Calligraphy: 香漂; drifting fragrance
Japan stretches from north to south, from very cold areas to very warm areas. Every year we all wait for the sakura front to sweep by and decorate the world with its phenomenal show of nature. We tend to appreciate more things that last short, and the blooming cherry trees are definitely one of those things. Although there are many types of sakura flowers, each of them appears in Tokyo approximately for a week, and then it falls down like a flower blizzard. Sakura is very difficult to predict, and even a few days before the flowers open and we all can enjoy hanami (花見, lit. flower viewing), no one can exactly specify the date when it will be in full bloom. This year was no exception. By now, sakura should be in its peak, yet when we stormed the metropolis armed in our cameras we could see that it was not so. And today, it is raining.... This, however, does mean that we were not able to take some photos of sakura. Here is one of them with my calligraphy art added to the picture. Enjoy!
Calligraphy: 香漂; drifting fragrance
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Tokyo is a concrete giant, and as in any metropolis, the wildest animals moving about are mostly people who dwell within. When I first arrived at Tokyo, I thought that the only wild creatures were huge evil looking crows that pray on garbage, rats and cockroaches. One day, I went to Odaiba, which is located in central Tokyo, to take photos of the cityscape. When I was going back home it was already pitch dark. The lights you see on this photograph are reflections of the restaurant illuminations stretching along the Odaiaba beach. And that bird is a wild white crane, just strolling in the water, waiting for me to take the shot.
Who does not like to watch a beautiful sunset? It a very relaxing spectacular show of nature, that makes all the stress and everyday issues just go away. Sunsets also make a usual and plain scenery look simply stunning and truly magical. Sunsets over large bodies of water, such as lake or sea, are even more picturesque, as the game of shadow and light extends onto the water surface. I shot this last year on December near my house, at the Tokyo Bay beach. You can see Mt. Fuji at the background, and a bit of Tokyo to the right.
Japan is well known for the Mother Nature showing off with her scenic cherry blossom yearly event. Not many people realise, however, that sakura viewing, or admiring the cherry blossoms, is a custom which was introduced to Japan from China about 1300 years ago. The vast majority also believes that hanami (花見, lit. flower viewing) is happening mainly in March. This is most likely because 90% (do not quote me on this) of foreigners lives in Greater Tokyo, where the so called sakura front arrives at March. The truth is, that sakura can appear erratically, spontaneously and unexpectedly much earlier than this. Below photo was taken by me during the first days of February just outside the Shinto Tsurugaoka Hachimangu (鶴岡八幡宮) shrine in Kamakura, which is located only one hour south from Tokyo. But, is it really sakura...? Japanese calligraphy is written in a blend modern semi-cursive and cursive scripts reads 春香 - the fragrance of spring.
The peony garden of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine (鶴岡八幡宮) in Kamakura is located near a large pond, just to the right side of the main entrance to the shrine. The garden itself is quite small, and although its main attraction are the peony flowers, I was drawn to the traditional Japanese buildings and a small Japanese style garden just at the entrance to the park itself. I think it is the simplicity and refined aestetics of the traditional Japanese arrangement and architecture. I find it soothing and relaxing just to look at. It is far less decorative than its Chinese counterrpart, yet, in my opinion, more appealing. Everything has its place, there is neither too much or too little of any of the design components, and they all fit together harmoniously. For the bonsai lovers, if you look closely, there is a bonsai tree to the left of the stone path. I will publish another picture that show it in greater details in my next blog posts.
When I went to Yokohama earlier on this year, I spent hours and hours on walking from one place to another, seeking good places and subjbects for my photos. I was enjoying it so much, I had forgotten that I was hungry. It was half past twelve, which translates into the lunch hour in Japan, which is when literally everybody goes out and eat, as if this was written in constitution or something, that one has to eat lunch at noon. Since I hate crowds, and enjoy solitude, I bought my food and brought it outside near the small green square in front of the Minato Mirai. The moment I started to eat, I noticed more and more pigeons around me. You know, the fat little birds who would eat anything from anyone. But when I started to feed them, I noticed two seagulls landed nearby. Now once those two arrived, there was no chance for the other birds to catchy any bits of food. Their agility and reflexes were unreal. I was lucky enough to capture a few nice shots of them, and let me tell you, throwing food while trying to handhold and focus a 200 mm 2.8 lens, mounted on a camera armed with a batteery grip is not easy. Japanese calligraphy reads 自由, and it means "freedom". Buy a print of this photo at my store on Fine Art America.
There is something about Mt. Fuji that when you start looking at it, you just cannot stop staring. Perhaps it is its symbolic loneliness, loneliness of a peak above everything else, a solitude we long for, but also a desired cocoon of originality. It could also stand for aspiration, something that one looks up to. Or maybe it is all about its geometrical and symmetrical shape, so unusual in nature. Fuji is like a symbol of the most secret and amazing dreams that should not be fulfilled. When you get close to it, Fuji loses all its charm. It is nothing but a steep volcanic ash desert. But when you look from afar, from a place where Mt. Fuji is beyond your reach, it reveals its scenic beauty. Hopefully this year I will have anough time to take a few days and drive around Fuji, and photograph its various looks and moods, coming and going throughout the day and night. Below photo was taken from the 52nd floor of the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills, central Tokyo. Buy the print of this photo at my store on Fine Art America
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Ponte Ryuurui (品天龍涙)
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