This picture is
taken in Kyoto and the name of the temple is ‘Kiyomizu Dera’. This temple is
one of the most famous temples in Japan.
The season is in autumn.
The left side of the trees is still green but for the right side of the tree,
all of the leaves have fallen down. The green trees might be pine tree because
the leaves stay on the tree all year long. I see some leaves turning in yellow,
but I do not see leaves turning in red. There are no clouds in the sky and the
weather is very mild. The temple is built in very high place. I guess this is
because the view is very beautiful, and some people are having a view in the
picture. This temple is made from tree and it must be a hard work to build the structures
from the bottom. What I found interesting was the double bars which were made
not to fall down from the temple. I think this is because there was a belief
that says if you jump out from the temple and if you were still alive, your
wishes will come true. If you died, you can still rest in peace. Therefore, the
owner of the temple made the bars double because it is dangerous (I don’t know
it helped or not) I also like the angle of the picture. In this picture, there is
a temple which was made by people, and on the left side, there are some natures.
We can see that people and nature is coexisting. How wonderfulJ!
I can see that
this girl is not from a poor family, because there is shamisen on the left, tea
implements on the middle and the back, and sushi on the front. The girl is
sitting in ‘seiza’ which is the Japanese way of sitting. She seems like she is
going to eat sushi because she is holding a small plate and chopsticks.
However, it is weird because sushi is considered to be an expensive food and we
usually eat it with family. I also think this picture is strange because there are
two tea implements.
The girl is
looking on the right but there is nothing. There might be something which the
picture did not include but it seems that she is totally out of it. She is not
thinking about sushi, or shamisen. On her hair there is a flower instead of kanzashi,
or real flower trying to make like a kanzashi, because something is hanging
down from the flower.
To me, this
picture is just representing Japanese culture things to the foreigners. It is
so strange to have all of the things in one place!
I wonder why the girl is not focusing on anything in the photograph when she has so much. Maybe she is just a prop for the rest of the items in the picture. In the other picture, the temple seems out of place as if it should not be there, but it looks like it was grown from the trees. Nice choices in pictures.
返信削除Yes, it is weird that the girl is not interested in the thing that she have in front. So I think she is just showing the Japanese culture to the viwers of the picture.
削除I like your comment about the temple! Thank you:)
I believe that the picture with the girl is clearly staged. The biggest factor in determining this is what you had already mentioned, her gaze. So empty and plank. Like she was a doll physically put into that position. Concerning the temple I am very unsure as to why it was built so high up. Does it have a defensive purpose or is it strictly to be aesthetically pleasing?
返信削除Thank you for your comment!
削除I think the temple was built this high because people can have a good sight of the Kyoto. Especially in the autumn, the leaves turn color and the view is so wonderful.
(Sorry for the late comment,I commented on the ones above my name instead.)
返信削除The picture with the girl definitely looks out of it. There's no movement. I also agree that the girls looks staged, but I also interpreted that she's waiting for someone to come and join her eat the meal. For the picture of the temple, to be honest, is kind of scary because I'm afraid of heights. Although, I bet it has a great view from the top :) Great analyses!
Ivan had a good question about why the temple was built there. Aside from what Kaho says, there is also a tradition of building temples on mountains, which have sacred associations. In this case, there is the added element of the "kiyomizu," or pure water. When you visit the temple, you can drink from a spring that is located to the side and slightly below the temple. The water is delicious. In Kyoto, there are especially a lot of temples built on Higashiyama, literally, Eastern Mountains (although really hills), which give you a view of the Western Mountains, which are associated with paradise for the departed.
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