Views From The Miho Museum

Two views looking from the Miho Museum. The architect has made full use of the wonderful site in the mountains with all the lovely peach and maple trees. The view through the door towards the tunnel marks the end of a very interesting visit to the museum. I still have a couple of pictures of the tunnel, and the surrounds to the reception area, to post.

The Kenzan Collection at The Miho Museum

The Miho Museum has a wonderful collection of Ogata Kenzan's work. It was not on display when I visited but these scans of postcards of the square plate with the 'Peony' design and the decorated 'Mukozuke' dishes may give an idea of the quality of the collection. The museum published a book "Appetising Beauty - Kenzan and Seasonal Dishes" which won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for the "Best Photography in the World" in 2005. It is still available from the Museum shop and, if your interest is in Kenzan, photography, or Japanese cooking, then you should buy a copy.

Some Pots at The Miho Museum

These pots are part of the permanent collection at Miho. The red raku tea bowl is by Honnami Koetsu and the large tsubo is a 15th. Century Shigaraki piece. It has a natural ash glaze from being fired in an anagama kiln and stands over 500mm tall. Some of the pots in the exhibition that was on when I visited were even taller.

About the Miho Museum.

The exhibition that was on when I visited the Miho Museum was of pots from the Six Ancient Kilns and some other early kilns of the 12th. to 14th. Century. Photography of the exhibition pots was not permitted but I have scanned some postcards and will post pictures later. This pot was in the foyer with a large floral arrangement. The world renowned French architect, I. M. Pei, designed the buildings and landscape in sympathy with "The thinking of the Japanese people and their traditions". The Miho website is worth a look at better still is to make a visit.

The Miho Museum

From Himeji City I travelled to Kyoto and the next day went to the Miho Museum. This museum is situated amongst peach and maple forests in the hills near Shigaraki. It was early for the autumn colours in Japan but it was easy to imagine what it would look like in a week or twos time. The entry tunnel was something special as well. It was a ten minute walk up to the museum or you could take a ride in a small electric cart from the reception area to the museum.

Before Moving Away from Himeji City

These are the last two images of Himeji City. The plates outside this restaurant, together with the beautiful calligraphy, made a very attractive entry way. The Murasaki Shikibu berries were growing outside a building on the main street. My poor plant has never had berries like these and struggles to cope with the frosty conditions we have here.

More Himeji City Street Art

These man-hole covers are works of art. Many cities in Japan use these enamelled covers and each one is different. The ones in Goshogawara in Aomori depicted dragons. Makes walking so much more interesting.