I left offerings and a prayer. Making the shrines a way of connecting to what I am doing with my woodblocks is having an effect. The simple stillness and austerity of the places create an inner silence, which feeds into the work. It's nice when the shrines are in places where there is no noise. There are lots of them hidden away at the side of the road and searching them out brings their reward. They also demand a certain respect, such as keeping a low voice and acting in a manner fit for the environment.


I enjoy seeing the seasons change as I visit each shrine. It serves to act as a timely reminder that everything changes and turns into something else. The drawing in of the cold nights of winter reminds me of home and the onset of Christmas, but also the temporality of any problems I may be having with my work, or life in general. For me, shrines are places where the past exists as fleeting memories, rooting me firmly in the presentness of the moment. Places where tradition and the modern world can live harmoniously, as long as one remembers the other.



I will be going to Kyoto in three weeks to spend four days looking round some of the sacred sites in the locale. I will be staying here.
I want to go to Tozando, which is a shop specialising in Japanese swords and Iaido equipment and I have a few things to buy for people from my dojo. I am looking forward to the trip as it will be a nice farewell to a country I am starting to love very deeply. I then get back from Kyoto on the 8th December and fly back to the UK on the 13th in time for Christmas.

Folklore and Noh..

Sunday 2nd November.  Today we were taken further afield on Awaji island.  We went to the local folk museum where we were shown an example of an authentic Edo period house.  The image below is taken from inside the house.

Awaji was ravaged by an earthquake and this picture below is from a museum, which was built over the site of the fault line.  Here, scientists can study how earthquakes operate. In the picture it can be seen how the tectonic plates had shifted during the quake.

These are some pictures taken from the City Hall, where we had met the mayor a couple of weeks ago.  The bonsai exhibition is part of a wider cultural festival that took place over the weekend.

This is a view taken from outside the local onsen.

Sunday evening.  At sunset, we went to see a Noh play at Izanagi shrine.  Here is the entrance to the Noh play.

This photo was taken inside the shrine, where the play was being performed.

Here a Shinto blessing is being performed on stage.  In Noh, the stage is the place where the seen and unseen worlds meet. Dramas are played out where human actors try and resolve obstacles before the gods.  Usually, there is only one piece of scenery, which is a pine tree painted on the back wall.  This tree is the place where the gods 'descend' to and the play is performed as an offering to the gods.

On Wednesday the master printer comes to teach us until Friday.  We then move all our equipment to the residency for the five remaining weeks.