A quick photo poll question: Which of these statues seen on the street in Japan is more disturbing? This chubby nude saxophonist from Himeji: Or this small child riding a giant carp from Takayama: Leave your answer in the comments. You can only pick one.
Category: Japan
Bleg: Name This Artist
On our first day in Kyoto, Kate and I went to a bunch of temples, including one that was showing a bunch of really cool paintings featuring Buddhist temple accessories come to life and chasing monsters around. They had a sort of demented whimsy to them, and you can get a little flavor of it […]
Don’t You Blashpheme In Here!
I’ve gotten away from posting Japan pictures, but here’s what may be my favorite warning sign ever: In case you have trouble reading the text in the image:
Non-Dorky Poll: Monkey Power!
This is the famous carving of the Three Wise Monkeys on the stable at the Nikko Tosho-gu: Looking at that suggests a possible question for a non-dorky poll, analogous to the dork classic “what superpower would you want?”: If you could go through life either seeing no evil, hearing no evil, or speaking no evil, […]
After Faking Her Death to Escape the Potter Fiasco, Hedwig Moved to Japan and Took Night Classes in Psychology…
It’s as good an explanation as any for this:
The Importance of “Framing”
The selection of a smaller subject area for viewing, and the contrast between the dim interior and the bright exterior really enhance the aesthetic experience of the garden: What?
Non-Dorky Poll: Silver and Gold
The Silver Pavilion: The Golden Pavilion: Which do you like better?
Non-Dorky Poll: Giant Buddha Smackdown
A simple question: We have the Great Buddha at Nara: and the Great Buddha at Kamakura: Which is better?
The Great Beer Mystery
I was just reminded again of a mysterious thing in Yokohama, that some readers may be able to help with. One of the first nights we were in Yokohama, I went up to the bar on the 70th floor, just to see what it was like. I was neither cool enough nor rich enough to […]
Picture Contest Winner
Some time back, I proposed a contest: The person who comes closest to the actual number [of pictures taken in Japan] without going over will win something cheap and tacky from Japan that I will buy before I leave. I haven’t fogotten about this, I’ve just been too busy to do all that much with […]