Senses

Sitting on a tatami mat and looking outside into the garden is one of the most beautiful ways to wash away daily frustration. It takes some time, but than you can experience all the senses to relax and enjoy the

Perfection

‘Perfection is not achieved when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.’ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Although written by the french writer of ‘Le petit prince’, this is truly an eastern point of

Tradition revisited

During the two weeks I’m in Kyoto I try to figure out why there’s such a big gap between tradition and modernity in every aspect of life in Kyoto/Japan. Sometimes reading Alex Kerr (Lost Japan or Dog and Demons) helps

Looking and seeing (2)

Through our eyes we can look and observe the world around us. Sometimes we use a painting, filmscreen or photo to focus on what we should see and avoid the noise around it. Three years ago I saw the work

Vistas

The Katsura Imperial Villa was completed in 1615. Prince Toshihito and later his son prince Toshitada erected several constructions and an impressive garden. Through the ‘windows’ you have totally different views on the gardens. Not only related to the vegetation

Sliding doors

This morning I met one of the neighbors. He explained me very gently when and how to open and close the sliding doors* in the house. Places we share, places where he could see me (‘you’re a woman’) when and

in praise of shadow

Last weekend I was suprised to see this book in the Stedelijk. It’s an essay on aesthtics by Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965). Femke told me to read it for preparation, and Kenya Hara wrote about it in his book ‘designing design’.