As promised in an earlier post, here are some of the Ikebana (floral arranging) works I saw at the exhibition that also had the preschooler ikebana I posted about the other day.

If you know the slightest thing about ikebana, you'll probably cringe at the total lack of understanding evident in my comments, so you have my apologies up front.

Based on how they were presented, the three works above were clearly by important and/or well-respected people. The middle and right-side nameplates indicate that they were done by the heads of schools (although I'm not sure whether "school" here is [...]

More pictures from our short trip to Miyajima Island, Japan two weeks ago.

The view above, taken on the ferry ride over, doesn't show much detail, but does show the relative positions of a few landmarks, including the famous main gate of the Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社、宮島) almost a mile away, the smaller stone gate for the foot path to the shrine, and our hotel. (Mouseover the bold words in this paragraph to see the items highlighted in the photo.)

You can also see Mt. Misen in the center, which I posted about recently.

As you get a bit closer (and [...]

Finishing up my Kyoto fall-color preview featuring pictures from last year that didn't make the cut a the time, here are four final images to get one into the autumn mood. (Previous installments: Part I, Part II.)

I tried my hand at product photography for the first time today, for a Kyoto charity that takes the wonderful silk fabrics from old kimonos and turns them into stylish garments. Ladies in small, rural villages in various south-east Asian countries (Laos, Cambodia, etc.) who have been trained by the charity actually do the sewing, by hand or on pedal-powered sewing-machines provided by the charity. The whole point is to provide people in these small villages a way to earn a living without having to leave their village/family behind.

The charity's name is "Reborn", which I'd guess refers both to [...]

Some of Anthony's classmates participated in an Ikebana (the art of flower arrangement) exhibition in Kyoto this past weekend. I normally have little interest in such things, but when I was invited (thanks Arthur!), I felt oddly interested, so Anthony and I headed over for a peek.

The show was in a large hall that was designed for viewing, not photography, and so with the mixed lighting (fluorescent, and various kinds of incandescent) and lack of nice backgrounds, the pictures don't come out well. Still, hopefully, some of the cuteness found in any art by four and five year olds [...]