• Field Snapshot:  Yet Another Peek at the Honmaru Palace of Nagoya Castle, Japan (24 November 2016)

    Field Snapshot: Yet Another Peek at the Honmaru Palace of Nagoya Castle, Japan (24 November 2016)

    I’d been to Nagoya Castle a couple of times already, but there was something in particular that I was itching to come back for. And in any event, I’d gladly jump on any excuse to visit one of my favourite castles in Japan.

  • Field Report:  The Open-air Architectural Museum that is Matsuyama, Japan (23 November 2016)

    Field Report: The Open-air Architectural Museum that is Matsuyama, Japan (23 November 2016)

    I’ve developed a habit of returning to my favourite places in Japan every now and then: partly to ensconce myself in the familiar, and partly to make fresh discoveries. Matsuyama was no exception to this pattern. And as I pounded the pavements of this corner of Shikoku one afternoon in November, I found a great…

  • Field Report:  Ōzu Castle, Ehime Prefecture, Japan (23 November 2016)

    Field Report: Ōzu Castle, Ehime Prefecture, Japan (23 November 2016)

    I’ve mentioned before how some of Japan’s long-destroyed Edo Period castles are now being reconstructed using historically faithful materials and techniques. This stands in contrast to the mid-20th century trend of building castle replicas out of concrete and fitting them with modern interiors. Last autumn, I visited one of the finest examples of the new…

  • Field Report:  The Kamihaga Residence, Uchiko, Japan (22 November 2016)

    Field Report: The Kamihaga Residence, Uchiko, Japan (22 November 2016)

    In my previous post, we saw some of the splendid buildings that the town of Uchiko was endowed with by its leading families, back during its heyday as a centre for sumac wax production. Now let’s take a look at one more architectural treasure, and at the same time learn about the industry that once…

  • Field Report:  Uchiko, Ehime Prefecture, Japan (22 November 2016)

    Field Report: Uchiko, Ehime Prefecture, Japan (22 November 2016)

    The town of Uchiko, in Japan’s Ehime Prefecture, once enjoyed great prosperity from the production of sumac wax. Although the industry died out early in the last century, some of the grand houses and public buildings that were erected during that golden age still stand: beautiful reminders of a time when this quiet corner of…

Quote of the week

"People ask me what I do in the winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

~ Rogers Hornsby