When my good Russian friend who lives in Tokyo heard that I am stuck in a hotel for two weeks, she decided to send me some homemade food and books. I was expecting a postman dropping the package off at the reception, but at some point my friend texts me and asks if I see a red flickering light in my room. I couldn’t find it at first but then realized that it was a “voicemail” indicator on the landline phone that I hid behind the TV screen on my first day here because it was umm… ugly. Okay, I saw the light, I texted. Then she said that I need to come down to the reception hall to sign some papers right away because my package had to be delivered personally. Why did I need the light? Okay, nvm. I went out of the elevator and saw my friend standing at the reception desk and waving at me. It turned out she realized it was easier for her to bring the food here herself rather than entrusting it to the post office. The receptionist took the bag from her but couldn’t transport it to my room for some unknown reason or rule and she wasn’t allowed to call me either — she could only activate the voicemail button. Oh well, procedures, procedures. The same polite woman that was so bad at vacuum cleaning the other day asked me to sign a paper without approaching my friend (safety distance!) and only then I was given the bag. My friend was just standing there awkwardly the whole time and we could barely say anything to each other; she told me that the staff got very worried about this unusual situation that didn’t fit into their quarantine rules so she’d better leave fast. When I came back and opened the bag I almost cried: fresh fruit, tomatoes, home baked apple pies and eggplant/tomato paste for breakfast bruschettas packed in a jar + Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina in two volumes! I was truly blessed. In the evening I went out to buy some bread and eggs to complete my divine dinner and also took some photos on my way to the store.
Quarantine Day 4
I haven’t left my room today at all and focused on reviving the blog section on my website to finally present you some new useful content instead of my annoying personal life descriptions. I am starting a series of short articles about traditional Japanese housing and why it is so different from the Western. Today we’ll look into the first part of the concept diagram — minimalist mentality. Wanna know why traditional Japanese interiors are so clean and minimalist? Yes, Buddhism is one part of it, but have you ever heard of insanely humid summers?
Traditional Japanese Housing: Five Defining Concepts. Minimalist Mentality. Reading time: 4-5 min.
Also, If you missed the previous post, it’s a good time to catch up on How to Approach Japanese Architecture from the West before you start with the minimalism. Reading time: 7-8 min.
I haven’t left my room today at all and focused on reviving the blog section on my website to finally present you some new useful content instead of my annoying personal life descriptions. I am starting a series of short articles about traditional Japanese housing and why it is so different from the Western. Today we’ll look into the first part of the concept diagram — minimalist mentality. Wanna know why traditional Japanese interiors are so clean and minimalist? Yes, Buddhism is one part of it, but have you ever heard of insanely humid summers?
Traditional Japanese Housing: Five Defining Concepts. Minimalist Mentality. Reading time: 4-5 min.
Also, If you missed the previous post, it’s a good time to catch up on How to Approach Japanese Architecture from the West before you start with the minimalism. Reading time: 7-8 min.
Quarantine Day 5
I remembered I haven’t posted the pictures from my Shirakawa trip yet and they are a perfect addition to my post from yesterday. Shirakawa is an area in Gifu prefecture and has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1995 known for well preserved centuries-old minka (farmhouses). Minka are a parallel branch to the aristocratic residences (the super minimalist ones with tatami, you know what I’m talking about) in the genealogy of traditional Japanese housing, and they look very different both inside and outside. However, one thing is true for both — an extraordinary amount of attention is given to design the house to fully benefit from the surrounding environment. In case of minka, there were additional requirements in terms of household production; for example, the huge roofs of the houses you see in the pictures are built that way to withhold heavy snow and provide good ventilation in summer, but the spaces under them were also used as full-scale silkworm plantations.
I remembered I haven’t posted the pictures from my Shirakawa trip yet and they are a perfect addition to my post from yesterday. Shirakawa is an area in Gifu prefecture and has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1995 known for well preserved centuries-old minka (farmhouses). Minka are a parallel branch to the aristocratic residences (the super minimalist ones with tatami, you know what I’m talking about) in the genealogy of traditional Japanese housing, and they look very different both inside and outside. However, one thing is true for both — an extraordinary amount of attention is given to design the house to fully benefit from the surrounding environment. In case of minka, there were additional requirements in terms of household production; for example, the huge roofs of the houses you see in the pictures are built that way to withhold heavy snow and provide good ventilation in summer, but the spaces under them were also used as full-scale silkworm plantations.