Book reviews and reading

At the Gion Festival, we witnessed the tea ceremony performed by the head of the Omotesenke school at Yasaka Shrine. We experienced the floats, the tea ceremony rooms, and the Ichiriki-tei tea ceremony firsthand, and explored the connections within Kyoto culture through the tea ceremony, from Rokkakudo Temple, to the plays "Hana Ikusa" and "Kanadehon Chushingura," to the geisha districts and chimaki (rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves).

Using Yohji Yamamoto's "Making Clothes" as a starting point, this article examines the "volume" and "drape" found in Yohji Yamamoto's clothing. Drawing on clothes actually seen at the 2014 Paris Men's Collection and items from the author's own collection, the article explores the relationship between the body and clothing.

We visited the national treasure tea room "Joan," which was relocated to Yurakuen Garden in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture. We will introduce this two-and-a-half-mat tea room, left behind by Oda Urakusai, the younger brother of Oda Nobunaga, discussing its architecture, the tea ceremony, our experience at Yurakuen Garden, and even referencing the film "Sen no Rikyu: Honkakubo Ibun."

A book review of "Tradition and Innovation of the Long-Established Brand 'Toraya'." Based on my experience at Toraya Karyo Kyoto Ichijo Store during the Gion Festival in Kyoto, I consider the experiential value created by the five senses, the season, history, and customer service.

Using Mieko Ogura's book "The Wolf's Amulet" as a guide, we head to Musashi Mitake Shrine on Mount Mitake in Tokyo. Tracing the culture of Oguchi Magami "Oinu-sama," the Mitake-ko religious group, and the Oshi (religious guides), we walk to Mount Otake and Mount Nokogiri, contemplating the mountain worship that remains in the Kanto region.

Reflections after reading Tadao Ando's "Creating Work": Self-study, work, travel, and seeing things in person. Drawing on my experience of creating a model of "Sumiyoshi Row House" during my student days and later staying at the Setouchi Retreat Aonagi, I will consider Ando's architecture and learning.

A book review of Midori Wakakuwa's "Reading Paintings: An Introduction to Iconology." Through 12 famous paintings, the book introduces the basics of iconography and how knowledge can deepen your appreciation of art.

This book introduces Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Champion's Workout" from an NSCA-CPT perspective. It analyzes everything from progressive overload and the principles of physical training to the physical portrayal in "Terminator" and movie costumes such as M-65s and leather jackets.

Introducing "Vintage Coverall," an archive book by Takeshi Obuchi, founder of POST O'ALLS. Featuring approximately 250 rare coveralls from the pre-1920s to the post-1960s, this book explores their appeal and historical value through the lens of collections from leading Japanese collectors and companies like SUNTRAP, and draws on about 40 years of vintage market history.

—Talking Heads, Rauschenberg, The link between film and music I finally read David Byrne's "The Function of Music," a book by Talking Heads that had been sitting on my bookshelf unread. I thought it would be a book about music production, but it was much more interesting than I expected. What's written...