There have been lovely morning showers here lately, waking us with thunder and the melody of raindrops against the window panes. I am compiling my design ideas and have decided that soon I will start a separate blog to document what I am referring to as my apprenticeship. I have a thought for the name but I am not sure if I should use Japanese or English. When I think of what I am aiming towards, the image of the
gassho-zukuri 合掌造り (thatched roof houses in Japan) and the yui 結い (mutual help) system immediately comes to mind. Obviously, I'm thinking metaphorically; it is the idea of these places that serve as both shelter and cottage industry. The word gassho refers to the shape of praying hands that the steep roofed homes resemble. Yui evokes the sense of community. The kanji for yui means (as far as I can tell, correct me if I am wrong please) an action of tying things together with string or uniting persons into one body. The left radical 糸 is the thread or string and the right one 吉 means good fortune. I believe that we as a global society will soon experience of a decline of globalization of cheap ideas, industries, and products. Localism and specialization is on the rise again and in tandem with this is the growth of community-mindedness except without the former geographical barriers (a positive result of globalization). There is enough room for everyone this time and what is more we need everyone. We need the printmakers and the thyme growers and the weavers, and potters, and carpenters. All these threads separate but united.
Anyway, any input is very welcome. It was pointed out to me that my comments were set to only allow blogger comments so I changed it so everyone can post in case that was a problem for anyone. お願いします。
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Take care.
No comments:
Post a Comment