Yielding Beauty: A Retrospective for Kiichi Sumikawa
Jennifer Pastore
The 88-year-old Kiichi Sumikawa is an artist fully fluent in his materials. His sculptures of wood from Japanese trees (cedars, camphors, zelkovas) are striking works of texture and balance, typically involving abstract forms rising out of sturdy bases. Concave and Convex: A Sumikawa Kiichi Retrospective at Yokohama Museum of Art surveys Sumikawa's six-decade career. Showing works ranging from his sculptures to public projects such as Tokyo Skytree, the exhibition demonstrates how dialogues with materials have shaped his path as a creator. more...
The Former Kusuo Yasuda Residence:
A Historic Tokyo Home of Understated Elegance
James Lambiasi
When exploring the architectural wonders of Japan, there is no destination more fascinating than Tokyo, a city of constant reinvention and one abundant with contemporary design. In addition, there are hidden architectural gems that remind us of the elegant grandeur of Tokyo's past. Located in the quiet neighborhood of Sendagi is the Former Kusuo Yasuda Residence, one of the finest examples of prewar residential architecture to be found in Tokyo. more...
Osawa no Sato: A Taste of Rural Tokyo a Century Ago
Alan Gleason
Yes, there is a rural Tokyo. Today, suburban sprawl covers most of the flat land from the city center to the foothills of the Kanto Range, but not so long ago you could find bucolic landscapes just a few miles west of downtown. I grew up in such an area, the Osawa district of the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka. Today housing developments encroach from all sides, but miraculously, a little bit of the old Osawa survives. On a few acres straddling the Nogawa you can find the region's oldest functioning mill wheel, a beautifully restored Meiji-era farmhouse, and even an ancient tomb. more...
