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Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/15 sec, f/8, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
“Joseph Nee-Sima was born in Yedo Japan, 14^th Jan. 1844”
Entry on the “Births” page of the William Savory family bible

Doshisha is a huge private educational system, based here in Kyoto, comprised of a university with dozens of undergraduate and graduate schools, a women's college and graduate college of liberal arts, four high schools, four middle schools, an elementary school, and the kindergarten/preschool that Anthony goes to.

The system was founded in 1875 by Jou Niijima (新島襄, A.K.A. Joseph Hardy Niisima) who had, twenty years earlier, abandoned his status as a samurai, snuck out of Japan, and made his way to Massachusetts where he eventually obtained a degree (Amherst College, 1870) and became a Protestant minister.

At the time Niijima left Japan, Japan had a severe isolationist policy, with Japan's foreign relations being limited to trade at a few specified ports. Japanese citizens were not allowed to leave Japan (the punishment was death), but Niijima was able to sneak out with the help of an American ship captain, William Savory, who was heading to Shanghai. From there, Savory arranged passage for Niijima to America. (Savory returned to America himself soon after, when his shipping company fired him for having risked the impound of the entire ship and cargo to help Niijima's illegal departure.)

Niijima and Savory remained close friends during Niijima's 20 years in America. During that time, on the other side of the world, Japan underwent the dramatic socio-political change known as the Meiji Revolution, during which Japan made a stunningly-quick change from a dark feudal system to, for the most part, a modern democratic government. That change made possible Niijima's return, and his founding of a university based on “Western ideals and Christian moral teaching.”

Today, 144 years after Captain Savory helped Niijima leave Japan, two of Savory's great-great-granddaughters attend the educational system Niijima later founded. I've actually written about those two great-great-granddaughters many times, because they're Anthony's classmates Monet and May, and their daddy (one of Savory's great grandsons) is my friend Arthur.

Arthur had moved to Japan and gotten a job teaching English at Doshisha without having known this part of his family history. However, at his wedding to a Japanese woman, one of his distant relatives mentioned something about there being a Japan connection in the family history, and upon investigation, Arthur learned the details. During this investigation, he found that Niijima had been considered such a close friend to Captain Savory that he was actually entered on the “Births” page of Savory's family bible (back then, bibles had pages to record births, deaths, and marriages).

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/15 sec, f/8, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Savory Family Bible
One of the “Births” Pages, with dates ranging from 1781 to 1844

It's written that he was born in Yedo (the spelling for "Edo" commonly used then, for the area now called Tokyo) on Jan 14th, 1844, although he was actually born on Feb 12th, 1843. I believe that the discrepancy is due to a shift in how Japan kept track of time before and after 1872 (shifting from a lunar to a solar calendar), and the date was written here prior to understanding the need for adjustment prior to the shift.

In any case, Niijima himself signed the bible in Japanese, and last month, Arthur and his brother gifted that bible to Doshisha. They conducted a little ceremony, and I went along to snap some shots.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Bible Wrapped in a Furoshiki
while Arthur and Doshisha officials look on

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Arthur Points Out Niijima's Signature
to Dr. Yasuhiro Motoi, Doshisha University Professor of Theology

The room they did it in, a small meeting room near the Archives department of the university, was wholly unphotogenic save for a picture of the founder on the wall....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Niijima-Sensei and His Dear Friend's Great Grandson

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 28 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Archive Director Prof. Takuya Tsuyuguchi Accepts the Bible
as the white-gloved archivist awaits, and John Brigham, another great grandson, looks on

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Thank-You Certificate

Everyone then moved upstairs to the “Niijima Room” where Arthur and the archivist placed the bible into a climate-controlled case, to be displayed alongside such artifacts as Niijima's samurai-era swords. Unfortunately, they did it so quickly – before I even got into the room – that I asked them to do it again for the cameras. (In addition to me, there were two photographers from Doshisha and one from a newspaper.)

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Placing the Bible

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 2500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Bible on Display
with a picture of Captain Savory, and descriptions in English and Japanese

They'll do some restoration work on the bible before the display becomes permanent.

Here's the English writeup...

An asside here for a bit about the founder's name...

These days, the founder's family name (新島) would normally be transliterated to “English” as “Niijima”. Perhaps conventions were different back then, or perhaps because he found Americans couldn't pronounce “Niijima”, he first went by “Nee-Sima”, and then by “Neesima”.

According to the Wikipedia entry on him, his given name at birth was “Shimeta”, but as a student in America, he adopted the name “Joseph” for a while, both in English and Japanese. It's at this time he wrote his name in the bible, the only surviving reference to his Japanese version of “Joseph”.

Later in life, for Japanese, he settled on “Jou” (which sounds like the English name “Joe”), so in Japanese, he's referred to as niijima jou (新島襄).

He adopted “Hardy” as his middle name in English, in honor of his main benefactor in America, Alpheus Hardy (who came to know of Niijima because Hardy owned the ship that brought Niijima from Shanghai to America). Thus, he's often referred to in English as “Joseph Hardy Neesima”, as was done in the book Life and Letters of Joseph Hardy Neesima published the year after his death, by Alpheus Hardy's son, Arthur Hardy. (It's interesting to see this book discussed in this New York Times article from November 1891.)

In common Japanese-language conversation around the school, he's referred to as (新島先生) niijima sensei (“Sensei” is commonly translated as “teacher”, but in this case, it's closer to “Professor Niijima”).

Anyway, back to the display case, for completeness, here's the description in Japanese:

Arthur has two brothers, one of which happened to be visiting at the time (to remodel Arthur's kitchen!), and being a great grandson of Captain Savory and donating the bible as well, he attended the ceremony. I commented how it was nice of them to donate it, to which he replied that he felt it was the right and proper thing to do. The phrase “right and proper” stuck with me.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 27 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
John Brigham
“Donation was Right and Proper”

After this, we moved to the university's private climate-controlled fireproof archive vault, a small building separate from others on campus, with no windows and very thick walls, and a true vault-like door. It was filled with well-cataloged physical artifacts of Niijima's life, such as this shelf of parchment scrolls...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4, ISO 1600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Scrolls in the Niijima Archives

This was not at all a public place, and I felt really lucky to be allowed inside. Of interest at the moment were letters to and from Captain Savory, that have survived to this day...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Inspecting a Letter from Joseph Niijima
to their great grandfather

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Deciphering the Text

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Letter From Captain Savory

I didn't dare actually touch these letters myself, but in looking at the handwriting on them, it seems that Niijima himself wrote his name in Japanese in the bible, but that Captain Savory wrote the English. At least, that's my guess.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos

As best as I can tell, this first page of the letter reads:

The letter mentions the impending marriage of Captain Savory's daughter. In inspecrting the “Marriages” page of the bible, I see that a Laura Sorris Savory married Frank L. Wing on April 25, 1883. One of the bible's “Births” pages lists eight children, including a Helen Wing born December 11th, 1886. She married Arthur Harmout Graves in 1925, and although not listed, I'm sure that their daughter is Arthur's mother. Arthur's full name is “Arthur Graves Brigham”.

Arthur, who has seen these letters before, noted that the letter above, written in 1883 – after Niijima had been back in Japan for many years – is addressed “Dear Sir”, while one from three years later is addressed with the more familiar “My dear Joseph”...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4, ISO 3200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Inspecting an 1886 Letter

I found the envelope of the 1886 letter to be really interesting. Captain Savory addressed the envelope with simply “Rev. Joseph H. Neesima, Kyoto, Japan” and yet it clearly was sufficient for it to reach him.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4, ISO 2000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Front of the Envelope

Niijima was famous by then, so I suppose it makes sense. (For the record, I once received a letter addressed only with “Jeffrey Friedl, Kyoto”, so the Japanese post office is still amazing.)

The envelope carries on the front five cents of postage and an Oct 18, 1886 postmark from New York. On the back, it carries postmarks from New York (Oct 18, 12:30PM), San Francisco California (Oct 24th), Yokohama Japan (Nov 20th), and in Japanese, Kyoto (Nov 24th). The year on the Kyoto postmark is simply “19”, reflecting that it was Year 19 of the reign of the Meiji Emperor.

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Lots of Postmarks on the Back

The whole experience was a real treat for me.

A couple of days later, a little article appeared in the main Kyoto daily newspaper, the Kyoto Shinbun...

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年12月1日 14時8分

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1100 — full exif
Anthony Playing
with a birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa

I like to post about Anthony opening and playing with presents he receives, both because I like to keep it as a happy memory, and to share the joy with the gift-giver. It's been more than a month since Anthony turned six years old and it's been on my mind to share some shots of when he opened the presents from Grandma and Grandpa.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 66 mm — ¹/100 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1600 — full exif
Opening the Card

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What Could It Be?

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Uh, Okay, What Is It?

We opened just the one on one night, then the rest the next night. On the second night, the combination of fluorescent lighting above and an incandescent lamp to the side made for some pretty odd (and oddly striking) lighting....

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Checking Out the Goodies

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A ROCKET!!!!!!
but, er, not really.....???

The package with a picture of a Space Shuttle indicated a rocket, but except for the picture, nothing else really seemed to jive with the whole “rocket” idea, so he wasn't sure what to make of it. It would have helped clarify things if he could have read the Freeze-Dried Ice Cream label.

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Response To
“What Do You Think It Is?”

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Response To
“Believe It Or Not, It's Ice Cream”

Another present was a “spy periscope”, which he thought was just amazing.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2000 — full exif
Checking Out The View
while Daddy makes a photo with absolutely nothing in focus

He's often pretended that he had such a device, for example, in this picture pretending a stick was a periscope for spying on some geese. Now, actually having one, he was beside himself with enjoyment, here spying on Mommy while she makes a silly face...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2200 — full exif
I C U

Later, it was time to return to the freeze-dried ice cream...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 900 — full exif
Pondering the Impossibilities
of dry fluffy ice cream

Anthony is better at showing his thanks than I am.... it took me five weeks to post this, but Anthony sent Grandma and Grandpa a handwritten Thank You note right away.

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月29日 14時48分

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
The Real Shougunzuka Overlook

I've posted many times the view of Kyoto from the overlook at Shougunzuka, such as this photo from a post last year:

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Kyoto Tower, Kyoto Station, and Friends
( from a post last year )

... or this photo from a post two weeks ago...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
( sunset from a post two weeks ago )

The location I took these shots from is officially part of the “Higashiyama Summit Park” (“Higashiyama” – Eastern Mountain – being the name of the short mountain it's at the top of), but the area is better known as “Shougunzuka”, a man-made mound of some sort dating back to the 700s. It's now part of a temple's grounds, but I've always just come to the park's public overlook, and have never paid the $5 to enter the temple grounds.

As I mentioned the other day, I sometimes try to zip up to the overlook for the sunset, hoping against hope for a photogenic view of an amazing sunset. So far, no luck.

Although it was mostly overcast and threatening rain today, there were a few open spots in the clouds to the west, so I popped up. Not much of a sunset, it turned out, but while killing time waiting to see what would materialize, I wandered over to the temple, and then detoured down one of the various hiking trails that dot the area (of which I once wrote a bit about). This time, though, I realized that a trail hugged the perimeter of the temple grounds, and taking it, I was amazed to find that the grounds were much larger than I thought, and included their own overlook. That's the lead photo of this post... the real Shougunzuka overlook that I never knew existed.

I'll wait for better weather before actually going inside to where I can enjoy the view from the real Shogunzuka overlook, but the view from the hiking trail wasn't too bad, and faced north more than the public lookout. I was able to even see the Heian Shrine....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Heian Shrine and Gate
from Shogunzuka, Kyoto, Japan

It's similar to the view I posted last spring, from a trail behind the Westin Miyako Hotel. It turns out (looking at Google Maps; see the “full exif & map” link under any photo) that the trail behind the hotel leads right up to Shougunzuka where I was today. Were I to walk that trail back home, I bet I could get back to my place from here in less than half an hour. I'll have to try it sometime. (Driving, although less direct, takes only five minutes if I hit all green lights).

I didn't enter the temple grounds, but they had some nice colorful foliage out front...

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Momiji Finally Turning Red

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Looks Like a Painting
a pleasing artistic effect of softness at ISO 6400

I've got lots I want to share from this evening's short outing, but I'm just too tired to write it up this evening.

Anyway, back to the public overlook, it's too much of a hassle to use the correct “Overlook part of the Higashiyama Summit Park”, so I'll still call the it the “Shougunzuka Overlook”. I'm just lazy that way.

Anyway, for the record, there wasn't much of a sunset at all. It started raining as I snapped this...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 110 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 640 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Tonight's Non-Sunset
Kyoto, Japan

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月28日 15時39分

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/3.5, ISO 900 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Abandoned Homestead
in the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

On our drive to the Hiyoshi Dam the other day, while driving through the mountains in the middle of nowhere, we came across a set of buildings that had clearly been abandoned for a very long time....

There were at least three buildings, probably all part of one homestead. I'm guessing that thatched-roof house is the original, with the tile-roofed buildings being more modern. It's just a guess, and in any case, “modern” is relative....

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The “New” House

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The “Old” House

You can see that there's quite a stone embankment in front of the thing, probably a result of the original builder having created a level area on which to build.

There was a bridge over to it, and it was all wide open... there was nothing but good manners (and a wife and kid waiting in the car ) stopping me from wandering around inside. I'd love to find the owner and get permission.

I find these kind of sites fascinating, and I've posted about a couple old places before... see the “Related Posts” box below for more old houses.

As commenter “krister” noted on my blog in one of those posts, “Its amazing how time can add such an element of mystery to such ordinary things.”    Indeed.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 60 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
“For Sale. Needs Some TLC”

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月27日 14時33分

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Dipping into the archives, here are some photos from almost exactly two years ago, near where the city butts up against Mt. Daimonji, where developed land ends and one of the paths up to Daimonji starts.

Still in the city part, at this time of year you get some nice colors...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 28 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/10, ISO 320 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Pretty House

The distinctively-maintained shrubs in front of the house appeared on my blog once before, here, and some of the photos on this Kyoto Fall-Color Preview from last year were taken in this immediate vicinity, as were some on this different Kyoto Fall-Color Preview.

Continuing on toward the mountain, once the houses stop, it's an odd area for a while that feels a bit “no man's land”, before becoming a normal mountain hiking path. Here's what you see upon leaving the “city” part...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Danger
“Females Walking Alone Not Encouraged”

The literal translation of the sign is “Let's all cease (being) women walking alone.” This “Let's all cease...” construction is quite common, such as “Let's all cease littering”, and often amuses me. It (the literal translation) is particularly amusing for me here because it's quite inclusive in a way biology does not allow for. Of course, the problem/amusement here is the translation, not the Japanese itself. English, too, has all kinds of idioms that are pretty silly when dissected.

The immediate area after the city ends has a small temple of some sort, and a few other random buildings, all in various states of ill repair....

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/30 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Looking Down from the Path
a small shrine or temple of some sort

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — ¹/15 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Looking Up
there's a building of some sort at the top of that big rock

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Cave
of some sort

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Stove That's Seen Better Days

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“No. 2”

Somewhere along the line, you see this quaint hand-painted sign...

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U-Turn
can be done
50 Meters Ahead

If you take the path that dives into the mountain, it'll bring you to the top of Mt. Daimonji, from which you can then take a path back down a bit to the Daimonij Fire Pits. The fire pids are just 400 meters from here, but that's as the crow flys. Hiking, it'll take about an hour.

I was on my scooter On this particular outing, just checking out the fall colors. Turning around and returning, once leaving the treecover you're greeted with a nice view of the city, and that pretty house...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/3000 sec, f/4, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Looking Back Toward Kyoto
the view is more sweeping than this, but nearby utility poles ruin the rest

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/10, ISO 250 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Nice Landscaping

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月26日 15時31分

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Two weeks ago I posted about stopping by the grounds of Kyoto's old imperial palace to check out its fall foliage, which at the time was still pretty minimal. While there, I noticed something interesting about the little entrance gate that I happened to have used (perhaps the smallest of the nine that dot the perimeter of the park)....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Imadegawa Mikado
Northern gate to the Imperial Residence in Kyoto

It's a tiny, insignificant gate that one doesn't even really notice, but I happened to have parked my scooter next to it, and while getting ready to depart, I noticed what appears to be a repair in one of the large support columns (the one nearest my scooter in the shot above).

From the side...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 2500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Structural Repair?
Lower-left: modern
Upper-right: original

I don't know for sure anything about it, but I suspect it's a repair, replacing the lower portion of the support (perhaps after it rotted away over time). The black square in the middle is where a piece of wood was shoved a bit too far in, but nevertheless it effectively locks the new lower part into the old upper part. The upper part ends just at the bottom of the “V” of the lower boot, so from the front the seam is covered by the boot and you don't see any evidence of repair...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
From the Front

Again, this is all supposition on my part, but I thought it was cool. I guess I'm geeky that way. I've recently done two other posts about interesting woodworking, one a wooden gear in Japan and another 1800s building techniques in America.

As for wooden gates, the one in today's post is tiny, and much larger and imposing ones are found all over, including in previous posts in my blog at least here, here, here, and here.

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月25日 11時46分

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 5600 — full exif & map — nearby photos

Zak invited us to join him and his family for some fun at the BørneLund here in Kyoto. It's a combination kids play area and toy store that we'd been to a few times, but until today, only for its store. (It's where Anthony picked out his birthday present when he turned four.)

It was much more fun than I would have expected.

BørneLund is a Japanese company whose primary business is the import of expensive toys, mostly from Europe. Their name looks like a Swedish name that apparently means “nickel and dime you to death”. Their shop has a very small play zone for kids that costs 600 yen/hour for the kid, 200 yen/hour for the non-optional adult, and (if you don't want to carry your stuff around) coin lockers for 100 or 200 yen. You can, surprisingly, use the bathroom for free.

But it turned out to be quite worth it, especially when he could enjoy it with four-year-old friend Gen. They had a great time.

It's amazing how much they packed into a small location. The “room-of-balls” was the largest I'd ever seen...

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I'm Sinking!

There was much roughhousing, which eventually turned into a snowball fight....

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Letting Him Have It
With Both Barrels

Apparently not knowing I was not an enemy, their ball-throwing aggregation turned toward me in the form of a “aim for the camera” game...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/4, ISO 2800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Wild Frenzy

I, er, would have thought that my big 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (with lens hood) would have afforded me more protection from the barrage than it did. Ouch.

There was a huge version of the “Tractor Treader” blow-up gerbil wheel that he played with at my folks' place, and he and Gen enjoyed it often...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/4, ISO 1800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Gen Having a “Dr. Who” Moment

Then there was the Bounce Room of Yellow, which opened the post...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/4, ISO 1400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
What Little Boys Are Built For

There were also occasional postings of good, common-sense advice...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/4, ISO 2200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Good Advice

There was a whole “grocery store” setup, with plastic food and a big cash register...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 56 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Sweaty Commerce Play

I sent Zak a few of my photos with his family in them, and he posted some of them on his blog.

I have another 50 photos from the hour we spent there that I'd like to post. Sigh, I still have a ton of fun photos to post from the last time these two went to a play zone together, the City of Otsu's “Yumekko” Play Land nine months ago. I seem to produce photos I want to post at about 100× faster than I can post them. Maybe I need to raise my posting standards to cut down on the backlog....

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月24日 14時46分

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/3.5, ISO 2200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Being Silly In the Mountains

Today is the middle of a three-day weekend, one that happens to fall just as the fall colors are really getting going, so Kyoto was absolutely packed to the gills with tourists. Fumie and I both felt much better from our colds today, so we decided to take the opportunity to get out of town.

We went for a drive in the same general direction as we did with Fumie's folks three weeks ago, into the mountains to the northwest of Kyoto. This time we had a specific destination, the Hiyoshi Dam (which, in case you've never heard of it, is a dam), and we took a lovely route of pleasantly-windy mountain roads that we'd not taken before. (For those who know Kyoto: get onto Senbondori and just keep heading north.)

The primary advantage of this route is that it totally bypassed Arashiyama, an area of Kyoto steeped in exquisite beauty (explore the many thumbnails on this page for posts I've written about Arashiyama), a beauty surpassed in magnitude only by the number of tourists this time of year.

Once we got out of the city, it wasn't long before we were in the middle of nowhere. Still, there was a lot of traffic...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Traffic Jam

The road seen in the photo above is luxuriously wide compared to most we took today. Generally, they were quite narrow and winding, sometimes a very-thin one-lane-only road for long distances. It made for the occasional “interesting time” when you came across someone coming from the opposite direction and no wide spot presented itself.

But here it was wide enough that we could safely pull over, and it was pretty, so we took the opportunity to do so.

It's Fumie's brother's birthday today, so we made a short “happy birthday” greeting video on Fumie's phone and sent it to him...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Checking a Phone Video
birthday greeting to Uncle Shogo that we'd just made and were about to send

While Fumie took care of the technical details of sending the video, I wandered around with the camera. It was only a bit after three in the afternoon, but the sun was just about to dip below the mountains, so some areas were brightly lit while others were in relatively deep shade....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/100 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Subdued But Colorful

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Imperfect

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29 mm — ¹/100 sec, f/3.5, ISO 320 — full exif & map — nearby photos
just a snapshot, showing a
Wild Variety of Color

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — ¹/400 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
More Traffic
The driver had a Ducati bike, Ducati jacket, and a Ducati helmet. I think he likes Ducati.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/22, ISO 3200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
And Towering Above it All
杉 – sugi – Japanese Ceder

We eventually got going and headed deeper into the mountains. I paused at one point to snap a shot that shows what much of the mountainous area in Japan looks like:

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 360 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Wood Farm

There were plenty of colorful trees everywhere, but the ones that stood alone among their green compatriots seemed more stunning. It was getting pretty dark down in the ravine that the road transversed, but one tree could brighten things up....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Pit Stop for Play

In the shot above, Anthony is inspecting the carpet of moss by the side of the road for, well, whatever little boys look for. I found a leaf....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 5600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Leaf

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The leaves still on the branches, above a stream far below, were wonderful, I thought.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Leaves

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It was here that Anthony, as six-year-old boys are apt to do, decided to just start jumping. Mommy joined him, and that's the shot that leads this post.

But, it was time to hit the road if we wanted to reach the dam before sunset...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
More Luxuriously-Wide Road

And we did... just barely.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — full exif & map — nearby photos
View from Hiyoshi Dam
Nantan City, Kyoto, Japan
( yuck, half the sky is blown out, and half has weird clipped colors )
Nantan City / Hiyoshi Dam · Hiyoshi Dam Operator page

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5, ISO 900 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Looking Down the Length of the Dam

Down below, in the area that would become a raging torrent of death and destruction should the dam ever break, there was a park that Anthony could run around in and explore...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Rocks and Water
always make for fun for a six-year-old

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Attempting Cross-Stream Traversal

It was getting quite dark (darker than these ISO-6400 photos indicate), so I was hesitant to let him get too adventurous. Climbing around on some similar rocks two weeks ago when it was well lit, he slipped and soaked his shoe, so in the enveloping darkness, we opted for other play..... running.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Running with Abandon

There's just something about a little boy running like that. Wow. It's the way it should be.

It reminds me of one of my favorite shots, Anthony running at Nanzenji (although there are plenty of other shots on that post that are right up there, such as this one).

He ran down and across this huge empty field, to a stage that looked comically small sitting all alone at the bottom end of the field. I suppose it's perfect for summertime “concerts in the park” events, but for Anthony, it was just another place to run...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/40 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Entering Stage Left

The view he had on stage facing as he was, was the imposing face of the dam, lit up with decidedly orange incandescent lights, which made for quite a pretty setting against the deep blue of twilight....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/3.2, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Hiyoshi Dam at Dusk

It turns out that adjacent to this park is a “refresh plaza” with an onsen (hot-spring bath), so we had a hot bath and dinner before heading home.

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月23日 14時51分

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Anthony and George
at the Kibune Shrine, Kyoto Japan

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/50 sec, f/5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Stairway Lighting
at the Kibune Shrine, Kyoto Japan

Continuing with more from my Visit to Kibune two weeks ago with Thomas Hertel, after we had dango at the restaurant with the old wooden gear, we were walking along the road and were beckoned by the tranquil sight of a tranquil site...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/50 sec, f/4.5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Small Bridge over Small Stream

The photo above almost makes it look like some kind of miniature site, but the gate at left is plenty tall enough to walk under, and the bridge itself is about ten feet long.

Thomas posed for a picture, strictly as a size comparison...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Thomas in Japan

If Thomas were to turn to the camera's left, he'd be looking up a set of steep steps running up to the Kibune Shrine....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 4500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
The Kibune Shrine
is up there somewhere

I liked the many layers in that shot, so tried a tighter zoom...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Going Up

I'm not sure it's anything more than clutter, but there it is.

Anthony sometimes likes to use my camera, and I like to encourage an interest in something creative, so we posed for a couple of shots. It's pretty funny to see him use my big camera, but he does pretty well...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Uncle Thomas and Daddy on the Bridge
photo by six-year-old Anthony Matsunaka Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/80 sec, f/5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Uncle Thomas and Daddy on the Steps
photo by six-year-old Anthony Matsunaka Friedl

And with that you can see why it's best for me to be behind the camera rather than in front of it.

The view from halfway up the steps, looking back, was also nice...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — ¹/80 sec, f/5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Going Down

At the top was an ornate shrine building that we really didn't pay much attention to because it was getting late and dark. You can see a bit of it here, though...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
front face of the
Kibune Shrine
Kyoto, Japan

On the opposite side from the stairs seen above was another much longer set going back down, seen from below in one of the earlier posts in this series. I'm sure that this is supposed to be the main entrance, but we didn't happen to use it.

Here's the view from the top...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
View from the Top

It's surprising to me that in all my visits to this area – see any of the “nearby photos” links for more posts from Kibune – this was the first time I'd ventured up to the shrine. I'm sure that this grand staircase is all lit up during the big Kibune Lightup fall-foliage event that I mentioned in the post about the Fall--Foliage Tunnel the other day. My cold is starting to get better, so perhaps I'll be able to run up three some evening to check it out.

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月22日 14時37分

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Highlights

Well, I seem to have come down with a cold, and so I spent almost all day sleeping. Up now at midnight with just enough energy to stare blankly at the screen, so I'll just post a few pictures from yesterday to brighten my day (er, my night) before heading back to bed.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Welcome
small, private, high-end restaurant
Kyoto, Japan

The entrance way to the small restaurant next to our place has a tree that we can see the top of from our livingroom window, and each year at about this time, it turns all kinds of fiery reds and oranges.

We just see the top, but it's still pretty...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
View from our Living Room

So, yesterday, between taking pictures of Kyoto City neutering trees and riding through a fall-foliage tunnel, I spent a few minutes to go see the tree up close.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/9, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Backlighting is the Key

When I got down there, I was surprised to find that the leaves that I thought were so fiery red were actually fairly drab, until you got the sun behind them and got a lot of light shining through. They transmit red, but don't reflect it as much. Backlighting is a great way to get the excitement from fall colors, whether it's via the sun or from high-intensity floodlights.

It's on my list of things to do this season to try using a small handheld flash (in my case, a Nikon SB-800 Speedlight) to backlight. Especially if I can use settings that allow the flash to dominate the ambient light, I suspect some really interesting results. We'll see whether the cold I've come down with will let me...

Anyway, yesterday, I had the sun almost directly behind the leaves, and I didn't have the lens hood with me, so the result was occasional flair, like the greenish hexagon in the upper-left of the shot above, or the big sweeping circle in the first shot.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/4000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Sorta' Abstractish

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Another View of the Entrance
but I think I like the first one, better

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 160 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/10, ISO 800 — full exif
View from my Office Window
that I took last year

作者:Jeffrey Friedl

更新日:2008年11月20日 15時40分

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