When I was younger, I've always been sort of "teased" by my fellow comrades for not following the norms of my culture. Doing so made me look strange to the eyes of others of my own origins. What they did not know is that I found them strange for following blindly what they've been thought since birth and not exploring all the beauty the rest of the world has to offer. This brings me to say that I want to dedicate this entire post to all the things I loved while growing up, which happen to be mainly associated with the Japanese culture. From movies and games, to architecture, to landscapes, it was a culture I always related to and found great beauty in. Today as an adult and as a landscape architect, I tend to always find inspiration in japanese gardens, because to me, the creators of such gardens seem to be the only ones that master the true meaning of what a landscape represents.
House of Vision from FORM Kouichi Kimura
Oh the joys of folding paper to create anything your imagination tells you. I remember spending hours with friends filling up plastic jars with hundreds of little origami stars. These beautiful captures are from Flickr users Annika Svenmarck and Micci Laroza respectively. Visit them for more amazing photographs!
I always wondered why here in eastern Canada we don't cultivate more cherry blossoms in our parks. Why I ask? They are winter hardy up to zone 5! The magic they bring to any space is indescribable. I once heard in one of my classes that it is because they are not "emblematic of our nation"... ARE YOU SERIOUS? Instead we're stuck with diseased maples everywhere. Anyhow, I'm glad I stumbled on this amazing blog where I found the above picture, the photographs are just stunning. Please visit tender love and a seedy wink!
Ghibli, Ghibli,Ghibli. I lied, this isn't just about the things I loved while growing up, it's also about the things I love right now. I will always remain profoundly fascinated by Studio Ghibli's movies. I hope they never stop making them..
A photographer I avidly follow on DeviantART is Jyoujo. He managed to capture flawlessly the beauty painted by japanese landscapes and gardens. For me his pictures are eye-candy.