Day 10 - May 25 - Nijo Castle

Day 10 Photographs

Graphic Japan is everywhere.

Japanese signage is graphic to Westerners due to the kanji symbols.

Blank areas of space. 

Colors eliminated or exaggerated. 

Objects reduced to the barest essentials and extra details eliminated. 

Minimal text or no text at all.

Japanes love "simple complexity." Meaning is often implied. It is up to the viewer to interpret and find meaning. Japanese do not like the obvious, they like mystery. Japanese designers view success as "making the familiar unfamiliar." 

Roof tiles are used to visually identify different temple complexes, property and neighborhoods.

Lots of Japanese design posseses the quality of emptiness.

Graphic banner hanging at the Shunko-in north gate.

Rock garden at Ryojuki Temple.

"A vessel full of something, mounted high with whatever it may be, is never as beautiful as one that is empty." Hara - Graphic Japan

Japanese believe the single flower loses its effect in a mass. In Japan economy of material and space is important. This simplicity extends into gardening. For instance, a large rock will be surrounded by a large expanse of gravel much like graphic design in the banner.

Due to the above characteristics, many Westerners find Japanese art to be abstract.

Western cultures want clarity. Communications need to be clear--the meaning explicitly communicated. This is because the U.S. is a multicultural nation with many different religions. Japan is the opposite. It is a mostly homogenous country with common religion and history. This makes communication more simple.