Lost in Translation
A sweetness in the air... It's March, the beginning of spring and cherry blossoms. Of course, I arrive in Japan with a lot of epinal images in my head. But will living Japan be in line with what Western society fantasizes about? The thousand-year-old Japan of samurais and Geishas or the Japan of mangas and ultra-technology. Which one will blow up in my face? A fascinating journey and a magnificent experience where you have to forget your reference points and let yourself be guided by the charm of these people and culture.
Very quickly I feel the duality of these two Japans which cohabit and marry. The calm and serenity of a tea ceremony mitigates the bustling frenzy of the Shibuya pavements. The roundness and elegance of the curves of the Shodo1 clash and intermingle with the steel lines of the towers that rise to the sky.
The Japanese have created a permanent and visually harmonious dialogue between the ancestral and the modern, two facets of the same culture of beauty and refinement. Aestheticism and harmony are an apparent art of living in this society which is governed by very precise conduct rules and codes.
"Culture of beauty and refinement"
During this journey, I imprint in my pictorial universe a series of fragments of images and associated sensations. The rice paper with its slightly rough texture under the fingers; the powdery colours, the play of transparency so as not to reveal too much. In the Japanese visual universe everything leads to touch, to sensuality. The slight sound of the water boiling in the teapot to be prepared for the tea ceremony, the soft green colour of Matcha. The calm of a tea house, the diffused silhouette of a Maiko silhouetted through the shoji, her elegant, ample and delicate movements. Her make-up and hairstyle chiselled like a master's painting, the embroidered fabric of her kimono which makes her look like she has been taken from an engraving in the ukiyo-e2 tradition. The flamboyant red of the maple leaves stands out against a clear March sky, the elongated shadow of a temple.
"The play of transparency"
All of this aesthetic can be found in Japanese housing, both traditional and modern. As in the ukiyo-e tradition where nature is at the centre of everything, the design of the Machiya3 house brings nature into the home. A flow crosses from the main entrance on the street to the back entrance which opens the house to a small Japanese garden. The space is minimalist, discreet, subtle, like the Japanese. The place is conducive to serenity and meditation. A light breeze enters and makes the origami twirl.
"The embroidered fabric of her kimono"
1Calligraphy
2Geisha apprentice
3Rice paper dividing wall
4Images of the floating world
5Traditional Kyoto house
