#art tower mito

[hiroshi-kariya]

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[dlyarchitecture]

[yamashita-kobayashi]

Solo exhibition "To Others, and Together With Others" at Art Tower Mito, Japan

We are pleased to announce our solo exhibition “To Others, and Together With Others” at Art Tower Mito in Japan.

The exhibition will feature approximately 120 works from 35 series, which represent almost all of our works from before our debut to the present.

The main part of the exhibition is a participatory project, “What Humans Do To and Together With Flowers”.

We will create a huge flower bed in the plaza in front of Art Tower Mito.

Everyone is invited to buy your favorite flower seedlings (or grow from seeds), bring them to Mito, and plant them in the flower bed!

Venue: Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Gallery, and Plaza Date: July 27th(Sat) - October 6th(Sun) Web: https://www.arttowermito.or.jp/english/gallery/lineup/article_5312.html

[germanpostwarmodern]

Museum “Art Tower Mito” (1986-90) in Mito, Japan, by Arata Isozaki

[justsomeoneunordinary]

Hashirama's long neck haunts me... I think it's chapter 500 or thereabouts ❤️

But it doesn't really matter, Kushina wasn't there 😏

SCREAMING!!!

I’ve been laughing at this for about 10 minutes or so omg lmfaooo 🤣🤣 I know Kishimoto got more stressed out the longer the story went on but this does not look anatomically correct achsdkfjfjkfjd

You’re right, this can’t be canon—not only because Kushina wasn’t there so she wouldn’t know, but also because Hashirama isn’t beefy. ‘Tis a fake flashback, case closed. (I say as if I’m not fully aware that the characters lost more and more individualism the longer the story went on until everyone just had a generic body except for a few exaggerations.)

Anyway, have a shitty height correction because I can neither photoshop nor art but am determined to show y’all my vision anyway:

(I couldn’t make Mito taller because it started to look too weird, but please do imagine just a few inches more of her towering over Hashirama)

[ventureeast]

I've got a riddle for you, what are big, tired, and sore all over? I know you were thinking a plane, but it's actually my feet. I walked the city today:

First I went to Mito church, then I walked with a friend around lake Senba, walked to the art tower, and then took the train back home.

I took lots of pictures:

Mito church was having its Pentecostal service, so they did readings and prayers in about 6 different languages. It was pretty cool. They were also doing spring cleaning today, so the three OC students there helped. We cleaned bathrooms, wiped surfaces, and helped a little with the yard.

We then headed to the station to get lunch. Me and Nathan took it to lake Senba and ate at the bridge:

Then we walked around the lake; it was honestly super relaxing. The day was mostly walking and it was really nice because we just went where we pleased.

Magikarp ⬆️

We also went to the art tower. It was a short experience but a good view:

That was the day. It was good and tiring but I feel good about it.

[mubashirnews]

Arata Isozaki, architect who blended styles of Japan and West, dies at 91

Arata Isozaki, architect who blended styles of Japan and West, dies at 91

Arata Isozaki, an architect who fused styles and sensibilities from the West and his native Japan during a career of restless exploration, including a twisting metal obelisk at the Art Tower Mito in Japan and the meditative halls of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, died Dec. 28 at his home on Japan’s Okinawa island. He was 91. His death was announced in a statement by his longtime…

[dr-lychee]

LIFE Exhibition (2006) poster

[newmosbiusdesigns]

Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki Japan

[controlaltdelete-my-existence]

List of ✨directorial decisions✨ HxH 1999 is insane for (hunter exam edition):

Episode 1:

- Baby Gon Baby Gon Baby Gon (and Konta)

- okay this is in-line with the manga but still: Mito hates Ging so much that she first lied about Gon’s parents dying in a car crash, then retracted that and told Gon to his face that Ging abandoned him, then admitted at the end of the episode that she forced Ging into a custody battle which. Is objectively the strangest scenario I can imagine.

Episode 2:

- Leorio stops Gon from getting kidnapped (by someone implied to be a child tr*fficker) in episode 2 like HWAT?

- Holy shit the knife he uses during the hunter exam is the same one he took from the kidnapper wow

- Also Gon then spends the rest of the episode following him around and being a Disney Princess so like. Good for him.

- Kurapika is just hanging around most of the episode giving off Main Character Vibes and nothing else.

Episode 3:

- 1999 Kurapika design is just *chef’s kiss*

- Seeing Kurapika now as opposed to Yorknew and Dark Continent hits me like a truck

Episode 4:

- Nothing much this episode except Kurapika adopting Gon and being so passive aggressive it’s funny

- Leorio threatening to beat up/kill an old women is… off putting

- They named the eavesdropper “Matthew” and made him even more of a douche.

Episode 5:

- I’m still confused about the needle mark lol. Like how did Leorio see it under all that fur? At least this version gives him more to do during the Kiriko escapade.

- Alright the fist bump between Kurapika and Leorio is cute

Episode 6:

- Killugon height difference my beloved

- KILLUA’S TINY SHORTS

- Gon asks Killua’s name and age first, when in the manga it was vice versa

- Hisoka having a high, playful voice as opposed to his usual moan-tone is strange to say the least

- Tonpa is even uglier than usual

Episode 7:

- Not only is 1999 pushing the gay agenda it is also pushing the Leorio agenda.

- Killua brought bombs to exam because why wouldn’t he

- “Kurapika would you stop looking at me like that”

Episode 8:

- *People getting brutally slaughtered by wildlife*

Kurapika: My goodness

- Hisoka’s first murder spree <3

Episode 9:

- One thing I do appreciate about the 1999 version is the additional focus on the side characters. Comedy like that between Hanzo and Pokkle during the Second Phase helps the world feel more alive and the characters more engaging.

- Hisoka catching fish.png

- Not Killua and Hisoka making the same dish 😭 Hisoka pouting by the river also deserves a mention

Episode 10:

- Gon is so nice like wow.

- I like Menchi! High-strung cooks are pretty normal from what I understand.

Episode 11:

- Tonpa continues to be an annoying dick, though he’s more useless than anything.

- Gon and Killua bonding!

- Killua is such a cocky little shit and Gon is polite even when making trouble and I love that for them

- The girl with a grudge against the Zoldycks is just. Laughable compared to what we know about them later. She’s lucky she ran into Killua out of the bunch.

Episode 12:

- Gon is straightforward and mischievous. Killua is calculating but cocky. It’s a great dynamic that evolves with the show.

- Idk if this is controversial or not but like,, Killua’s assassin mode is cool. Despite the history that comes with it. I like slightly unhinged!Killua a bit more even if soft!Killua is most people’s favorite.

- I love Gon’s hair physics in 1999. IMO It’s too tall in 2011 (most of the time) but 1999 has a nice balance of springyness and length.

- Killua’s character art is so good. I’m in love with the soft spikiness

- Ah yes, the Hunter exam. The time where Gon’s tendency to push himself to the absolute limit in order to demonstrate his worth as a person was just rearing its head and not as utterly self-destructive as it would later become.

- Not Kurapika throwing Leorio under the bus (Menchi) 💀✋

Episode 13:

- Trick Tower my beloathed. On one hand, character interactions and cute dynamics (Kurapika pushing Leorio). On the other, Tonpa and Leorio’s challenge with the prisoners.

- The expressions when Tonpa surrenders 😭

- “Gon is a sociopath” “Hisoka is a psychopath” incorrect and tired. TONPA is fucking crazy like Jesus Christ have you heard this guy monologue?

- Everytime I watch the manacles drop from the prisoner’s hands I always wonder how they avoid their toes being smushed

Episode 14:

- The candle trick challenge always cracks me up. Kurapika and Killua supporting Gon’s decision until they hear his reasoning 💀

- The sound effects they use for character movements KILLS ME. When Majitani cracks his knuckles it’s like a pile of rocks falling down. When he flexed it’s like rubber. I hate it sm even if I love everything else.

- The Scarlet Eyes in 1999 are the shit fr

- Cuarpickt’s ethics strike back

Episode 15:

- Leorio doing cool shit 😳

- “Kurapika, I’ve dealt with the consequences of your pride.” “Leorio…” PLEASE

- Hisoka and Illumi playing cards 😈

- Another shout-out for the little character interactions in 1999, I love them sm

Episode 16:

- Leorio doing uncool shit

- I don’t wanna talk about it

- I will say I like her design a lot better than 2011

- Killua taking the serial killer’s heart here is objectively cooler

Episode 17:

- I LOVE THE TRICK TOWER MONTAGE LMAO

- It’s amazing how much I want to fucking kill Tonpa. Exquisite feelings of hatred.

- Gon suggesting breaking through the wall is like. Defining character moment to me.

- RIP to Killua’s skateboard :(

- Kurapika’s fondness for Gon in this arc is so underrated

Episode 18, 19, & 20:

- YAS BEST FILLER ARC

- So many good character interactions. So many.

- ENGLAND IS CONFIRMED TO EXIST IN HXH?!!

- The ICONIC “what is going on in this hunter x hunter clip” response comment is from these episodes

- Illumi just indulges himself as Gittarackur huh

- The Kurta artifact :(

- LEOPIKA AGENDA IS REAL

- Gon and Killua put their beds together like a sleepover 😭

- Killua head pat Gon (also the ass smack in Heaven’s Arena… I think he’s just more physically affectionate in this version).

- Everyone working together really makes the next phase hit worse/better.

- My god even TONPA got something to do

- The music here was so good. Not that it usually isnt, but like wow

- LEOPIKA AGENDA IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE. Kurapika refuses to give the order to move despite everyone relying on him because he can’t bring himself to leave Leorio. Like holy shit the bait is real.

- POKKLE AND PONZU WERE SO GOOD 😭

- Captain Kurapika!

- Leorio and Gon take turns being unconscious and saving each other

- Not Killua lIterally SENSING Gon coming back up 😭

- Hisoka and Illumi stand around being useless for most of Phase 3.5 which is hilarious but ultimately save the day. I wonder if Illumi took his needles out as a teaser for manga readers or if he just. Couldn’t see well with them in.

Episode 21:

- Zevil Island time YIKES

- The second the announcement is made Hisoka already has murder in his eyes

- The sheer hatred between Leorio and Tonpa kills me

- Gon drew smiley faces on all of his practice dummies 😢

- He covered the hooks on the fishing rod so he wouldn’t hurt the birds 😭 I love him sm

- PLEASE HE HAS A LITTLE NIGHTLIGHT. I WANT TO ADOPT HIM SO BADLY

Episode 22:

- The only time the rubber skin sfx work for me is when Illumi is taking out his needles

- Alright I may get burned at the stake but I personally love the dub voices for everyone except Gon. Which is really sad, because if his voice sounded anything remotely similar to how it did in both 1999 and 2011 subbed (and maybe 2011 dubbed, though that’s a stretch) I would definitely watch 1999 dubbed all the way through.

- Illumi’s outfit and color scheme is kinda fire though.

Episode 23:

- Kurapika and Leorio fucking around on the forest floor

- Hisoka’s bloodlust run SENDS me

- Who else but Kurapika would negotiate with Hisoka on his own terms?

- The amazing soundtrack strikes again. I get chills when he begins to finally unsheathe his blades. Also Leorio pulling his out of his pocket like it’s gonna be a fucking knife fight lmao

- Hisoka practically creaming his pants while Gon is Right There is nothing new, but uh. This is first instance of it in the show so it deserves a mention.

- Bit of a rant here about Gon and HxH in relation to other shounen: https://bit.ly/3phcBB5

- I remember the Hisoka murder run being so terrifying as a kid 😭

- God Hisoka smiling at Gon after Gon took his badge is just so… eugh.

- Gon got the Leorio Uppercut Special. Talk about humiliating.

- Not the slurping noise when he licks the blood 🤢

Episode 24:

- Just an episode of Gon trying to recover after having his confidence broken. They didn’t shy away from the aftermath, which I’m grateful for. Really shows how much it damaged his pride and affected him. Gon has to think about why he came here, deal with homesickness amongst the most challenging days of his life, and somehow nurse himself back to health while barely being able to move.

- On another note: Baby Gon!

- Killua being adorable

- THE EXPRESSION ART ON HANZO LMAO

- Actually 1999 Hanzo is great I was so disappointed to see what he was in comparison in 2011

Episode 25:

- Gon’s absolute zero self-worth manifesting as a “I need to overcompensate when I’ve fucked up or else I’m worth nothing” rearing it’s head in the form of poisonous reptiles 💀

- Why tf Kurapika and Leorio always staring at each other like yeah Leopika agenda but also chill tf out

- I still wanna know how tf Gon carried three whole ass adults by himself. How does he do his strength training.

Episode 26:

- HAHA I LOVE THIS PART

- Expression art in 1999 is another level. The reactions when they think they’ve figured it out as a written exam are so fucking funny

- Kurapika’s theme is so nice. It’s kind of lonely, but also comforting.

- Kurapika and Gon’s conversation about Zevil Island is such a good moment that helps define their relationship

- Hanzo, Pokkle and Leorio “studying”

- Idiot trio asking HISOKA of all people for help

- Are you joking 😭 Not Leopika watching Killua and Gon play together my god the found family is real

Episode 27:

- Kurapika v Hisoka is great

- Horror-soka face strikes again. I know I praised the expressions but Yikes

- Leorio went from pleading with Kurapika to lose so he wouldn’t have to face Hisoka to not caring about that and just worrying endlessly the entire match. I love him

- I fuck w/ Kurapika

- Gon jumps into Leorio’s arms when Kurapika wins like holy shit that’s adorable (and then Leorio puts him on his shoulders like what a dad moment)

- Ok so interestingly, after Kurapika wins, he admits to Leorio that he should have surrendered. When Gon prepared to face Hanzo, he says, “I have to follow Kurapika’s lead and become the second to pass.” This can mean two things: one, he simply wants to pass, similarly to Kurapika. And/or it could also mean he’ll follow Kurapika’s lead by refusing to give up despite the danger, focusing on the goal of passing the exam. There are so many parallels between them GOD. At this point I just want them to call each other in the manga and just Talk (I know it won’t happen but still 😭)

Episode 28:

- At the beginning of the match, the proctors (namely Menchi) make it a point to talk about how outmatched Gon is, yet within a minute they’re all cheering for him and yelling at Hanzo for taking things too far.

- The sheer brutality of this version tops 2011 100%. I don’t think it’s controversial to say that 2011 sped through the Hunter Exam, which is unfortunate since a lot of impact was lost. This fight was hit particularly hard by that.

- The lighting, the choreography, the direction. All of it was phenomenal here.

- “If he keeps going, he’ll destroy himself,” said Cuararpickt, king of the hypocrites

- Kurapika and Leorio worrying about Gon 😭 Not to mention Killua going feral next to them

- Zevil Island really was a serious blow to his pride. Gon lets himself get beat to shit so his opponent will acknowledge him as worthy. He’s desperate to be ‘seen’. I love him sm but he’s genuinely unhinged (and it only gets worse). Fuck Ging, man.

- Kurapika says as much a second later oops

- HANZO IS ONLY 18???

- Gon is so fucking funny I love him. “Um no thank you I don’t want my legs chopped off. Can we keep brainstorming?”

- So when Hanzo asks, “Why won’t you give up?” Gon says, “I’m looking for my dad. And I feel like if I give up now, I’ll never see him again.” This isn’t ‘Ging will get so far ahead I’ll never catch up.’ This is ‘If I give up now, I’ll never be able to face myself or Ging.’ He reminds me of me when I was 12 :/

Episode 29:

- Killua’s face at Leorio and Kurapika 💀

- It’s an interesting decision for Togashi to do the rest of the battles in recap. I suppose it speeds things up.

- Gon sensed what had happened Killua right before Satotz said it, similarly to how Killua sensed Gon during the Treasure/Battleship phase. 1999 really like that kind of stuff haha

- The lighting, again, is fantastic. This time for Killua v Gittarackur (Illumi).

- The organ music is certainly… something

- Illumi’s color scheme here is better than the greens imo

- I forgot how hard Illumi projects onto/abuses Killua. Its difficult to watch.

- The animation on Killua’s face is incredible. You can see every micro expression as he tries to stand his ground :(

- Very nice visual effect here. Killua’s eyes are somewhat teal and rather dark in this version, as opposed to the bright blue of 2011. When Illumi defeats him, black bleeds onto the screen and Killua’s eyes are so dark they match Illumi.

- Hikari Ga Mienai plays when Killua kills Bodero :(

- Gon confronting Illumi is just short of cathartic.

Episode 31:

- THE LEGENDARY FALL OF 99

- The Hunter Exam after party looks kind of fun tbh

- Illumi when Hisoka catches him trying to kill Gon: ⚫️ 👄 ⚫️

- When they search the internet Togashi seems to imply that ‘cyberspace’ is coming from a human brain directly? Or is at least powered by one?

- Leorio: Gon wants his dad? We’ll find his dad *starts typing furiously*

- *Hisoka does something weird* *Illumi looks straight faced into the camera*

- LEOPIKA 1999 AGENDA IS REAL

- the final scene made me think of that radio drama where Leorio was like “yes Kurapika and I are like newlyweds and Gon is our child”. Unreasonably wholesome

END OF ARC

In conclusion stan the producers for clear skin

[denialcity]

for adoration grow - tobiizu unconventional hanahaki au - 75/?

『The Uchiha hold great sway socially and culturally. It is impossible for me to put it into words but I will attempt. Like how a man of power and influence may wish to keep a tiger or bear, nobles of the capital find great pleasure in having a warrior perform the arts. And the Uchiha perform to the highest standards, like molten gold, like candlelight on Obon offering boats, like towering pillars of flame. A strange spell, a sweep of their eyes can be one's undoing.』

At the time, Tobirama had scowled at such florid prose being part of a mission report, and complained to Mito-aneue. Then Uchiha Izuna had held him hostage with his cursed genjutsu and sat across the river with shamisen in hand, and sang.

And Tobirama understood. 

[for adoration grow tag] / [chrono tag]    

[hiroshi-kariya]

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Seeders 2022-2023

[rayshippouuchiha]

Unbroken legacy au: I imagine that the weight never feels wrong to Naruto because he's never known anything different. Maybe it's easier to assess those memories since they won't register as not his. Like, he looks at a seal and just knows what it can do and how to make it better. Or he has mannerisms that have shinobi feeling like they're looking art a ghost. Sarutobi looks at Naruto and sometimes sees Mito or Kushina instead.

Naruto is a lonely child filled up with ghosts, so different from Mito and Kushina who had both been as loved as they were fierce.

There’s no one there to tell Naruto what is and is not possible, what is and is not real.  There’s no one there to soothe his fears and his heartache when he dreams about war and death and big calloused hands running through his hair as a voice whispers “Mito, Mito, my beloved Mito.”

There’s no one there to soothe him when he wakes with hatred eating away at his soul or with a woman’s heartbroken sobs echoing softly in the very depths of his mind.

There’s no one there to realize that Naruto doesn’t so much learn as he does know, hands and body and mind moving automatically across tasks he should not know how to complete.

And Naruto, lonely and alone and never realizing that the thoughts, emotions, memories, instincts that war within him are not normal embraces what anyone else would shy from.

So Naruto is Naruto but he is also more, is a boy filled with echoes and guided by shadows only he can see.

But, eventually, people do notice some things about him.  They notice the kimono’s, hand crafted from scraps of scavenged cloth and silk.  They notice his hair, left to grow long and wild and littered with what looks suspiciously like sealing tags braided into the mess. They notice the quiet dignity, the cutting temper, the unwillingness to be abused and cowed. They notice the way he basically steps directly through the Academy, like there is nothing there that can be taught to him, like it’s only a formality.

Sarutobi feels the blood drain from his face when Naruto, all of eight, stares up at him, a hauntingly almost familiar patchwork kimono sitting regal on his too thin shoulders and a pride he should not have straightening his spine, and says “Saru-chan smoking is undignified” and for a split second all he can see is Mito who used to say that to him every time she caught him with his pipe.

Kakashi freezes, goes stock still, the first time he meets Naruto officially. His guilt and grief and adherence to orders have only allowed him to take passing glimpses of the boy and he is unprepared.

“Still too skinny,” Naruto murmurs, a sort of long suffering note in his voice that’s wildly out of place in the middle of the jonin lounge not to mention being spoken to Kakashi who’ve he’s never actually met.

The next day Kakashi and the rest of the jonin stare at him when he arrives, at the shabby green apron and the towering bentos and the orange hair clips that keep his bangs away from his face and feel ice trace down their collective spines.

Because, in that moment, all they can see is a shadow of Kushina.

[tommeurs]

Art Tower Mito, Japan

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #153 - Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV, 1971

Quando uscì l’8 Novembre del 1971 sul disco non c’era scritto né il nome della band e nemmeno il titolo (che sarà il filo rosso che legherà le scelte degli album di Gennaio), tanto che l’Atlantic, la casa discografica che lo editò, era sicura che fosse un fiasco colossale, anche perchè la gestazione di questo lavoro fu travagliata e molto più lunga del previsto. La Storia poi dirà che il quarto disco dei Led Zeppelin, che propriamente non ha nessun titolo ma nei cataloghi, considerata la titolazione precedente, è segnato come IV o Four Symbols (ci arriveremo tra poco) diventerà uno dei dischi più venduti di tutti i tempi, anche grazie ad una qualità musicale che ne fa, unanimemente, uno dei più grandi dischi della storia rock. La decisione che i quattro inglesi, Robert Plant,  Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, all’apice del successo dopo tre dischi già leggendari (Led Zeppelin I e II, del 1969, e il III del 1970), cioè non firmare i loro ultimo lavoro, fu una presa di posizione contro il mondo della critica musicale, secondo loro tutta impegnata a dipingerli come rockstar viziate e a cercare di inquadrarli nel panorama musicale in uno stile predefinito. Come per il precedente III, che segnò una virata nel loro suono hard rock verso sonorità più acustiche, la band si ritirò a Headley Grange, nella villa rurale dell’Hampshire, con lo studio di registrazione mobile dei Rolling Stones. Tra il dicembre del 1970 e i primi mesi del 1971 fu scritto e provato moltissimo materiale, tanto che la band era orientata a spiazzare il mercato (e la critica) proponendo il disco come 3 Extended Play o addirittura un doppio disco. La Atlantic convinse il gruppo a ripiegare sul più classico 33 giri, ma Peter Grant, il tirannico manager del gruppo, impose alla Atlantic la scelta del gruppo di non avere né il nome sulla copertina né il titolo al disco. Tra l’altro l’uscita prevista per la primavera del ‘71 ritardò a causa del giudizio negativo sul mixaggio fatto a Los Angeles da parte di Page, che riorganizzò tutto il materiale agli Olympic e Island Studios di Londra. Musicalmente, il disco è, come già accennato, uno dei pilastri del rock, un apice di coesione, potenza, anche ammaliante poesia musicale con pochi paragoni. I Led Zeppelin trovano un equilibrio perfetto tra l’anima hard rock, l’elettrificazione del blues, i nuovi accenni folk acustici e scrivono 8 brani, nessuno escluso, leggendari. Black Dog è lo strepitoso inizio, dedicata ad un golden retriver nero che gironzolava a Headley Grange durante le sessioni: è un brano portentoso, che ispirerà un’intera generazione di chitarristi, anche per l’uso delle sovraincisioni per l’assolo centrale; Rock’N’Roll è selvaggia come suggerisce il titolo, Misty Moutain Hop parla scherzosamente di un incontro con la polizia dopo aver fumato marijuana, Four Sticks è un omaggio a “Bonzo” Bonham e alla sua fragorosa classe di batterista (le 4 bacchette del titolo sono proprio un omaggio alla sua tecnica meravigliosa). E poi ci sono 4 canzoni ancora più grandiose: Going To California è una delle ballate più belle di sempre, probabilmente scritta e dedicata a Joni Mitchell, mito per Page&Plant, con il suo ritmo ondeggiante e sognante ha influenzato per decenni i musicisti; When The Levee Breaks è la ripresa di un vecchio blues di Kansas Joe McCoy e sua moglie Memphis Minnie nel 1929 e incluso nell'album Blues Classic By Memphis Minnie, uscito solo nel 1965: 7 minuti e mezzo di puro blues elettrico, dove la fanno da padrona il riff marziale di Page, l’armonica a bocca di Plant e la batteria di Bonzo, che fu posizionata nell’androne delle scalinate di Headley Grange per dare un effetto più fragoroso; nel disco c’è un’ospite, l’unica voce ospite in assoluto ad accompagnare Plant in qualsiasi disco dei Led Zeppelin, ed è quella meravigliosa di Sandy Denny, che all’epoca era la voce dei Fairport Convention; insieme cantano le gesta della suggestiva The Battle Of Evermore, forse ispirata ai racconti di Tolkien e a Il Signore Degli Anelli, dove Page suona un toccante mandolino. C’è poi un altro brano, che dura 8 minuti, che definisce forse come pochi altri il suono di una band, l’idea che avevano in mente questi 4 ragazzi inglesi: dall’intro suggestivo e quasi spiazzante, con un crescendo di strofa in strofa, raccontando una storia oscura e simbolica, probabilmente ispirata ad uno dei libri preferiti di Plant, Magic Arts In Celtic Britain di Lewis Spence, di una donna alla ricerca di qualcosa, in un mondo di regine di Maggio e pifferai magici, che ha poi uno degli assoli più fantastici di ogni tempo, e che probabilmente è la canzone più famosa di tutti i tempi: Stairway To Heaven. Il successo strepitoso, l’aura magica e misteriosa che già circondava il gruppo e la decisione di pubblicare un album senza nome scatenò le controversie più disparate: esistono ancora oggi gruppi di ascolto che sono sicuri che suonando il disco all’inverso sia zeppo di evocazioni sataniche, che i quattro simboli che ogni membro del gruppo usò per definirsi nelle pagine interne siano messaggi occulti (scelti da un libro molto famoso tra gli occultismi del ‘900, Il Libro Dei Segni di Rudolf Koch, da cui poi nasce Four Symbols altro identificativo del disco, anche se in realtà i simboli sono 5, perchè anche alla Denny ne fu assegnato uno) e dei messaggi subliminali che ha la copertina. Quest’ultima, tra le più belle e famose del rock, ritrae in fronte la foto di un muro scrostato con la carta da parati in disfacimento e un quadro di un anziano contadino intento a trasportare a schiena del legname: aprendo l’album il risultato (che si può vedere qui) mostra il muro semi caduto dalle cui rovine si intravede un grattacielo, l’allora appena inaugurata Salisbury Tower vicino Birmingham; all’interno c’era anche un bellissimo disegno di Barrington Coleby (accreditato come Barrington Colby MOM nelle note di copertina) raffigurante L’eremita, da allora simbolo della band. Il disco, con buona pace della Atlantic, andrà in classifica dovunque e per anni ha detenuto numerosi record di vendita, tipo 267 settimane consecutive nella classifica di Billboard, con 35 milioni di copie vendute nel mondo, il punto più alto di una musica spettacolare che come poche altre ha segnato intere generazioni di ragazzi, tanto che c’è un’ultima storia da raccontare: sebbene mai uscita come singolo, anche per la durata, molti dj radiofonici iniziarono a far passare in tutta la sua durata Stairway To Heaven, scatenando così tanto entusiasmo che lo spartito della canzone è di gran lunga il più venduto della musica pop occidentale. Era così tanta la smania di impararla a suonare tra gli appassionati che nei grandi negozi di dischi americani, dove è pratica comune poter provare gli strumenti, ci fu per un periodo un cartello: No Stairway, l’avevano sentita così tante volte storpiata e suonata male che era meglio non provarci subito.

[shinsengumi-archives]

Bakumatsu Era Kyoto

From Illustrated Shinsengumi

[full size]

The illustration depicts Kyoto before most of the city was burnt due to the Kinmon Incident (July 19, 1864). Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a palace to enclose the city of Kyoto in order to enhance the defense of the town of Kyoto, but even after more than two hundred years under the Tokugawa administration, a part of the Kamogawa side was lost. Most of them remained old-fashioned until the end of the Edo period.

The characteristic of Kyoto city at the end of the Edo period is the expansion of the clan's residence. Until then, there were more than 200 of his clan's residences in Kyoto, but most of them had only a few clan resident, and in some cases, the house of a servant merchant was called the clan's residence (Kyoyashiki). ..

At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, when the daimyo took his vassals and moved up and made them stationed in Kyoto as troops, a large clan residence commensurate with that was needed, and it was expanded. Since the center of the city has been a high-density space with townhouses since the Middle Ages, many seek land to the east of the Kamogawa River. In particular, 11 clan such as Kaga clan, Echizen clan, Tokushima clan, and Hikone clan advanced from Shogoin to the Okazaki area. Even if it is in the suburbs, it is an urban area as soon as you cross the Kamo River, and it is probably because the flights to Gosho and Nijo Castle were good. This site later became Okazaki Park, and became a cultural zone where Heian Jingu Shrine and Kyoto City Museum of Art are lined up.

In addition, the Owari clan's residence (currently Kyoto University headquarters) in front of the gate of Hyakumanben Chionji Temple and the Satsuma clan's residence (currently Doshisha University) at Sokokuji are also large-scale clan residences. In addition, the Kyoto Shugoshoku residence (currently the Kyoto Prefectural Government) was also built in the city area. The guardian residence was different from the clan residence in the suburbs, and was built by forcibly relocating a private house.

Kyoto at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate can be described by the word "forest of samurai residences". After the Meiji era, the land of these samurai residences was reborn as a public facility, laying the foundation for modern Kyoto.

(Munehiro Ito, Kyoto City Library of Historical Documents)

Legend

Imperial Palace area (red)

(A) Forbidden Palace, (B) Sento Imperial Palace, (C) Sakaimachi Palace Gate, (D) Hamaguri Palace Gate

Main samurai residences (red)

Nijo Castle

Wakasa Sakai Mansion (Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu Ryokan)

Kyoto Shoshidai's residence

Kuwana Matsudaira Mansion

Yodo Inaba Mansion

Kyoto Shugoshoku Residence

Mito Tokugawa Mansion

Satsuma Shimazu Mansion

Hikone Ii Mansion

Tosa Yamauchi Mansion

Owari Tokugawa Mansion

Aizu Matsudaira Mansion

Morioka South Room

Awa Hachisuka Mansion

Aki Asano Mansion

Echizen Matsudaira Mansion

Hikone Ii Mansion

Tosa Yamauchi Mansion

Kaga Maedayashiki

Hirado Matsuura Mansion

Uto Hosokawa Mansion

Zensho Honda Mansion

Matsushiro Sanada Mansion

Tosa Yamauchi Mansion

Hikone Ii Mansion

Choshu Mori Mansion

Satsuma Shimazu Mansion

Main temples and shrines (black)

Toji Temple

Nishi Honganji Temple

Honkokuji

Mibudera

Myoshinji Temple

Ninnaji Temple

Ryoanji Temple

Toji-in

Kaenji Temple (Kinkakuji Temple)

Daitokuji Temple

Myokaku Temple

Myokenji Temple

Shokokuji Temple

Kamo Gososha (Shimogamo Shrine)

Myomanji Temple

Honnoji

Rokkakudo

Bukkoji Temple

Higashi Honganji Temple

Kikoku House

Tofukuji Temple

Sennyuji Temple

Sanjusangendo

Hokoji Temple

Myohoin

Koyasu Kannon

Kiyomizu Temple

Hokanji Temple (Yasaka Tower)

Kenninji Temple

Gion Shrine

Kodaiji Temple

Gesshin-in

Chion-in

Nanzenji Temple

Konkai Komyoji Temple

Jishoji Temple (Ginkakuji Temple)

Shogoin

Yoshida Shrine

Hyakumanben Chionji Temple

North-south streets (orange)

Onmae-dori

Senbon Street

Omiya Dori

Inokuma-dori

Nishiborikawa-dori

Horikawa-dori

Samegai-dori

Aburanokoji-dori

Saitoin Dori

Shinmachi-dori

Muromachi-dori

Karasuma Dori

Higashinotoin Dori

Takakura-dori

Sakaimachi Dori

Tominokoji-dori

Teramachi-dori

Kawaramachi Dori

East-west streets (purple)

Kuramaguchi-dori

Imadegawa-dori

Ichijo Dori

Shimodachiuri

Marutamachi Dori

Nijo Dori

Oshikoji-dori

Oike-dori

Aneyakoji-dori

Sanjo Dori

Rokkaku-dori

Takoyakushi-dori

Nishikikoji-dori

Shijo-dori

Ayakoji Dori

Bukkoji-dori

Takatsuji dori

Matsubara-dori

Manjuji-dori

Gojo-dori

Rokujo Dori

Shichijo-dori

Shiokoji-dori

Hachijo-dori

Other important places (blue)

Shinsengumi Mibu Headquarters

Shinsengumi Fudodo Headquarters*

Tenmaya

Sarugatsuji

Tankora

Ikedaya

Omiya

Shogunzuka

*The relocation to the Shinsengumi Fudodo Headquarters is in 1867.