Harmony
By: Louk Vreeswijk
| Aperture: | f/2.8 |
|---|---|
| Focal Length: | 14.3mm |
| Shutter: | 1/0 sec |
Harmony (wa)
If we describe the interior space of a traditional Japanese house using the word ‘harmonious’, then we may regard the display in the tokonoma as the height of harmony. The tokonoma is the alcove-like space found in a traditional house, reserved for the exhibition of a work of art, or a work of nature, or both in exquisite combination. The work of art is often a scroll painting which can be a piece of calligraphy, as in the picture, and the work of nature a flower or a twig from a blossoming tree in a vase. The choice of the different elements in the display, their placing and how they are lit, has been carried out with utmost sensitivity, care and attention to the minutest detail. The arrangement is a work of art in itself, and the overall impression it creates is one of harmonious beauty.
Tokonoma in Koto-in temple
Calligraphy of the Japanese word for ‘harmony’ by: Soshitsu Sen, for his book “Tea life, Tea mind”
Photo of the week: Tokonoma in Koto-in temple, Daitoku-ji temple complex, Kyoto, Japan, 2008
καιρός remembered 
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