More Hakone Open-Air Museum

In the middle of the park there's a stained glass tower decorated with flat shiny sculptures. This one reminded me of something. I think Whitney Strieber might have used it for the cover of his alien abduction book. And I just spent fifteen minutes researching that, time that would have been better spent finishing my Christmas projects.

The most eye-catching statue

Before cell phones, we held shells to our ears

Hard to get a good shot of The Hand of God

Lots of Henry Moore scuptures

This was my favorite sculpture

This is the other side of my favorite sculpture

Carving Wood in the Seventeenth Century

There are 5,173 wooden sculptures in Toshogu Shrine. A few more than five hundred of them can be seen on Yomei-mon, the striking gate leading to the inner precincts.

Yomeimon at Toshugo in Nikko

The Yomei-mon gate, deservedly designated a national treasure, is also called Higurashino-mon which translates to "the gate where people spend all day long to look".  If I didn't have a train to catch, I'd probably still be standing there catching flies in my gaping mouth.

The gate rests on twelve pillars, one of them inverted to signify imperfection and the desire for long life.  In ancient times it was believed that perfection was the beginning of decline so people used to leave space for three tiles on the roof when they built a house.

Misa and Mineko outside Yomei-mon

A sleeping cat is carved above the entrance to Okusha, the area of the shrine where Ieyasu Tokugawa is buried.  This is the most famous sculpture in Toshugo so I had to try to blend into a class of yellow-capped students to get close enough to take a picture. Their guide was probably telling them that the sparrow perched on the cat's back means that peace has arrived in Japan after years of civil strife.

Another interesting carving can be found on the gable of one of the storehouses across from the sacred stable.  People call this "The Imaginary Elephants" because the artist had never seen one and had to rely on his imagination and some limited written descriptions.

I hope the imperfections translated into a long life for him.

An Art Deco Fairy Tale: The Teien Museum nee Asaka Family Residence

Once upon a time, in 1910 in other words, there was a prince named Yasuhiko Asaka who married the eighth daughter of Emperor Meiji. Her name was Princess Nobuko. The emperor granted them 33,000 square meters of imperial land in Shirokanedai in 1921. Not the most timely of wedding gifts, but nevertheless surely much appreciated.

The prince went off to France to study military affairs in 1922 and was forced to extend his stay when he was involved in a car accident the following spring. His devoted wife rushed to Paris to nurse him back to health. It was a long convalescence that just happened to coincide with the golden age of art deco in France. The prince felt well enough to attend the Art Deco Exposition in Paris on July 9, 1925 with Princess Nobuko at his side. Alas, his boss must have seen their picture in the newspaper as they were called back to Japan before the end of the year.

They decided to build a house incorporating the best of the art deco styles on their land in Shirokanedai.  The house was completed in 1933.  Sadly, Princess Nobuko passed away that November but the house continued to serve as the Asaka Family residence until the end of World War II.  Prince Yasuhiko renounced his membership in the imperial family when the new constitution was adopted.  (This was the constitution that cut married princesses out of the imperial family.  Most people call it a constitution, but I think of it as "MacArthur's Misogyny".  One wonders if this was his response to being spurned by a princess or two.)

Ishii-san at Asaka Residence

Once the Asaka Family vacated the premises, the house was put to various uses. Sometimes it was the official residence of the prime minister or foreign minister, and it was once used as the state guesthouse. Half of a century after its completion, on October 1, 1983, it became the Teien (Garden) Museum. The museum's concept proposed a new form of art appreciation, where art and the space in which the art is displayed complement each other.

Ishii-san and I skipped the exhibit -- Glasses Admired by the Russian Tsars -- and toured the garden instead but I hope to return for the Art Deco exhibit this October.  

The garden itself is no great shakes by Japanese garden standards but the vast lawn is sprinkled with a half dozen or more interesting and whimsical sculptures.

I did not see a single lotus plant.  That was something of a relief.

Chairs are scattered around the vast lawn behind the house.

Ishii-san is always such a good sport!

A lovely Japanese-style garden takes up about a third of the space

Cafe Kanetanaka at the entrance to the museum grounds serves small portion lunches, priced accordingly, meaning you can easily rationalize ordering dessert from both quantity and cost perspectives. I, of course, can easily rationalize ordering dessert from any perspective.