These Japanese rice farmers aren’t afraid of stirring up a little controversy in their village. Each year farmers in Japan plant specific strains of rice to colorfully illustrate iconic individuals from all parts of the world.
They’ve turned Inakadate in Aomori Prefecture into a yearly tourist destination for those who’d like to see what illustrations are drumming up appreciation and dismay. One of their more talked about illustrations was that of the Mona Lisa. Some thought the rice fields should only be dedicated to figures relative to Japanese culture but farmers chose variety instead.
Among their installations is one of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous paintings, Napolean Bonaparte, Marilyn Monroe, Star Wars, and Gone with the Wind. This form of art is known as Tanbo art and serves as a second term for Japanese rice field. The tiny village has made a name for itself for its rice-party art as being the only one on the planet to exhibit this sort of artwork.
Japanese carpenters known as miyadaiku use centuries-old techniques in working with wood to build and maintain traditional structures such as temples and shrines. Miyadaiku developed unique methods for interlocking pieces of wood together using distinctive woodworking joints. It involves building wooden furniture without the use of nails, screws, glue or electric tools. Takahiro Matsumoto has […]
moriyuki ochiai architects sets a constellation of tea rooms under the stars, a cluster of tea rooms offering a view of the surrounding scenery and the starlit sky as a teahouse connecting people to the stars and nature located in the town of bisei, okayama prefecture, japan, known as a sanctuary for stargazing. the site is surrounded by rolling hills and distant mountains and offers a view of a spectacular landscape.
tea room in the fog
moriyuki ochiai architects’s pieces are able to host a variety of events held throughout the year by the astronomy club and the tea ceremony club as well as a performance stage for concerts and plays. named after two rivers running through it, the town of bisei (jap. ‘beautiful stars’) is found in okayama prefecture which is also known for being the birthplace of eisai, a japanese buddhist priest, credited with introducing green tea to japan. in alignment with its heritage, the constellation of tea rooms is also in harmony with the surrounding undulating terrain, thus creating a landscape in which the indoor and outdoor expand seamlessly like the flow of a river under the milky way.
uster of tea rooms offering a view of the surrounding scenery and the starlit sky
the japanese tea room was developed as an enclosed microcosm called ‘enclosure’, and as such, each unit is designed as a spatial installation where one can perceive minute changes in its natural surroundings and experience the wonder and mystery of natural phenomena. meanwhile, mirrors placed on the exterior walls reflect the ever-changing outdoor environment like the water surface of rice paddies scattered across bisei, thus modifying the look and perception of the constructions throughout the day.
the constellation of tea rooms is also in harmony with the surrounding undulating terrain
visitors can experience the project as a galaxy of tea rooms built independently as they move in and around them freely. the outdoor space, taken as the space comprised between the tea rooms, the surrounding nature and the starry sky are beautifully intertwined to form a new landscape that comes in and out of view through the openings and gaps cut out from the multiple structures. the loose gathering of tea rooms forms an extension of the landscape and creates an environment enhancing the fun and joy derived from human activities. by merging together this newly formed belt of tea rooms with the idyllic hills, mountains and starry skies of bisei, the studio sought to realize a tea house that reshapes the town’s panorama.
creating a landscape in which the indoor and outdoor expand seamlessly like the flow of a river under the Milky Way.a cluster of tea roomsthe loose gathering of tea rooms forms an extension of the landscape and creates an environment enhancing the fun and joy derived from human activitiestea ceremonytea ceremonytea ceremonythe open arrangement of the structures forms a stageconducivee to various events and activities by creating a space where multiple indoor and outdoor activities become possiblevisitors can experience the project as a galaxy of tea rooms built independently as they move in and around them freely
the surrounding nature and the starry sky are beautifully intertwined to form a new landscape that comes in and out of view through the openings and gaps cut out from the multiple structures
project info:
design firm: moriyuki ochiai architects
team: moriyuki ochiai, jillian lei, xingguang li, marie uno, haruka amano, yuta takahashi
use: teahouse
location: bisei-okayama and awajiiland, japan
client: irbisei, nijigennomori/pasona group
constructor: takei construction, ca leading (osami hiroyama, masakazu hirose, yoshiko makabe, kazuya okuno, sanae iwamoto), soken group
special paint: osamu yamaguchi
paint: masanao uchida lighting: color kinetics japan (masaki yamashita, koki yano, miyahara yusuke)
designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.
The details: By learning how to jump between cultures- he was born to Japanese father and Austrian mother- Kobayashi has cultivated a distinct east meets west vibe in his work. As the latest in the Mikadokun and Mikadochan family of chairs, Mikadosan is a reinterpretation of mikado pick-up sticks, a game with origins in Hungary that is often assumed to be from japan. Kobayashi playfully brings both cultures together by using a technique that gives the wooden legs the look of pointed Mikado sticks, enhanced by hand painted sections in red, blue and yellow. “I always want to create something fun and beautiful that also involves some craftsmanship,” he says.- Hospitality Design Magazine. http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hd/fall2019/index.php#/28
Kaijyu mask at SEE:DS Gallery during LDF19 in London, UK. 2019 Photography by James HarrisRobot Shelf at SEE:DS Gallery during LDF19 in London, UK. 2019 Photography by James Harris
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