夕焼けが桜を背後から照らしています。杉並区の善福寺川で。
At Zenpukuji river, in Suginami-ku.
Sunset back lights river-side cherry trees
杉並区
Before the rain, the petals are perfect
雨のまえに、花弁は完璧です。善福寺川で。
Cherry tree bark is also gorgeous
桜の樹皮もきれいでしょうか。
Kuge Crafts (Teshigotoya Kuge) launches new website
旦那の両親が教室を再開しました。手仕事屋久家で、絵画や楽焼や金継ぎを教えます。企画支援もあります。様々な年齢や国籍の人が集まります。私は教室で、最近エアプラントの植木鉢を作りました。杉並区の新高円寺の近くです。お気軽に見学にいらしてください！ My in-laws have relaunched their art studio as Kuge Crafts, or Teshigotoya Kuge. They are still teaching pottery and also now kintsugi (a form of decorative repair for ceramics), drawing, and jewelry making. The studio is near Shin Koenji, in Suginami ward. The teachers welcome students from all countries and of all ages. One thing the website doesn’t mention is that delicious cake and coffee are also served at every class! If you’re interested, please call or drop by! Thanks to graphic designer and former student Jessica Mantell and front-end developer Kai Bansner, we made a new website for the studio that is formatted for smart phones, PCs, and tablets.
A long line waits at shrine to give an offering at festival
神社の献金を上げるのために、待っている人が多いです。大宮八幡というきれいな神社に、夫は子供のときに、よく行きました。杉並区の善福寺川の隣です。
Omiya Hachiman shrine is near where my husband grew up in Suginami ward. It’s also next to a beautiful green corridor that follows the Zenpukuji river. I love the elegant building, and all the decorations including the purple cloth with Edo crests, the red and white stripes, the rope and lightning bolts, and the big lanterns.
Green corridor zig zags through residential neighborhood, with river and shrine
杉並区の善福寺川は長くて楽しい緑の回廊です。川がジグザグと流れています。このあたりで、夜、本当のタヌキを見ました。
Zenpukuji river is a lovely green corridor in Suginami: walking and biking paths, playing fields, and the large Omiya Hachiman shrine. I love biking by this windy river. Not far from here, I spotted a tanuki crossing the road that leads to a city onsen.
Summer night’s red flowers on a side street
この赤い花が路地にこぼれ出していました。蒸し暑い夏の夜に、花に驚かされるのは楽しいです。だれかこの花の名前を知っていますか？
These red flowers nearly blocked the path as we stumbled out of a restaurant one night this weekend. I love the thick flowers and sheer exuberance. I am not sure whether it’s a vine or a tree, and welcome any reader suggestions of its name in Japanese or Latin. The humidity in August is overwhelming, so it’s nice to be surprised by night-time plants.
Making more flowerpots at Shiho
史火陶芸教室で新しい植木鉢のシリーズを作り始めました。他の生徒さんが作った碗の質感と釉薬に感激して、自分で簡単なものを作りたかった。
右の植木鉢の縦線は底にある排水の溝とつなげます。対象の線は、グリップにもなります。左の植木鉢は構造的な機能だけを考えて、シンプルに作りました。生徒さんの一人が、この形はキャンドルスタンドに良いと言いました。
一回、焼いたあとで、釉薬をかけます。釉薬をかけないところもあって、そこは生地が見えて、感触を楽しめます。
素人なのに、先生のおかげで、作品がもっとすてきになりました。先生はいつも生徒のアイデアを後押しして、手伝ってくれて、良い作品ができあがります。とても良い先生です。
I am making a new flower pot series at Shiho ceramic studio. I was inspired by the texture and glazing of another student’s bowls, and wanted to create something simple.
The vertical lines on the right-side pot connect with the drainage channels on the bottom and also provide contrast and something to grip. The left-side pot was an experiment in removing material without compromising structural integrity. A fellow student suggested this would make a good candle holder.
After they’re baked the first time, I’ll apply the glaze. Usually I leave some parts unglazed so that you can see and feel the ceramic directly.
It’s a credit to the Shiho teachers that my amateur efforts turn out look more intentional and better designed than I am capable of. I like that they encourage me to do what I want, and yet somehow always ensure that my work turns out OK. That’s evidence of great teaching!
CNN on Tokyo’s green streets and vertical gardens
CNNのインタビューです。みんなが小さな緑をたくさん作って、東京生活を楽しくしています。路地と区役所のイノベーションについて話しました。@KyungLahCNN さん、 ありがとうございます。
CNN broadcast their interview with me about how neighborhood gardens make Tokyo life so enjoyable. Focus on small green streets & local government innovations. Thanks @KyungLahCNN
Operation Flower, crime prevention in Suginami
A friend in San Francisco sent me this Reuters news story about a municipal government program in Suginami ward to plant flowers facing the street as a crime prevention measure. The article cites a city official saying, “The best way to prevent crime is to have more people on the lookout.” According to city officials, encouraging street flowers has lowered burglaries by 80% from 2002 to 2008. Read the full article.
Update: Suzuki-sensei at Nodai kindly provided me with the Yomiuri news story from June 6, 2009 which provides more detail. Apparently, before turning to flowers, the Suginami ward government tried security cameras, which worked but only for a short period. The local government than did a survey that found that only 2 of the 100 homes that experienced robbery had plants outside. Suginami achieved this remarkable crime reduction by spending 6,000,000 yen (about $65,000) per year on plants, and organizing 109 “Flower Blooming Troops” (花咲かせ隊) groups with 872 residents participating. The effectiveness is attributed to the plants bringing more people into small alleys and to neighbors interacting more with eachother.
Governments from Shizuoka, Okinawa, Fukuoka and seventeen other Japanese prefectures have visited Suginami to study this crime success. It is also interesting that this news story spread to the China Daily, Brunei Times, Australia’s ABC, Times of India, and the Iran Daily.
Tokyo Green Space 