Weaving

This one is also for my stitching friends. Taken through glass, I have reflections in my pic, but if we look past the reflections, we can see some wonderful weaving patterns.

At first, I thought this was drawn thread work but a close look showed out the weaving. My passion is drawn work, and these weaving patterns are very similar to the needle weaving patterns used in drawn thread channels throughout Europe a few hundred years back. I wonder who influenced who?

This is a table runner, and was on display in the shrine at the Shurijo Castle on Okinawa, Japan.

Artwork

This artwork was on the wall inside the shrine in the grounds of the Shurijo Castle in Okinawa. Obviously done in inks of some kind, it tells a story. The story would have been written somewhere, but we were on limited time and I have missed it. I am assuming that that is the King being transported by his court members in a procession of some kind.

I would have liked to study this drawing more closely, but it was high on a wall and we were being escorted through this section quite quickly.

A Cover

This one is for all my stitching friends, and anyone else that enjoys the fine arts. 

This is a cover of some kind, though I am not sure of what. It probably was written somewhere, but we were on a limited time frame and I missed the sign.

Check out the beautiful hand stitching that decorates this cover.

Beautiful voided flowers and leaves.

Flowers placed in borders.

Beautiful birds. Check out the voiding on the body of this bird, showcasing the feathers to make them look real.

Yes, these are all stitched by hand. Stunning work showing influences from China.

A Decorated Pole

This decorated pole was found inside the shrine at the Shurijo Castle in Okinawa. Still more dragons decorate this pole, and we can see the influence of China with the voided clouds. Just beautiful.

Another Dragon

The panel above the throne was beautiful and decorated with gold dragons. In this pic we can see two more. The one at the bottom has four claws, while the one at the top has five. The number of claws have meanings, I just forget for the moment what they mean. I know the more claws the dragon has, the better everything is, luck, wealth etc. Whatever they mean, the decorations on the panel above the throne were beautiful

A Dragon

A close up view of one of the dragons dragons decorating the panel above The King's Chair. Lots of Chinese influence here. Isn't he fabulous!

Decorative Panel

This panel sat on the wall above the King's Chair that I showed you yesterday. Obviously saying something, but I have no idea what. The patterns in the frame and the dragons below are fabulous.

A Chair

How is this for a chair?   This chair was located in the the main shrine at the Shurijo Castle. It is believed to be throne upon which sat the King. Richly decorated in gold and Vermillian, it features many patterns that I could reproduce in my stitching somewhere. What about those  two dragons decorating the arms of this chair? Are they not fabulous!

Suimui-utaki

Suimui-utaki is a site of worship inside the Shurijo Castle grounds. Unfortunately my camera was still on those horrid green settings, but we can still see the decoration on this building. There are dragons on each end of the roof guarding it, and beautiful artwork over the front entranceway.

A Castle Gate

There are many gates around the Shurijo Castle, this is just one. As we can see, they are very different to those of the temples and shrines in Kyoto & Tokyo. They appear to be much simpler and less ornate than others we has seen.

Shurijo Castle Grounds

One of the buildings inside the Shurijo Castle grounds. The castle was originally built over 500 years ago, but was destroyed by fire in WW11 , and  restored in the 1980's. It has housed kings, government, and the Ryukyu University. Now it is one of Okiniwa's main tourist attractions.

Roof Patterns

Some more roof patterns now. If we look closely we will see that these roof patterns are different to those that we saw on the main islands of Japan. The roof style is still the same, but the patterns used for decoration are very different. I could definitely play with these & use them in my lace making and stitching

Okinawa Views

Some views of Okinawa now, taken from the walls of the Shurijo Castle.

Unfortunately my photos are still very green. I have yet to discover the camera setting had changed.

A Spring

Another one of my very green photos, this time showing the "Ryuhi", or water spring, situated half way up the steps leading to the gate of the Shurijo Castle. The water pours from the mouth of a dragon, which originally came from China way back in 1523. Water from this spring has been used to provide fresh drinking water not only to the castle, but to guest houses nearby.

A Stairway

This was the set of stairs that we had to climb to get into the Shurijo Castle grounds. The Castle is high up on a hill, overlooking Okinawa. surrounded by stone walls. Not much of a climb really, and besides, it was worth it to see some of the treasures inside.

A Castle Gate

Another very green photo, this time of the Shurijo Castle Gate. Thought to be built sometime between 1322 and 1429, this area was the Royal Court of the Ryuku Islands Kingdom for over 400 years, from 1429.

The Stone Gate of the Sonohyan Shrine

A very green photo of the Stone Gate of the Sonohyan Shrine, that we passed on our way to the entrance of the Shurijo Castle. This gateway was built in 1519 by King Sho Shin, and behind it is a sacred place of prayer.