Izura Coast and Tenshin 五浦海岸・天心
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Kita-Ibaraki is a small, coastal city (pop. 42,000) with these picturesque cliffs of the Izura Coast (五浦海岸). Famous art scholar Okakura Tenshin (1863–1913 岡倉天心) found this scenic place to be a great inspiration for artists and moved here
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The small red pavilion is Izura Rokkakudo (五浦六角堂), the symbol of Kita-Ibaraki. Izura Rokkakudo was originally designed and built in 1905 by artist Okakura Tenshin (岡倉天心) as part of his residence. His house is on the left..
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In Kita-Ibaraki, Tenshin used Rokkakudo to listen to ocean waves and gaze at the scenery. On March 11, 2011, it was washed away by the tsunami, but it was rebuilt in 2012.
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Izura Rokkakudo (五浦六角堂) is now being maintained by Ibaraki University and it continues to be a sacred spot for Japanese artists.
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For a small admission fee, you can go down a path to see the Rokkakudo. (五浦六角堂).
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The glass windows were made in the UK.
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Must've been mesmerizing to pass time here. A place to attain artistic enlightenment.
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You cannot enter the Rokkakudo, but you can see inside through the glass windows made in the UK. There's supposed to be tatami mats inside.
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About Rokkakudo.
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Scenery around Rokkakudo.
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Scenery in front of Rokkakudo.
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Artist-inspiring scenery around Rokkakudo, Kita-Ibaraki.
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Tenshin's home on the Izura Coast, near the Rokkakudo Pavilion.
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Tenshin's home on the Izura Coast, near the Rokkakudo Pavilion. Can't go inside.
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Hina dolls displayed inside Tenshin's home for Girl's Day (March 3).
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About the Tenshin residence.
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About the "Asia is One" monument.
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Along the path to Rokkakudo is this bust of Harvard professor and art historian Langdon Warner (1881–1955) who once studied under Tenshin and visited here. He is being revered here for supposedly helping to save Kyoto and Nara from World War II bombings
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About Langdon Warner.
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Izura Misaki Park on the coast.
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Prop for the movie "Tenshin."
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Izura Misaki Park has this lookout tower. 五浦岬公園 展望慰霊塔
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View from the lookout tower.
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Izura Coast
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Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art, Ibaraki (茨城県天心記念 五浦美術館). Beautiful art museum in a beautiful place on the coast.
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Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art was named after Okakura Tenshin (aka Okakura Kakuzo 1863–1913 岡倉天心/覚三), a famous art scholar and advocate of Japanese art, especially Nihonga paintings.In 1890, he was one of the founders and the first de facto dean of the forerunner of the Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai), one of Japan's most prominent art universities.
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Lobby of Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art.Tenshin is revered in Kita-Ibaraki because he moved his Nihon Bijutsu-in artist group (Art Institute of Japan) here from Tokyo in 1906. His students, prominent Nihonga painters Yokoyama Taikan (1868–1958), Hishida Shunso (1874–1911), Shimomura Kanzan (1873–1930), and Kimura Buzan (1876–1942) followed him to this picturesque Izura Coast and built artist studio residences near Tenshin's home. The residences of Tenshin, Taikan, and Buzan still remain.
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Tenshin Memorial Room explained the life and achievements of Tenshin. Founded Nihon Bijutsu-in (Art Institute of Japan) and moved it from Tokyo to Izura coast in Kita-Ibaraki in 1906.Includes exhibits about the time he worked at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1910 in charge of the Chinese/Japanese art division.
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Tenshin was proficient in English and wrote the classic book, "The Book of Tea" in English.
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Movie poster for the movie, "Tenshin." It was being screened in the city.
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The museum has fine views of the ocean and southern coast of Fukushima (Iwaki). You may also notice a power plant in the distance. That's not the one that had a meltdown in 2011. It's the Nakoso Power Plant (勿来発電所), a thermal power plant (non-nuclear) operated by Joban Joint Power Co., Ltd.
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Hina Matsuri dolls displayed at the museum entrance.
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Marsala restaurant near the Izura Coast. マルサーラ
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Marsala restaurant has Hawaiian decor.
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Marsala restaurant has Hawaiian decor, but no Hawaiian food. Only tropical drnks in summer.
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Appetizers. The food is good though.
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Kita-Ibaraki also has flat, sandy beaches.
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A sea wall being built. After 8 years, we hardly saw any other remnants of tsunami or quake damage.
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Tourist information center at JR Isohara Station.
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At JR Isohara Station, our tokkyu express train back to Ueno, Tokyo.
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