襖絵

Posted by GJC (Kyoto (京都), Japan) on 26 July 2009 in Lifestyle & Culture.

I'm continually drawn to this subject, though I don't think I do it all that well. And because all power lines are above ground in Japan, and almost every house has an antenna and a satellite dish, it's very hard to get a "clear" shot in an urban area like Kyoto. But I enjoy the challenge of trying to find a composition that hangs together.
Still, these scenes always remind me of the "fusuma-e" (襖絵), the ink paintings done on sliding doors in traditional Japanese homes and buildings. Every time I see a scene like this I am always impressed again at just how elegantly those traditional artists translated views like this into such powerful art.

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