Jocelyn's blog
Jun. 4, 2007
Visit to the Japanese Embassy ~ 31 May
Posted in excursions
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We went on a trip to the Embassy with a group of homeschoolers on Thursday. Are we studying Japan? Well, no, not really. It was an opportunity to go to the Embassy as it's not open to visitors very often. Sometimes, just taking advantage of an opportunity can lead to further learning. In everyday life, you can be exposed to new ideas and concepts out of your immediate context. One of the things we didn't realise is that most of Japan's population live on only 30% of their land. It's a little like Australia that way, but the middle of their country is quite different. We plan to look at Japan a bit more this week to build on what we already know. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos inside the building for security purposes. They had an interesting display of weapons and the dress of a Samurai. They also had a kimono, part of a traditional housing interior and examples of the food. Outside, we were allowed to take photos in one section of the gardens. I'll put those couple of photos in now. To make up for this, I had a look on the internet and found some really nice photos of Japanese Gardens.  The stone lantern is a key feature in Japanese designs. Water is used to give a relaxing/serene effect.I couldn't get a photo of the Zen garden as it was near the ambassador's residence. For security reasons, we couldn't photograph his house. I found this photo online which resembles what it was like:  The large rocks are meant to stand for continents or land and the smaller pebbles/sand represent the sea. That's why they are raked to look like they are rippling. A Zen garden is meant to be a meditation garden where one empties one's mind to find inner peace and harmony. As Christians, we don't hold to that philosophy but it was interesting to discuss this later on. |
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