We have been busy the last three days! I'll start with some of the cool and whimsical art exhibits we've been to recently. Yesterday we went to the National Art Center Tokyo. We skipped the special exhibition (Modern Art from the Tate Gallery) in favor of two local Japanese exhibitions. The National Art Center is an interesting museum -- it doesn't have its own permanent collection. Instead it focuses on rotating special exhibitions and provides exhibition space for local and national artist associations to display their work. The first of the two exhibitions we saw was the 79th Japan Independent Exhibition. Every year, the Japan Art Association hosts this non-judged, open exhibition where artists can show off their creativity. Some of the art showcased playful takes on Japanese icons (like the Hokusai wave series, below). While other pieces showed off technique, like this pointillist painting of mountains and a valley of blooming cherry trees.
The second exhibition was the 102nd Hakujitsukai Art Exhibition. This group of artists was founded in 1924 and according to the website, exhibitors are meant to "pursue a new realism" and "strive to portray the invisible through the visible through respect for traditional techniques". The skillset of these artists was definitely at a more professional level. The galleries were filled with still-lifes and finely detailed portraits.
The National Art Center building is a bit of a work of art itself. One wall is made entirely of undulating waves of windows. Very modern and a really pleasant space to explore, or just sit and have a cup of coffee.
Just across the street from the Art Center is the Aoyama Cemetery. This was Japan's first public cemetery, established in 1874. We had noticed it the other day from the viewing deck of the Mori Building -- it was hard to miss because it is a really large green space surrounded by buildings. Walking through it was quiet and peaceful, and you forget you are in a huge bustling city. Many of the cherry trees here were blooming, so beautiful!
Since we saw some blooms at Aoyama, we thought maybe things might be starting up for the hanami picnics in the public parks, so we headed over to Yoyogi Park to have a look. Hanami is the Japanese tradition of "flower viewing". They welcome the arrival of spring with family and friends sharing a meal and some sake under the blooming trees. This has been a tradition since the 700s, during the Nara period. I love how the Japanese culture reveres the ritual of the changing seasons and appreciating the beauty of nature. This group of girls really took their hanami picnic to the next level -- their coordinated garlands and pastel outfits almost look like something out of a Jane Austen novel.
We walked through the park to the Meiji Jingu shrine. The word "jingu" in the name indicates that this shrine is associated with the Imperial House of Japan. This shrine was built to honor Emperor Meiji who died in 1912. But the original building was destroyed in an air raid during WWII and was rebuilt in the 1950s. Last time we were in Tokyo we tried to visit but there was a big wedding and we didn't want to disrupt the proceedings to take a look at the shrine. We were able to get a lot closer this time. Notice the enormous camphor trees that were planted around 1920 when the shrine was completed. The two on the left are "tied" together with a rope and are considered the "husband and wife" trees - a symbol of a happy marriage (and probably why this shrine is a popular place for weddings).
Today we explored more art by heading over to Teamlabs Planets. We have visited other Teamlabs projects before, but this one was new to us. Teamlabs installations use digital technology to create interactive art that allows the viewer to be a participant in the artwork. They are a lot of fun to visit, although sometimes you'll see similar installations, like the waterfall imagery in this room, called "Existence in the Flow Creates Vortices".
The one called "Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers" made us dizzy. The floor is mirrored and above your head the room seems to spin with projected flowers floating all around. Not ideal if you suffer from vertigo or motion sickness. For good reason viewers are encouraged to sit down while viewing this one!
The main attraction at Planets is the art featuring water. You don't have to go through this wing, but if you do you'll have to take off your shoes and roll up your pant legs. In this room (called "Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People - Infinity") you wade through shin-deep water that has projected koi fish swimming all around you. If you step on a koi or if one bumps into you, they burst into a small explosion of color.
All of the artworks have pretentious names, like "Expanding Three-dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors". Whew! All those words when they could've just called it "Bouncing Balls That We Make You Walk Through".
Speaking of bouncing balls, the more interactive wing of the museum was called the "Athletics Forest". Here's Kevin navigating the artwork "Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House" -- trying to walk on the squishy hemispheres was challenging for sure!
Not far from TeamLabs is a fun little museum called Small Worlds. This is a museum of miniatures with moving parts that you can activate, not unlike the McCormick-Stillman Train Shed back at home. The only difference is that these miniature models aren't just limited to trains. There was a working Space Center.
And a miniature Kansai International Airport with planes that could actually taxi, take off, and land.
We have been doing a lot of daytime activities, but there are some really cool things to do at night, too. Earlier in the week, on Sunday, we went to a late afternoon guided sake tasting class at a venue called Wasake in Asakusa. Our sommelier Nori explained the finer details of the sake-making process. First, rice is polished to remove the outer layers of the grain (the more polished, the clearer the sake). Next the rice is steamed and a mold called koji is introduced to convert starch into sugar for the fermentation process. Yeast is added and the mash ferments. Then it gets pressed and filtered before aging (generally for less than a year, although some high-quality sake is meant to be aged longer).
We were able to taste ten different types of sake, and learn the difference between sake classifications. Although towards the eighth or ninth cupful I started to forget about 90% of what we had just learned. Good thing Nori gave us paper handouts to take home!
Still a little tipsy, we meandered over to see the Senso-ji Temple at night. This is the oldest temple in Tokyo and one of the most-visited Buddhist temples in Japan. As with other major sites in Japan, the main hall was bombed in WWII but rebuilt in the 1950s. One of the best places to view the temple is actually from the free viewing deck at the Asakusa Tourist Information Center.
It really is beautiful all lit up at night (and less crowded than during the day). Although the temples origins are murky, there has been a temple on this site since at least the 1100s. Even in the past, fire was a danger, and the temple has had to be reconstructed many times throughout the centuries prior to the last reconstruction in the 50s.
Just before you reach the main hall, there is a bank of o-mikuji stalls. We each paid 100 yen (about 70 cents) and had a chance to shake a labeled stick out of a noisy metal container to get our fortune. You draw a numbered stick and then you go to the appropriately labeled drawer to pull out your fortune. Luckily each paper also has an English translation. Kevin drew number 8, it was literally labeled "Best Fortune". It read "Happiness will come to you just like cutting rice plants with a cutter". It also said things like "your wishes will be realized", "the lost article will be found", and "marriage is very good".
Then I drew fortune stick number 83 which must be the polar opposite of Kevin's. I mean, seriously read this: "Your wishes will not be realized as if it is impossible to climb up to the heaven". (Gee, don't sugarcoat it...) "It is bad to make a trip." (uh-oh). "Both marriage and employment are bad". Yikes!
Luckily, the god has a remedy for a bad fortune! All you have to do is just tie the unlucky piece of paper to the rack and leave it behind you when you leave the temple. Easy peasy! At least I wasn't the only one! Since we are in this for the long haul, I'm hoping some of Kevin's good fortune will apply to both of us. Otherwise we are in for a rough rest of the trip!
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