Kita-in Buddhist Temple in Kawagoe, Japan is thought to have begun when the monk Ennin founded Muryoju Temple in 830 A.D. It was burned down during fighting in 1205, and was rebuilt in 1296 by the monk Sonkai. Then Emperor Gofushimi made it head of the Tendai Sect temples in east Japan in 1300. Kita-in became the main temple of the three-temple complex after Tenkai became the head monk in 1599.
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Roan Victor, a fine art painter, muralist, and youth arts educator based in San Jose Japan-town, painted a mural to honor Tom Iamesi an affordable housing professional and mentor in the San Francisco Bay Area who passed away in 2020. Iamesi Village was named after Tom Iamesi and is a new low income housing by First Community Housing in San Jose located at 201 Bassett Street and Terraine Street near downtown San Jose. Painting of mural was assisted by Sean Boyles and Marc Wallace who are also San Jose Japan-town artists. This mural was organized and sponsored by Empire Seven Studios in San Jose Japantown.
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On a very windy and rainy day many hardy and eager bicyclists rode the Viva CalleSJ in San Jose on Sunday September 18th 2022
Viva CalleSJ is a recreational program that closes miles of San Jose streets. VivaCalleSJ’s route take participants through some of San Jose’s most engaging and historic neighborhoods. The open street events brings all people and communities together to walk, run, bike, scoot, skate, and explore the city. It’s a fun, lively, and energetic event held several times a year in the Spring and Fall.
Viva CalleSJ is inspired by similar Open Streets programs organized in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Guadalajara, Mexico, and other cities around the world. The name combines the Spanish “Viva Calles,” which can mean both “the streets live” and “long live the streets.”
VivaCalleSJ is organized by City of San José’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services and supported by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.
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Valentin Lopez, Chair, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band at rally for Juristac at County Government Building in San Jose on Saturday September 10th 2022
The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band is in a battle to protect sacred Juristic site from the proposed Sargent Ranch Quarry. Juristic (“Place of the Big Head in Mutsun language) is the center of ancestral homeland near Gilroy, CA. Historically the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band are survivors of the destructive power and authority of Mission San Juan Bautista and Mission Santa Cruz. And the proposed mining development of the Juristac is the modern day continuation of these inhumane and unjust policies.
A San Diego-based investment group applied for the permit from Santa Clara County to establish 403 acre sand and gravel mining operation. Three open-pit quarry sites 250 deep and 62 acre processing plant and 1.6 mile conveyor belt are proposed for the site. A 60 day public comment period ends on September 26th, 2022 with over 20,000 people signing the Amah Mutsun petitions and numerous officials and community leaders supporting Juristac.
According to the Santa Clara County Draft Environmental Impact Report there will be multiple significant and unavoidable harmful impacts such as biological resources, air quality, traffic and tribal resources (sacred sites), and is eligible for California Register of Historical Resources. The mining would also eliminate habitat for the California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander, both federally-listed threatened species. The loss of grasslands would also impact the American badger, and birds of prey that forage in the area such as the Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, Prairie Falcon and Burrowing Owl.
“Juristac is the heart of Amah Mutsun spiritually and culture, and an open-pit sand and gravel mine would forever desecrate this sacred place,” said Valentin Lopez chair of Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.
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“In this piece I wanted to create a landscape that is both grand in scale as well as intimate and close, making use of scale shifts to incorporate both a large landscape as well as flower large enough to make the viewer feel like they are Alice walking through a (California) wonderland. I wanted to take the landscape back to the period before the land was developed and celebrate the natural beauty of this place. The figures emerging from the land/seascape embrace to create the “Bay Area” and are also a celebration of the connections between those who are grown here and those who came from across the sea to help make this region what it is today.” -Lacey Bryant
Lacey Bryant is a scenic artist and enjoys when things are slightly ambiguous. She likes to create a vivid dreamlike atmosphere that includes flowers, plants, objects, and animals into her creations. In addition, Lacey incorporates nostalgia and has a unique artistic vision to her paintings.
Mural Artists: Lacey Bryant and Stephen Longoria, and Marc Wallace
Please click top left to view 30 photographs on my Flickr site or click side arrows
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Your donation will assist the stability and growth of the photography blog. It will assist Specifically with internet blogging fees and promotion, computer maintenance, photographic equipment, and some travel expenses. Make a one-time donation.
Your donation will assist the stability and growth of the photography blog. It will assist Specifically with internet blogging fees and promotion, computer maintenance, photographic equipment, and some travel expenses. Make a one-time donation.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) photograph taken in the 1990’s (Kodachrome)
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) is a horrendous reminder of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th 1945 that killed over 100,000 people and destroyed the City by the American Armed Forces. It was the only structure left after the tragic bombing. The nearby Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum which educates the public about what occurred on that catastrophic day and afterwards. It symbolizes the horrendous power of the nuclear weapons but also gives hope for permanent world peace and preventing a re-occurrence. There has been three renovation projects (1967, 1989-1990 and 2002-2003 to preserve and maintain the Peace Dome since it was built. The Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) is a historic site from the Japanese 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, and is managed by Hiroshima City and Prefectural Government and the Government of Japan.
Your donation will assist the stability and growth of the photography blog. It will assist Specifically with internet blogging fees and promotion, computer maintenance, photographic equipment, and some travel expenses. Make a one-time donation.
Tsuruga-jo Castle 鶴ヶ城 is the symbol of Aizu and located in Aizu-Wakamatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture. It was known as an invincible castle as it lasted one month against an enemy during the end of the Edo era 1868-1869. But in 1874 it was torn down into stone walls. Later it was rebuilt in 1965 and also in 2011 it went through a major facelift. You can view cherry blossoms in the spring and fall leaves in autumn. The address is 1-1 Outemachi, Aizu-Wakamatsu City, Fukushima, 965-0873.For more information please contact: info@tsurugajo.com
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