Patterns Of Japan

The replication wonders of Japan never cease....

It's hard to take an uninteresting shot of the Prada store in Tokyo. Designed by Herzog and &persons::findbyid('pierre_de_meuron')->getLinkAltName("de Meuron"), the bubbly glass tower is rigidly segmented, yet wavy and disorienting.

Though it was designed by Swiss architects, it is a perfect example of the Japanese propensity for order and pattern combined with organic expressiveness. It's an incredible building – I just wish I could afford the shoes!

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Beauty in repetition (and neon) in Tokyo's Shibuya district.

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At the JJ Club 100 in Kyoto's Gion district, they have EVERYTHING. This photo does not do it justice, as there were at least a dozen more signs with ingenious icons that didn't fit inside the frame of my lens. But you get the idea – from virtual reality to telescope viewing to sauna.

And where else do you find two kinds of survival activities under one roof? (BTW, does anyone know what "PRICLA" is?)

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Little wooden plaques, called ema, are hung on specially made racks outside the temples during the Christmas and New Year's season in Japan. Hopes for everything from world peace to job promotions are written on them. This picture was taken a while back, so we were going into the year of the beaver, as the illustrations represent.

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People as pattern: Thousands of well-wishers visit the Fushimi Inari shrine complex in Kyoto every New Year's Day to pray for good luck in business, studies, love or family matters. Nearly swallowed up by the crowd, the author stands in front of a fence tied with omikuji, little paper fortunes.

Posted by Noelia in Tokyo & Kyoto on 04/Aug/2006

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