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25 posts tagged nature
The use of stone in the Japanese garden (part one).
The veneration of stones in Japan can be traced back to neolithic times, and so it comes as no real surprise that the single most important element in a Japanese garden is stone. Stones used in gardens are chosen based upon their religious significance as well as their natural beauty.
Colour, grain, shape, texture, and size are all extremely important in the placement of stones in a Japanese garden. Stones weathered by the elements, scarred by volcanic activity, or polished smooth by centuries of water evoke images of nature.
There are many classifications of stone shapes and specific placements in a Japanese garden each with their own use. The most common is that of the tall standing stone. A single imposing standing stone can give a garden a sense of dignity, especially when standing alone in gravel or with sparse plantings.
Being a series of volcanic islands, stones in Japan are primarily volcanic: andesite, granite, chlorite, basalt, and limestone are commonly used in Japanese gardens. Granite in particular is a favourite for stone walls, garden edging, stepping stones, tsukubai (stone water basins), statues, and stone lanterns.
Japanese gardens create a sense of nature in miniature, balanced and harmonious. Stones tie the gardens to nature, giving the impression of mountains and cliffs surrounded by trees or of rivers and streams meandering through valleys.
The shapes of the stones are placed with great care to ensure that the eye is drawn in a particular direction. Leaning to one side, or standing upwards towards the sky, stones placed in a Japanese garden create the dynamics of the garden determining the direction in which the eye of the viewer is led through the composition of the garden.
Stepping stones and garden edging are chosen based upon the same principles, being similar in texture and type and blending with each other. Straight hard edges are especially avoided with smooth rounded stones being preferred. These evoke energy and movement as well as elegance and refinement.
To the Japanese, animals are belongings, not living beings
Be warned, the above link has some very graphic and heart wrenching images.
I’ve said it a million times, I am disgusted by the treatment of animals in Japan and the idea that animals are just throw away belongings. I see it every single day and it disgusts me that a so-called “enlightened” race, with a culture supposedly built on Shintõ “respect for nature” and Buddhist “compassion for all living things” can treat animals so cruelly.
From the treatment of pets, to animals in crowded little concrete zoos, and the barbaric hunting of whales and fish in our oceans - the Japanese have no compassion for animal life.
I think I’m done with the sofa, I think I’m done with the hall, I think I’m done with the kitchen table baby…….
Apparently this is a famous place for “outside meetups” if you get my drift.
…….you know you want to, but you can’t say yes, ………
Behind the scenes of a photo shoot. It is the wonderful scenery and landscapes that I love about Japan. The rushing water of a mountain stream, the rustling of a bamboo forest, the bird song in the mountains. These are the things I love so much.
Do you imagine Japan is a clean place? While the city streets and trains are certainly cleaner than most other countries, it is a different story out in rural areas. The mountains, fields, farms, and waterways are polluted with all manner of unwanted garbage.
The image of the Japanese usually painted by tour books as being “at one with nature” could not be farther from the truth.
A large pile of drink cans dumped right beside the Sagami River which leads to the Pacific Ocean.
And you thought the Japanese cared about nature didn’t you.
Discarded.
Discarded.
More blue tinged fungus.
Light and shade.
Orange fungus.
Wild berry.
Interesting fungus with a blue tinge.
Waterfall, Isehara, Kanagawa prefecture.
Waterfall, Isehara, Kanagawa prefecture.
