Category: Japanese Architecture

Michiyuki and the Katsura Imperial Villa

Michiyuki and the Katsura Imperial Villa

Michiyuki: Traveling and Beyond Being under water blurs the self/space boundary because you are always in motion. Michiyuki, the Japanese spatial concept for “moving self,” means traveling from once place to another. It specifically refers to the space you covered and the time you spent while traveling. But by translating

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Mindfulness through Ma

Mindfulness through Ma

More than a gate Another Japanese spatial concept that contributes to designing a mindful space is the boundary in motion. One of the Japanese words for this is Ma, which generally means “gap.” The Chinese character for Ma (間) represents a gate made out of two doors with the moonlight coming through.

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Utsuroi in Japanese Architecture and Landscape

Utsuroi in Japanese Architecture and Landscape

Utsuroi: changing space Utsuroi, another Japanese spatial concept that causes the self/space boundary to blur, is present throughout Japanese architecture and gardens. Utsuroi means gradual and inevitable change from one state to another. It can also refer to reflection or projection of one thing onto another. Both meanings suggest that nothing

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Modern Japanese Architecture – Exposed Geometric Pattern

Did you know that modern Japanese architecture was contemporary with, or even was going ahead of, American and European counterparts? There was much both-way communication and architectural developments between West and East in early 21st century, about which I will write in this blog sometime soon. Yet here I would like

Read More »

Category: Japanese Architecture

Michiyuki and the Katsura Imperial Villa
Michiyuki and the Katsura Imperial Villa

Michiyuki: Traveling and Beyond Being under water blurs the self/space boundary because you are always in motion. Michiyuki, the Japanese spatial concept for “moving self,” means traveling from once place to another. It specifically refers to the space you covered and the time you spent while traveling. But by translating

Read More »
Mindfulness through Ma
Mindfulness through Ma

More than a gate Another Japanese spatial concept that contributes to designing a mindful space is the boundary in motion. One of the Japanese words for this is Ma, which generally means “gap.” The Chinese character for Ma (間) represents a gate made out of two doors with the moonlight coming through.

Read More »
Utsuroi in Japanese Architecture and Landscape
Utsuroi in Japanese Architecture and Landscape

Utsuroi: changing space Utsuroi, another Japanese spatial concept that causes the self/space boundary to blur, is present throughout Japanese architecture and gardens. Utsuroi means gradual and inevitable change from one state to another. It can also refer to reflection or projection of one thing onto another. Both meanings suggest that nothing

Read More »
Modern Japanese Architecture – Exposed Geometric Pattern

Did you know that modern Japanese architecture was contemporary with, or even was going ahead of, American and European counterparts? There was much both-way communication and architectural developments between West and East in early 21st century, about which I will write in this blog sometime soon. Yet here I would like

Read More »

Japanese + Modern

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