During the climactic battle scene in Kurosawa's "Ran," the camera gazes on soldiers pierced with arrows or thrust against burning battlements. In the castle tower, a patriarch searches in vain for a sword with which to commit hara-kiri. As our eyes take in the tragedy, we hear neither the cries of me

20th-century music, Contemplative, Ethereal, Moody, Organic, Silence

In the new wave of Japanese contemporary music, Akira Nishimura is the front-runner for the "heterophonic concept." Using droning melodic variations, Nishimura creates a spacious kind of zen spikiness that can either calm the soul or mystify the mind. Nishimura exhibits a particular concern with t

20th-century music, Contemplative, Eclectic, Ethereal, Hypnotic, Layered, Silence, Spiritual

Kenzo Tange's career began with a rather daunting task: the rebuilding of Hiroshima after World War II. His country had seen the greatest single destruction of the twentieth century with the dropping of the atomic bomb. Tange seized upon this tragic event, transforming it into one of his greatest cre

Contemplative, Metabolism and the japanese new wave, Organic, Pioneering, Urban

A decelerated and aware contemplation. A slow introspection that arises in response to a meticulously wrought aesthetic object. Walter Pater asked, "What is this song or picture, this engaging personality presented in life or in a book, to me?" To discover Hiroshi Sugimoto is to answer that question

Contemplative, Empty, Ethereal, Minimal, Serene, Silence