Thursday, February 14, 2013


Ise Grand Shrine

This one is a little harder to explain.  It is a Shinto shrine complex in Japan.  The wood detailing is beautiful, as you would expect. But that is not the real reason I am putting it up here.  Every 20 years the shrine is rebuilt as an exact replica on an identical adjacent site.  This is really interesting because not only doses it create a unbroken knowledge of the construction techniques of ancient Japan, but it also means that in some ways the building is one of the oldest buildings in the world.  I like the cyclic nature of it. And the idea that the apprentice in one rebuilding will be the master for the next.   I wonder is there some way that we can give the audience  that same experience of doing the same thing first as an apprentice and then as the master.


Any ideas?

2 comments:

  1. This is very simple and probably not the best example (at least I get the first comment award!) but the first thing that came to my mind was the game of telephone. How you are the learner in step one but then you become the teacher/ interpreter in step two. Not necessarily a master, but you're passing down a piece of knowledge in the most simple way.

    p.s. I didn't know about this tradition of my own cultural treasure! yup, shame.... Initially I thought you were gonna talk about the spatial procession of Japanese shrines, which I think is relevant for this project.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I Think the telephone game analogy is valid, as is the spatial progression of Japanese shrines, of which i know very little i will look into it.

      Delete