Japan and the Japanese illustrated . JAPANESE MOSAIC. symbolical research mingled with great purity of taste in the imitation of nature. Inall the temples and palaces we find ornaments in sculptured wood, which representa bank of clouds, above wliich rises the front of the edifice. The grand entrance ofth<! Dairi is decorated with a golden sun surrounded by the signs of the Zodiac ; the ARCHITECTURE. 85 portals of the temples devoted to Buddhism are surmounted by two elephants heads,which indicate that this religion came from India; the carpenters tools all bearsymbolical devices. The favou
Japan and the Japanese illustrated . JAPANESE MOSAIC. symbolical research mingled with great purity of taste in the imitation of nature. Inall the temples and palaces we find ornaments in sculptured wood, which representa bank of clouds, above wliich rises the front of the edifice. The grand entrance ofth<! Dairi is decorated with a golden sun surrounded by the signs of the Zodiac ; the ARCHITECTURE. 85 portals of the temples devoted to Buddhism are surmounted by two elephants heads,which indicate that this religion came from India; the carpenters tools all bearsymbolical devices. The favourite designs of their mosaics and their carvings in wood are borrowedfrom the lines described by the foaming waves of the sea and the basalt rocks cut bythe waters ; bats and cranes are represented with extended wings; the iris, the Avater-lily, and the lotus are always in full flower; the bamboo, the cedar, the palm-tree, andthe pear-tree, are either isolated or combined with the most graceful climbing plants. We observed numerous
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidjapanjapanes, bookyear1874
