Go set decorated with maki-e lacquer on wood.
Exlanation of a cross-legged, sitting Buddha sculpture.
This pair of screens offers a novel interpretation of the four accomplishments of calligraphy, painting, music, and go (a board game). Yusho's pictorialization of the four accomplishments is very loose. The art of painting is represented by the trio viewing a scroll on the right screen. The corner of a go board on a red lacquer stand can be seen behind the outcrop of rocks in the lower right corner. Music is suggested by the brightly clad page bearing a zither in its protective covering on the left screen. Calligraphy is implied by the voluptuous beauty leaning against a treereading a folding book, as well as by the books on the low table. - abridged from catalogue entry by Christine Guth.
Sakyamuni entered into final Nirvana just outside the city of Kusinagara lying on his left side, as if asleep, under a pair of Sala trees. The Mahaparinirvana sutra relates the events before and after the historical Buddha's death. In attendance were his disciples, as well as the Eight Classes of Divine Protector of the Buddhist Faith and numerous Bodhisattvas, who sat quietly at the Buddha's side. The Buddha's followers below are the only one's outwardly grieving.
Central to Shinto is the belief in divine begins (kami) which traditionally inhabit heaven and earth. Divine status is attached to anything which is striking, elevated and beautiful or possesses outstanding qualities: in brief, anything which awakens a sense of awe. In this way, things of natural beauty, mountains and seas, human beings, plants and animals can become gods. Symbols of every Shinto shrine are the gateways (torii), which in their simplest form are two pillars topped by a cross beam.
The Meiji Shring is a controversial shrine for many. It is where all of the war dead are entombed, including those who were executed at the end of WWII as war criminals.
Not many shrines are lucky enough to have a backdrop as beautiful as the rolling hills of Nagasaki.
A cat enjoys some sun at a shrine in Kamakura.
Photograph of the tower at old entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing.
One of two bronze lions standing guard in Beijing's Forbidden City.
A not-so-dormant volcano smokes, giving hikers a warning to keep away.
Subway exit sign.
All the stops of the train system in Hokkaido.
One of the earliest extant examples of formal secular portraiture. The sitter is traditionally identified as Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the first shogun of Japan. After the death of the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1192, Yoritomo received from the court the coveted title of Seiitaishogun (Great General Who Quells the Barbarians).
A St Olaf student being dressed in a kimono by her host family. The host mothers were trying to figure out how to tie the obi when this picture was snapped.
Portrait sculpture ["chinso"] of the Zen priest Muji Ichien, born in 1226 in Kamakura. Made of polychromed wood.
A wooden trellis at a Nara Shinto shrine being used to hang fortunes on.
Detailed explanations of the trains in Hokkaido.
Koi at Glover Garden in Nagasaki.
A tree blossoms in Engakuji, Kamakura.
It could be exasperating when dealing with a language burdened by thousands of kanji.
A couple enjoys their morning coffee and donuts.
During our stay in Nagasaki, we often rode the trolleys to get around. After spending some time at the Atomic Bomb Museum, Annie Haugen ('05) took some time during our ride to contemplate.
Scene from the Humble Administrator's Garden, the largest private garden in Suzhou. Located in the northeastern part of Suzhou city. Suzhou, located on China's coast, is known for its canals as well as its beautiful gardens dating back to the Ming Dynasty.
Stairs in a subway system, leading out.
