Strips of colourful paper birds
Architecture,  Art,  Japan,  Lens-Artists,  Travel galleries

Gallery: the delights of Japanese design

May 19, 2024 / 68 Comments

The Japanese have a wonderful sense of design and a refinement in their art. They try to produce beautiful paintings with the minimum number of strokes.

David Rockefeller

And not just beautiful paintings of course. That sense of design pervades the whole country it seems, from architecture to clothing, household items to gardens … Somehow the Japanese know how to balance minimalism with intricate detail, with an apparently effortless emphasis on simple, natural elements.

Ann-Christine has just returned from Japan, a country I visited eleven years ago. Her photos, linked by the theme of ‘delicate’ for this week’s Lens Artists challenge, have inspired me to look back at my own archives from that trip. One of the things I most enjoyed on that trip was they way that the Japanese can make anything look beautiful, even manhole covers!

So here is a selection of photos of some things that caught my eye there, with an emphasis on the most delicate of designs. And I do hope Ann-Christine will overlook this blatant pinching of her idea!

Two rows of paper lanterns wit Japanese lettering

Paper lanterns at Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo

Round white sweet shaped like a flower bud with a leaf

Sweetmeat served to us at Nakajima Teahouse, Hamarikyu Gardens, Tokyo

Small folded paper bird on a hedge

Paper crane left on a hedge in the Peace Park, Hiroshima

(my feature photo was of course also taken here)

Two large straw hats hanging on a wooden wall

Straw hats hanging in the officers, quarters, Hakone Tokaido Checkpoint

Small wooden box with geometric patterns

Detail marquetry, known as Yosegi Zaiku, on a Himitsu-Bako or ‘secret box’, Hakone

Detail of an embroidered kimono on display in Kusakabe mingei-kan, an old merchant house in Takayama

Blue kimono sleeve embroidered with birds and plants
Strips of paper with Japanese writing tied to a stick

Prayers left at Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine, Takayama

Two paper parasols on the ground

Paper parasols outside a shop in Takayama

Hand holding a brush over a paper with black ink swirls

Calligraphy demonstration in the market in Takayama

Gold rooster-like bird on a pedestal

On top of the Golden Pavilion, aka Kinkaku-ji, part of the Rokuon-ji temple complex in Kyoto

Green insect perched on a carved roof eave

A praying mantis adds a delicate touch to a roof at Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

A delicately worked metal lantern, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

Large ornately carved metal lantern
Lamp hanging from a metal pole with carved flowers and leaves

A lamppost in Matsumoto with delicate flower decorations

Detailed carving of a dragon on the edge of a basin

Dragon fountain in front of Rinnouji Temple in Nikko

Carving of a white bird in wood

Detail of a building at Futarasan-jinja, Nikko

Carving of a bird in wood, painted in bright colours

Delicately carved bird on the Karamon Gate at Tôshôgû Shrine, Nikko

Wood panel with a small carved figure and gold lettering

A shop front in Nikko proves that delicate carving isn’t just a skill of the past

I visited Japan in 2013

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