Standing on the veranda on the left side of the Initiation Hall, looking up, back, and to the left of the Initiation Hall, one sees the five-story pagoda that rises through the trees behind the Initiation Hall. This image gives a clear sense of the location of the pagoda in relation to the Initiation Hall and also a clear indication of the lack of symmetry of the positioning of the various elements of the compound at Muroji.
The pagoda at Muroji is located on a level carved out of the hillside perhaps thirty feet or so (vertically) above the level of the Main Hall and its pool. The stone steps shown here are to the left of the Main Hall and lead one directly up toward the pagoda, enhancing the sense of the height and floating quality of the pagoda, as one ascends the steps.
These dancers are performing a traditional folk dance, a deer dance, during a fall festival at Chusonji, in Hiraizumi
Guizhou-Sichuan border. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
On one's left as one walks along the path just inside the Nio gate at Muroji, is a small pond with lilly pads and koi .
Closer view of the side of the Ichino kiln, showing the arched opening, the door, into one of the ware chambers. Piled next to the opening are the brick blocks that will be used to close off the opening for the next firing. Bundles of wood are stored on top of the arch and will be totally dried by the heat of the kiln during the early stages of the firing. Although there appear to be a couple of square kiln shelves to the left of the door in this photo, the Tamba kilns still are stacked largely using the traditional means of loading them, which means the use of saggers and/or the stacking of pots on top of one another, with wads of clay and high-silica ash wash between them, to prevent them from sticking to one another.
At the time of the visit to the Ichino workshop, one chamber of the kiln was being rebuilt, giving us a very interesting look at the structure of a Tamba kiln. The bricks used to construct the flues appear to be either commercially produced brick or, at least, carefully pressed hand-made brick. The brick of the arch, on the other hand, is obviously hand-formed brick and less uniform in size and shape. The arch structure is, obviously, only one brick thick -- perhaps about 5 inches -- and, over that single course of brick, the arch has been mudded over with a layer of clay.
Luofengcheng (the place where the "Phoenix" fell). This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
View Chongqing-Chengdu, Sichuan. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
These pieces had been left outside, on the ground next to the kiln. Some have obvious rough spots on them and may be pieces that will be re-fired.
This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
This is the home and workshop of the Ichino family, one of the foremost pottery families in Tamba-Tachikui.
On way to Huangshan South Anhui. This image and all othrs identified as I.D.Nos. ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
Thorp Collection, Temple - Bridge - Southern Anhui. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing," the first Thorp image presented in this collection.
Thorp Collection, Old Bridge and Tree, Huizhou-Huangshan. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing," the first Thorp image presented in this collection.
Huangshan., Anhui (Yellow Mountains) This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of the image I.D. No. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
Thorp Collection, Salty accumulation due to seepage. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072.
From the nandaimon, the great south gate, one approaches the compound of Horyuji along a very long graveled walk. The compound, proper, is surrounded by a cloister, a walled and roofed walk, which sets the compound apart from the world surrounding it. The entrance to the compound is this great chumon, middle gate, one of the original structures remaining from the late 7th century, when the compound was built. The gate, on the south perimeter of the compound, is two stories high and four bays wide. The outer bays are occupied by sculpted Nio figures, guardian deities of Buddhism. The gate at Horyuji deliberately is not placed perfectly symmetrically, at the center of the south cloister wall. Instead, it is slightly to the west of center, to accommodate the placement of the pagoda and the kondo inside the compound, each equidistant from the north-south walk bisecting the compound.
This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing," the first Thorp image presented in this project collection.
