A visit to a temple does not need to take long. It can take only a moment. A wish. A thank you. The time to light an incense stick.
Just a moment
Fortune strips
Quite a bit of time has passed since I was at the Castle in Osaka. However, I remember walking around the vast compound and gardens and seeing the Shinto and Buddhist temples.
One thing that I remember well is the fortune strips, omikuji. This small piece of paper that people had left at the entrance of a temple. They were all folded in a simple knot. These knots helped keep the wishes people had left behind at the temple door. Keep it tight. They avoided that the wishes flew away, taken by the wind.
Geometry and lines
Most buildings in the compound of the Castle of Osaka have a roof made of copper tiles. I found the lines and the contrast in those roofs quite interesting.
The castle of Osaka
This week I want to go back ten years or so. I was living with my family in the Philippines, and we took a short trip to Japan in August. We decided to travel only to central Japan. We only had a little time. It is always better to stay in a region rather than trying to ver a whole country in ten days. Our first stop was Osaka.
This week I am posting photos I took at the Castle of Osaka. The images are a bit grainy. The resolution is different from what you can get today with the newer cameras and lenses. I like that, it is a look back in time.
I remember my excitement at being in Japan for the first time. Then, finally, I was there. Finally, I saw with my own eyes what I had read in the books I had read in my youth: Mishima, Kawabata, Murakami, etc.
It was hot. Humid. Summer thunderstorm clouds in the sky. It felt like summer in my hometown back in Italy.
I was alone with my two young daughters for the first part of the trip to Japan. That seemed quite unusual to some people we met on the tube. They asked me how come I was travelling alone with them. How old they were. It was remarkable for them to see a father alone travelling with two young daughters. People were curious. So was I about their country.
Tampere streets – extra
Tampere streets 7/7
The end of the week. Two more photos to go before turning the page and moving on next week.
Tampere streets 6/7
I arrive at the central square, Koskikeskus. This is the old market square. People walk around. They meet each other. They walk together. They wait for someone or a bus.
Monochrome downtown.
Tampere streets 5/7
Tampere streets 4/7
The walk continues. I am passing through Hämeenpuisto. Downtown is made of blockhouses and perpendicular streets. Very rational. Very geometrical. It must have had many wooden builds in the past, but they have all been torn down in the 1970s when modernism dictated these blockhouses.
I also detect a change in my mood. It is as if I suddenly realise the grey clouds—the grey light. The snow is melting rapidly. There are Piles of old snow mixed with gravel at street corners. I can feel the light rain and keep the lens of my camera downwards to protect the glass. It is a bit gloomy.
These buildings are monochrome today.
Tampere streets 3/7
Extract: The Metso library was completed in 1986, and both Finnish and international tourists will surely find its unique architecture interesting. The building, designed by the architect couple Railiand Reima Pietilä, represents organic architecture and it resembles a courting wood grouse from above. (The name of the library, Metso, means “wood grouse” in Finnish.) The architectural artwork is designed down to the door handles.
The main library Metso was renovated in 2015-2017. The renovation respected the original appearance of the building: Metso’s earthy colour palette and round design were preserved, and many original furniture was refurbished. At the same time, however, the facilities were adapted to meet today’s needs, such as organising events and urban office-style work. The number of book shelves was reduced in order to make the space seem more open, increase natural light and clarify passages. The architect for the basic renovation was Marko Suutarla (Arkkitehtitoimisto Forssi Oy).