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Wrath Of Gnon

@wrathofgnon

31 Oct

This little plant, rarely seen in Japan today, used to be tremendously important: Perilla frutescens, Egoma in Japanese. Before petroleum oils and rapeseed, its seeds were the main source of fuel oil in the country, production and trade was strictly regulated by oil guilds, yuza.

Today its edible leaves are rarely used in cooking and the oil is taken as a nutritional supplement since it is very rich in alpha-Linolenic acid (raw or as a seasoning or even in coffee since it has very little taste).

I came across a large stand today in an old park, it was probably the grounds of a temple or religious family homestead once upon a time. I have never seen them grow wild before.

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Wrath Of Gnon

@wrathofgnon

28 Oct

Starting in mid-17th century until mid-19th, several wooden cantilevered bridges were built in Japan. This one in Toyama prefecture, built 1663, was 63m long. But there was an even longer, in Shizuoka prefecture, which has an interesting backstory of environmental destruction.

In 1692 the bridge over the river Oi was rebuilt (the first bridge was built in 1607), at 72.8m. Unrelated, the same year logging operations started at a site 10km upstream. It was so badly managed that when it was stopped in 1700, 3600ha of forest had been clear cut.

The loss of the forest meant rainwater had nowhere to go except into the river which gradually grew wider and wider as it eroded the sides of the valleys it passed through. In 1700 the bridge had to be torn down and replaced with a new and longer one, at 85.5m.

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Wrath Of Gnon

@wrathofgnon

27 Oct

The traditional "shophouses", can be found all over Asia (and beyond). In Phuket Old Town (Thailand), there are several streets preserved of this human scaled vernacular 1-3 story townhouses, examples of Sino-Portuguese style. This is South East Asian gold standard #GoodUrbanism.

A typical shophouse (whether in Phuket or Hanoi or Singapore or Kyoto) is a two story building in local materials, with a shop on the ground floor and living space above. The plots are deep and narrow to preserve valuable street frontage.

The style of the individual buildings is not the most important thing, they can be easily adapted even in modern materials, but the scale is unbeatable. The shophouses in Phuket are from the late 19th c. to the late 20th c., as these reinforced concrete buildings.

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Wrath Of Gnon

@wrathofgnon

26 Oct

Currently reading Losing Eden (2020) by Lucy Jones, a journalist discovering and investigating the importance of a connection to nature to our mental and physical well being while sobering up from a decades long drug and alcohol addiction.

“In 2004, Mary O’Brien, an oncologist, discovered something fascinating by accident. She created a serum that contained M. vaccae, a species of bacteria found in soil. She wanted to see if the bacterium could boost the immune systems of her lung cancer patients...” — Lucy Jones

“Scientists are starting to understand more deeply the role inflammation may also play in our mental health. Evidence that bodily inflammation can affect the brain and have a direct effect on mood, cognition and behaviour is relatively new. But it is strong and compelling.” — LJ

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Wrath Of Gnon

@wrathofgnon

20 Oct

Know your natural street stone (left to right):
1. Cobbles, any shape without six clear sides.
2. Setts, quarried stones with six clear sides.
3. Cubes, setts with six identical sides.
4. Flags, flat stone slabs, often cut.

Often the price of materials goes up from cobbles to flags, and also user friendliness (cubes are often used in patterns which is beautiful but raises the price). In practice they are usually combined, in any possible combination, as in this charming street in Lincoln, England.

Except for cobbles, most stones are tooled (chiseled) to make the top side flatter. Some are sawn to ensure a perfect level top. Patterns can also be hammered or chiseled into stones for decorative effect or to help provide a better grip.

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Wrath Of Gnon

@wrathofgnon

14 Oct

Edo, (old Tokyo 16th/17th-late 19th c.) had a clever system to administrate half a million townspeople and keep the security at the same time: by delegation, to jishinban (left) and kidoban (right), a double set of guard posts at the entrance of each of the 994 town districts.

The jishinban (here illustrated as a book cover) was manned by the major landowner and his deputies, 3-5 at a time, answered for security and fire detection. It doubled as liaison office for civic administration: if you needed a birth certificate for ex., this was were you went.

The kidoban on the other side was manned by retired old men who lived there and kept the town gate closed from 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. Anyone wanting to enter after closing needed permission and kidoban guards would communicate comings and goings across the city using wooden clappers.

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