Kiva

source: kiva.org

I made my 65th kiva loan.

He operates a shop which makes furniture and upholstery. I can see some furniture in the picture.

Adam and Eve, Munehiro Ikeda

Adam and Eve, Munehiro Ikeda(池田 宗弘)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Golden apples are shining when stricken by the sun light.

Tento Mushi, Tadao Miyamoto

Tento Mushi, Tadao Miyamoto(宮本信夫)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

"Ladybird" is called Tento Mushi in Japanese.

Temple of Water, Nobuo Sekine

Temple of Water(水の神殿), Nobuo Sekine(関根伸夫)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

This artwork functions as a fountain but it was not turned on this day. I think it was done to save on electricity.

Cloud, Takatsugu Nagahiro

Cloud(雲), Takatsugu Nagahiro(永廣 隆次)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

I checked the background of the designer, Takatsugu Nagahiro. He made many artworks from iron and most of his artworks installed outdoors.

The rusted iron made a good pattern.

Kiva

source: kiva.org

I made a loan for Sop Mame Diarra Group, Senegal. Our team leader of Team Japan selected the group to support and lend the loan to. This activity marks the annual celebration of  Team Japan's fourth year in Kiva.

As long as I am financially able to do it, I will try to help these entrepreneurs by providing them with financial assistance.

Nintendo 3DS

source: Nintendo

Nintendo 3DS released on February 2011, and it cut the price after 6 months. Because, Nintendo 3DS sales was very low level, contrary to their expectations.

In this week, they released two news.
 - They will release new pink color 3DS for women.
 - They will release 43 new software titles including 33 for Nintendo 3DS.

If game users change a console to play a game from a handheld game console to a mobile phone including a smart phone, I think that these strategies will not work efficiently because of game user go to mobile phone to play games.

Cubics' conference, Shimon Saito

Cubics' conference, Shimon Saito(斎藤史門)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

It looks like these cubes are going to collapse and they don't appear heavy, though the artwork is made from metal.

Melt, Tadashi Mori

Melt(溶融), Tadashi Mori(森 正)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

I tried to search about sculptor but I didn't get his information on the web.

Pedestale of the sky, Nobuo Sekine

Pedestale of the sky(空の台座), Nobuo Sekine(関根伸夫)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

It's very interesting to see that there are buildings inside of the circle. It just happened that, two cute dogs were behind the artwork in the picture.

By the way, how to make it? It was made by granite stone.

Sori No86, Takera Narita

Sori No86, Takera Narita(成田 武羅)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The sculptor, Takera Narita has published his art collection book. That book uses a photo of this artwork as the cover.

Fragments of the horizon No.2, Shinji Kikuchi

Fragments of the horizon No.2(地平線の断片No.2), Shinji Kikuchi(菊地 伸治)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

This artwork is named the Frangments of the horizon No.2. First of all, I thought of the place the artwork is trying to resemble when I saw it. There are two pyramids and I guess it's Giza, Egypt.

Connection, Katsutoshi Okamoto

Connection(繋がり), Katsutoshi Okamoto(岡本 勝利)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

If you look more closely, you can see that this artwork is connected by small pieces of blocks. Although, the shape of each part is imbalanced, it forms a balanced structure.

I don't really know what does the connection means. Does it express human's connection? If so, it looks very complex.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building by Kenzo Tange

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Kenzo Tange

Shinjuku, Tokyo

This building which is Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building was designed by Kenzo Tange. I feel overwhelmed by the size of this building that it had a tremendous impact in me when I looked up at the building.

By the way, I introduced the building which is "Cocoon Tower", it was also design by Tange's established company.

Koi Benten by Masayuki Nagare

Koi Benten, Masayuki Nagare(流政之)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

This sculpture, which is located at the same place mentioned in the previous post, is created by the same artist, Masayuki Nagare. I made a little more detail about Masayuki Nagare. I found out that he provided a lot of sculptures in the park named "Forest of the stone crazy" in Hokkaido prefecture. I would like to go there some day.

Tama-chan by Masayuki Nagare

Tama-chan, Masayuki Nagare(流政之)

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The cat artwork is named Tama-chan, is situated in front of Shinjuku Sumitomo Building.
The artwork is made by Masayuki Nagare. One of his work named Cloud Fortress(雲の砦) was previously installed at the World Trade Center in New York but I think it was destroyed during 9.11.

The link below is Masayuki Nagare's official web page.
http://www.nagaremasayuki.com/flash/index.html

PRADA Aoyama by Herzog & de Meuron

PRADA, Herzog & de Meuron

Aoyama, Tokyo

There is a PRADA store at Aoyama, Tokyo. When I walked near there, I took a picture. The building has a striking look. The external wall is made of rhombus glasses. It is designed by Herzog & de Meuron who the architect units in Switzerland.

The link below has some pictures of the building including whole image of the building.
http://www.herzogdemeuron.com/index/projects/complete-works/176-200/178/IMAGE.html

虹空間’９５ by Yutaka Toyoda

虹空間’９５ by Yutaka Toyoda (豊田 豊)

Rinko Park Yokohama, Japan

This monument was made for the 100th friendship anniversary between Brazil and Japan. This monument named Niji Kuukan '95 is not only at Rinko Park Yokohama, Japan but also at Sao Pauro, Brazil.

It is an image of a rainbow bridge between Brazil and Japan.

Fruit Tree by Choi Jeong Hwa

Fruit Tree, Choi Jeong Hwa

Rinko Park Yokohama, Japan

This artwork was made by Choi Jeong Hwa who is South Korean.

When I was walking in the park, the fruits tree is appeared from behind a real tree. It made me surprise. I like this artwork.

I checked his other artworks which are very colorful. I guess his artwork attract people.
You can see his other artwork from the link below.
http://choijeonghwa.com/

Children's Tree by Taro Okamoto

Children's Tree(子供の樹), Taro Okamoto(岡本太郎)

Shibuya, Tokyo

When I saw this artwork, I got who made it. It's Taro Okamoto because of his original style. It stands in front of Children's Castle in Shibuya, Tokyo. The Children's Castle provides some children's activity for healthy growth.

The tree has various expressive faces. Which one do you like? I like the face that sticks its tongue out. The following links are his other works.


- Young clock tower
- Tower of mother
- 樹霊
- Taro Okamoto museum of art
- Glory
- Sun