mono no aware

the films of yasujiro ozu are simply one of the most beautiful things i know. i love the slow pace and the intimate minutiae of lived life they poetically portray. in the right mood, i could quite seriously watch them with the sound and subtitles off and still be enthralled, as the low monochrome perspective and depth of field unfolds an interior through layers of domesticity, where you can see so exquisitely how families lived in such small spaces, how rooms transformed to meet changing needs during the day and night - the kotatsu and tea trays are packed away to make room for the unfolded futon come night time.

i have been lucky enough to live in some very old traditional houses in kyoto, and every time i watch an ozu film like tokyo story i find all of my senses are transported in a very tangible way to the tatami rooms, papered shoji, green tea and fluttering uchiwa of old kyoto houses.

ozu's films are an exemplar of the japanese concept of mono no aware; this senses of cinema article provides an interesting read from a film critic perspective, and i am most interested in reading this book on ozu and the poetics of cinema।

these stills were sourced via goofbutton.

ps - i went to the public lecture in melbourne last night by sakamato-san. the architect who introduced him mentioned ozu as one who sakamoto's philosophy and architecture evokes. i think one of his quotes was something along the lines of 'ozu makes great film art from the everyday'. and so today i post ozu that i was saving up for a rainy day. i will post more on sakamoto-san's poetics in the ordinary soon.

poetics in the ordinary

i am curious about this phrase, 'poetics in the ordinary'.

so maybe i will go tonight in melbourne:
rmit design research public lecture and exhibition
house: poetics in the ordinary
kazunari sakamoto
fed square ACMI cinema 1
6pm

pecha kucha melbourne

ps - anyone in melbourne and keen for 6 minutes and 40 seconds of slides of inspiration from architects, designers, artists and the man behind the ever so lovely concept of the jacky winter group and lamington drive gallery might want to head in to pecha kucha melbourne tonight at the toff in town...
images: dylan martorell warburton (top) and osaka loop line (bottom) via the jacky winter group

from pecha kucha site:

'pecha kucha is japanese for chit-chat and is a new way to present using PowerPoint. presenters are allowed to use 20 slides, which are shown on screen for 20 seconds each. it equals a 6 minute, 40 second presentation. it was great! If you’ve ever sat through a boring presentation with the presenter rambling on and on and on or reading to you EXACTLY what is already on the screen, this is definitely for you.'

kuwaii @ monk house design

i recently lashed out and bought a lovely kuwaii dress from my favourite neighbourhood clothes shop, monk house design. kuwaii are just brilliant; the jewel colours, the cuts.

monk house design stock beautiful clothes with a focus on local designers who are making amazing things. they have entirely covetable collections that include dylan martorell printed teatowels and delicate porcelain as well as lovely clothes. and you just can't go past their meishi.

monk house design retro meishi

hannah rose porcelain available via monk house design

i LOVE this (the plate reads 'maybe dancing will help'). available at monk house design

kyoko okubo

oh gosh. this is a perfect example of the whimsical and wonderful japanese world of art. figurines by kyoko okubo. 

via booooooom.com

in praise of blooms, tsubaki

coming back to australia for holidays whilst living in japan, i was mesmerised  by the brown yellow grey green eucalypt landscape outside the car window on the way back from tullamarine in melbourne and then on through the country highways to home. there was something so eternal in the silvery leaves and shades of yellow grasses. in japan, the seasons are so marked; the lush green of the mountains and the sound of water running everywhere the constant background to seasonal bursts of orange red in autumn, clouds of cherry pink and plum red in spring. and in late autumn and winter, the camellia come on show. camellia in japanese is tsubaki, and i absolutely fell for their flush of white, red and pink on glossy dark green leaves during my time in japan. they bloom, then the gentle heavy drop of petals once their time is done.

it is another thing i owe to japan; being more finely attuned to delicate, seasonal blooms. in melbourne now i stop and admire bursts of yellow and red wattle, and surreptitiously pick a little spray of colour from the nature strip for my glass jar vase on the kitchen table. and now it is almost time in melbourne for the old fashioned beauty of camellia. the camellia in my front garden struggled in the unending, ungodly heat of this past melbourne summer, and i have my fingers crossed that come late autumn and winter it will re-gather and return, because i have a little bamboo vase on my wall and an empty italian soda bottle on my table just waiting for those first blooms.

flickr (god bless) has groups devoted to camellia. most of these photos are from this group, and also from the very, very wonderful polaroid photographer jen gotch's flickr (see here for a lovely hello sandwich post on jen gotch) and photographer wai lin tse. and this japanese sweet is made to evoke camellia, very cute! and while in a floral mood, i would love a bathroom tiled in these floral mosaics by bisazza.

above from flickr camellia photography group

above three: jen gotch

wai lin tse

all above from flickr camellia photography group

hokipoki says good morning

hokipoki's beautiful food photography inspired me to make an onigiri lunch. the above photo is a hokipoki piece of deliciouness. the below photo is my recent onigiri lunch at home. hokipoki site, hokipoki tumblr, hokipoki flickr.

my lunch is:

misoshiru with ginger, spring onion, wakame and tofu (justhunry has a good basic miso soup section)

hakusai no sokusekizuke (quick chinese cabbage pickle recipe via justhungry)

3 types of onigiri: ground sesame seeds, seasoned kombu filling, and dried red shiso

ajitsuke nori for eating onigiri (salt seasoned seaweed strips)

genmai-cha (brown rice tea)

i have put up the directions for making these three onigiri and more under ii-ne-kore vegetarian recipes link on the left. onigiri make a lovely wholesome lunch and of course an excellent bento item, please enjoy!

above: my onigiri lunch

above three: hokipoki food photography (beautiful kaki shot)

kyouei design

kyouei design have a really great way of looking at the world. the balloonlamp above is made with a balloon and an LED. in some way it all reminds me a little of droog.

an update: i really, really want this 15 piece ballonlamp. why is it japanese designers make such wonderful balloon chandeliers?

the caption for the topography plate below reads:

'please pour the soup into this plate. mountain range and a lake are completed. and the bottom of the lake appears when you eat the soup. please enjoy the taste, the landscape and topography of this plate. when you use it as a salad dish, it becomes a forest. you can create a landscape on your very own table'

available via dedece+ in australia.

bulb lantern

the colour light: a 20-minute DVD with all the colours of the spectrum

chandelier light

glass tank: 'it is a glass for drinking a lot'