JP-01 SPK (Signed)
Taiji Matsue
JP-01 SPK (Signed)
Photographs: Taiji Matsue
Text: Natsuki Ikezawa
Publisher: Akaaka Art Publishing
136 pages
Year: 2014
Comments: Hardcover, 263 x 185 mm. Obi kept aside attached to plastic film which protected the book. First edition, 2014. Text in english and in japanese. Signed by the photographer. Bumped to the corner.
What on earth are we doing as we're having this kind of visual experience?
To suddenly switch gears to ancient Japan, around the time that books like the Kojiki and Manyoshu were being written, there was a ceremony or activity known as kunimi (lit., "land viewing").
In spring just before planting started, people would decide on a day to assemble and head for a nearby mountain. They probably also brought along something to eat and drink. From this high place, they looked down on their own paddies and fields, and admired the scene. Happy to be fortunate enough to own such a good piece of land, they prayed for an abundant crop. Cultural anthropologists call this an "advance blessing."
Later, this became the responsibility of a local chieftain, who would recite a poem on such occasions. Yamato Takeru's farewell poem is one famous example:
Yamato wa kuni no mahoroba
Tatanazuku aogaki
Yamakomoreru yamatoshi uruwashi
Yamato, what a supreme land
Enclosed by verdant walls lining the surrounding hills
Great Yamato, unrivaled in its beauty
In fact, a kunimi poem that was recited on another occasion is thought to be embedded in this one.
For these people, looking was an act of praise, and looking at their land from a high place was a form of glorification and benediction.
After learning this, I understood the meaning concealed in this photo book.
――――Natsuki Ikezawa "Sky of Sapporo, Sky of the World"
more books by Taiji Matsue
-
Hysteric Glamour (SIGNED)
by Taiji Matsue
sold -
Hashima/ Gunkanjima (SIGNED)
by Taiji Matsue
sold -
JP-22 (SIGNED)
by Taiji Matsue
Euro 90 -
Tyo-Wtc (Signed)
by Taiji Matsue
Euro 45 -
JP-01 SPK (Signed)
by Taiji Matsue
Euro 40
more books tagged »signed« | >> see all
-
Shomei Tomatsu Photographs 1951-2000 (Signed and numbered)
by Shomei Tomatsu
sold -
Moving Away (SIGNED)
by Miyako Ishiuchi
sold -
Ihminen pääosassa/ People in the Lead Role (SIGNED)
by Ismo Hölttö
sold -
Three (SPECIAL EDITION WITH 3 PRINTS)
by Machiel Botman
Euro 1400 -
Cosmos (Signed)
by Bérangère Fromont
sold -
Shibuya Scramble (Signed)
by Jesper Haynes
sold
more books tagged »japanese« | >> see all
-
Tsugaru (Original Edition)
by Ichiro Kojima
sold -
Tokyo (Signed)
by Nobuyoshi Araki
sold -
Chizu / The Map (Signed)
by Kikuji Kawada
sold -
Camp 1979
by Keizo Kitajima
sold -
Record of Anger and Sadness (with obi)
by Hiroshi Hamaya
Euro 400 -
Provincial City (Signed)
by Atsushi Yoshie
sold
more books tagged »Taiji Matsue« | >> see all
more books tagged »landscape« | >> see all
-
IMAGO (SIGNED)
by Thierry Valencin
Euro 50 -
Spring, 2011
by Seiji Kumagai
sold -
Boundary Hunt
by Toshio Shibata
sold -
Koudelka Piemonte
by Josef Koudelka
sold -
Good Morning, America - Volume II (Signed)
by Mark Power
sold -
Paesaggio italiano / Italian landscape
by Luigi Ghirri
sold
Books from the Virtual Bookshelf josefchladek.com