Noticing More: Prayer Pit Stops

Knowledge comes from noticing resemblances and recurrences in the events that happen around us,” Wilfred Trotter

Diving into my woefully disorganised camera roll is one of my favourite ways to learn from my scattered visual notes. Amid the chaos, I can sometimes make connections from one set of photos to another. It is a messy but intuitive and unpolished way to see the subtle threads that connect one local culture or location to another, often thousands of kilometres apart. These waterless dives are meditative and accidentally informative and yeah, also enormously cathartic and rewarding.

My latest wander through my camera roll lead to a gentle study of how certain complex human needs are deciphered and manifested onto our streets. In this case the need is spiritual and it is revealed by the dedicated places for passersby to leave a brief silent prayer or pay a nod of respect.

Today I am drawing lines from the street side shrines I encountered in Malaga to the O-Jizo-sama of my local neighbourhood in Tokyo.

It goes without saying pavement prayer pit stops tell more than a particular culture’s requirement for roadside reverence. They tell of faith, piety, hope, pain, respect and sometime superstition. But they also tell us plenty by how they are presented, what they are made of, how they are maintained and where they are positioned. Floral offerings seem universal regardless of religion. Specific to Japan are the garlands of senbazuru found beside O-Jizo-sama, they strike a poignant chord with me. The patience and dedication it takes to make 1000 origami cranes really moves me.

---

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Are there any such places for roadside reverence where you are? I would love to see your observations and read your thoughts.

Please share with me via email: Yasumi @ Superordinarylife.com or via Instagram

Send photos, words and let me know where they are taken and where you would like me cite and link credits to.

Noticing More: #safetyglassmagic

I wonder what it would be like to kick back and watch the world go by in a room that had 4 walls of safety glass. The very thought of it makes for an intriguing concept for an installation, I think.

Whatever winds up behind these commonplace translucent layers of wire and textured glass, no matter how mundane, seems to become photogenic and more interesting. I wonder why?

HAVE YOU BEEN COLLECTING SAFTEY GLASS IMAGES RECENTLY?

• Send them to us in a quick email. letting us know where each pic was taken (just the city will do).

• Don’t worry about perfect photography. We are more interested in what caught your attention.

• Let us know how you would like to be credited. Your name, website, Instagram account etc.

Or you could SHARE YOUR PICS ON THE HASHTAG: #safetyglassmagic

Really looking forward to sharing your observations!

Email: Yasumi @ superordinarylife . com

Noticing More: Arrows

Have you ever counted the amount of arrows you encounter in your daily life?

We live in a world where many arrows are many arrows shot towards us everyday. Arrows that direct, tease, exhort, sell, cajole us all day long. It’s a curious paradox that although arrows are silent (non-verbal) they are often visually noisy and powerful. Yet like so many Super Ordinary things we grow numb to them and if they are not saving us from imminent danger or directing us to a place we need to find, we tend to ignore them.

We live in a world where many arrows are shot towards us everyday. Arrows that direct, tease, exhorting, sell, cajole….

Jean-Michel Folon was a Belgian illustrator, poster artist and sculptor.

“Folon began as an architectural draftsman, and many of his drawings feature wall after wall of impenetrable skyscraper facades marked with obsessive rows of broken lines that evoke prisons. Another frequent metaphor was directional arrows explosively springing from humanlike figures and other forms, shooting in many directions.” NY TIMES

"Arrows," he once said, "are the symbols of confusion of an entire era. What would happen if, one night, someone were to remove all the traffic signs from the face of the earth?".

London

London

London

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Have you noticed any interesting arrows recently?

• Send them to us in a quick email. letting us know where each pic was taken (just the city will do).

• Don’t worry about perfect photography. We are more interested in what caught your attention.

• Let us know how you would like to be credited. Your name, website, Instagram account etc.

Really looking forward to sharing your observations!

Email: Yasumi @ superordinarylife . com

NOTICING MORE : STRIPES IN PORTUGAL WITH @GHOSTZINE

I’m delighted to share our first guest collection of stripes and couldn’t be happier that it comes from Alexis/@ghostzine.

The following stripy captures were all noticed in Portugal:

Cascais, Portugal by @ghostzine

Almada, Portugal by @ghostzine

Estoril, Portugal by @ghostzine

Nazaré, Portugal by @ghostzine

Sintra, Portugal by @ghostzine

Alexis is from York, UK and is currently living in Almada, Portugal. If you’re interested in visiting Portugal and seeing a less popularised version of the country, be sure to follow Alexis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghostzine/?hl=en

NOTICING MORE: STRIPES

The history behind stripes is long and fascinating. Their appeal is timeless. We know this as we see brand after brand attach themselves to specific stripes.

But what about the mundane stripes?

Here are 3 Super Ordinary Life stripe situations to inspire you to notice more mundane stripy goodness:

Komabatodaimae station, Tokyo

Crisp Street Market, London

Yoyogi Uehara Station, Tokyo

---

SET OF STRIPES

We’d love to share your favourite stripe themes photos!

• Send them to us in a quick email. letting us know where each pic was taken (just the city will do).

• Don’t worry about perfect photography. We are more interested in what caught your attention.

• Let us know how you would like to be credited. Your name, website, Instagram account etc.

Really looking forward to sharing your observations!

Email: Yasumi @ superordinarylife . com

Noticing More: Yellows

Here are three yellow scenes in Japan, taken by one of our favourite people on Instagram; MINIMALISM TOKYO

Location: Tohoku Shinkansen

Tokyo

Tokyo

Connect with Minimalism Tokyo:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minimalism_tokyo/?hl=en

Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/minimalism_tokyo/?hl=en

VSCO: https://vsco.co/minimalismtokyo/gallery

---

COLOUR COLLECTIONS

We’re changing up our colour posts. We’re making them shorter and snappier so we can share more of them, more often! Colour is a huge source of inspiration for many people and a great way to sharpen the eyes.

If you have a collection that you would like to share on the Super Ordinary Life blog (and Instagram Stories), please do email them to us. Here’s what we’re looking for:

• 3 pictures following 1 colour theme.

• Send them to us in a quick email. letting us know the colour and where each pic was taken (just the city will do).

• Don’t worry about perfect photography. We are more interested in what caught your attention.

• Let us know how you would like to be credited. Your name, website, Instagram account etc.

Really looking forward to sharing your observations!

Email: Yasumi @ superordinarylife . com

Noticing More: Off Whites

Three off whites from an ordinary side of Tokyo

---

COLOUR COLLECTIONS

We’re changing up our colour posts. We’re making them shorter and snappier so we can share more of them, more often! Colour is a huge source of inspiration for many people and a great way to sharpen the eyes.

If you have a collection that you would like to share on the Super Ordinary Life blog (and Instagram Stories), please do email them to us. Here’s what we’re looking for:

• 3 pictures following 1 colour theme.

• Send them to us in a quick email. letting us know the colour and where each pic was taken (just the city will do).

• Don’t worry about perfect photography. We are more interested in what caught your attention.

• Let us know how you would like to be credited. Your name, website, Instagram account etc.

Really looking forward to sharing your observations!

Email: Yasumi @ superordinarylife . com

Noticing More: Oranges

Happy Monday, folks!

Here are three oranges from our archive.

Super Ordinary Life : Okinawa, Japan

Super Ordinary Life : Tokyo

Super Ordinary Life, Tokyo

---

COLOUR COLLECTIONS

We’re changing up our colour posts. We’re making them shorter and snappier so we can share more of them, more often! Colour is a huge source of inspiration for many people and a great way to sharpen the eyes.

If you have a collection that you would like to share on the Super Ordinary Life blog (and Instagram Stories), please do email them to us. Here’s what we’re looking for:

• 3 pictures following 1 colour theme.

• Send them to us in a quick email. letting us know the colour and where each pic was taken (just the city will do).

• Don’t worry about perfect photography. We are more interested in what caught your attention.

• Let us know how you would like to be credited. Your name, website, Instagram account etc.

Really looking forward to sharing your observations!

Email: Yasumi @ superordinarylife . com

Noticing More: Story Corner

We recently shared a collection of corners that have caught our attention on our Instagram Stories. The corners included all appealed to us for different reasons but it was only as we finished the series that we realised that our favourite corners were the ones that told a silent story about their neighbourhoods. We think that these unassuming details say a lot about the values and thinking of Tokyoite culture.

Tucked away in a back alley of residential Tokyo, we noticed these reflectors fixed onto a corner of someone’s wall. A quick glance around confirmed that whilst there are no street-lamps, we can imagine a glow of spill light during the evenings, from the neighbouring homes. Someone must have taken the time and thought to add these - just to help themselves and/or other people find their way through the winding alley safely.

This corner belongs to an abandoned and tumbledown house in western Tokyo. It’s an understandable one to dismiss and just march on past. We imagine loads of people consider it to be an eyesore - not us! Take a moment to observe the details and it tell you about how how this and many other traditional style Japanese houses were built. A wordless free lesson about materials, age, how the country is evolving and so much more.

This in an entrance to a doctor’s surgery, again, in Tokyo . One side is for adults and the other for children. Do people ever walk into each other? We wonder!

A corner of an izakaya in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo. Vinyl curtains cut the corner of the entryway. The broken zipper has been secured with blue vinyl tape which is a very super ordinary item in Japan.

---

PLEASE SHARE YOUR CORNER PICS WITH US:

We would love to add your pics and/or words to our future corner associated post. If you have anything that you would like to share, email your pictures and friendly words to : Yasumi @ superordinarylife (.) com

Noticing More : THINGS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

These are the kinds of things that people disregard without even consciously realising they are. Visually dismissed quirks. Silent Super Ordinary Life humour - not everyone will get it. Like a not so private joke - it makes some people smile whilst others will miss the humour entirely.

You might question how ordinary these scenarios are. Good point! We reckon that there’s often a glimmer of the extraordinary hidden in plain sight, within the ordinary. Don’t take our word for it. Just notice it.

Noticing more: Bannisters

“Use curves for beauty and angles for strength.”

Bernard Leach

Here’s a collection of bannisters that I’ve collected over the years. These are all part of outdoor staircases so anyone can see them. Lately, I’ve noticed that there is a huge variety of banisters here in Japan - more than I could’ve imagined and it’s beginning to get quite distracting when I am out and about! It’s the colourful ones and the ones with interesting geometrical presence that really catch my eye.

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

Tokyo

London

Tokyo

London

Thassos

Malaga

Tokyo

PLEASE SHARE YOUR BANNISTER PICS WITH US:

We would love to add your pics and/or words to this post. If you have anything that you would like to share, email your pictures and friendly words to : Yasumi @ superordinarylife (.) com

NoticinG More: FENCES

Wire fences add an extra visual layer to a scene. Visually, they add texture and geometry. They can also distort, frame and restrict what we (choose) to see.

On first impressions, I immediately liked their grid systems. Noticing wire fences in mundane moments, I’ve begun to appreciate the visual effect that they have on a setting.

They are designed to restrict access to an area by creating a boundary. They control access, protect, prompt a sense of caution and interrupt our line of vision but in doing so, they can also add interest to what we see.

Wired

I like noticing things getting caught in fences. Especially plants - plants have a sense of emotion attached to them, I think. Or is that just me?

Warped

I’ve always liked a rebel. Rebellious breaks in the pattern on fences included! Warps, breaks, attempted repairs, they must have a story and perhaps it’s that thought that makes them oddly inspiring.

Background

Colourful backgrounds have a way of highlighting the patterns and details of any fencing in the foreground. Together, they create an interesting canvas for the eye.

Foreground

Fences obscured by trailing plants are take on a more solid visual appearance. There is a sense of enchantment mixed into there, too.

Away from the purely aesthetic appeal of fences and the mundane things I notice about them. Although it is ingrained in human behaviour to be more curious about concealed, areas sectioned off from public access. fences do require a sense of caution especially when they are protecting institutions such as schools.

Sharing Your Fence Observations With Us:

We would love to share some of your Super Ordinary Life fence observations alongside ours. If you would like to send one, or even some with us. Here’s how you can:

Instagram

#super_ordinarylife on Instagram. We’d love it if you shared your captures there. We will always credit and link back to you when we use your pics both here or on Instagram.

Email

Send your pictures and friendly words to : Yasumi @ superordinarylife (.) com

Noticing More: You've Got Mail

I’ve always had a thing for things with loads of compartments. Since I was a kid, my eyes would light up at the sight of pigeonhole shelves, antique chemist cabinets and the like. To little me, the more compartments, the better. Zoom forward to me now. And yep! I am still making heart eyes at compartments. One of my favourites are cluster letterboxes that you find at the entrance of apartment or office blocks.

Here are some that have caught my attention and also the attention of some of my fellow letterbox-liking -keen-eyed observers:

Location: Suginami, Tokyo

Location: Suginami, Tokyo

Location: Shoreditch, London

Location: Setagaya, Tokyo

Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Location: Setagaya, Tokyo

Location: Setagaya, Tokyo

Location: Daikanyama, Tokyo

Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Location: Setagaya, Tokyo

Location: Setagaya, Tokyo

Location: Setagaya, Tokyo

Location: Setagaya, Tokyo

Taped up letterboxes…

means that the apartment or office is unoccupied, here in Tokyo.

---

What our friends and followers have noticed:

We’re thrilled to share these excellent letterbox observations with you! Big thanks to Present & Correct, Sophie Hustwick, and herslowerlife for being extremely generous and letting us share their pics here.

Noticed by : PRESENT / & / CORRECT

Website: https://www.presentandcorrect.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/presentandcorrect/

Source: https://www.presentandcorrect.com

Location: Banton Frameworks

Source: https://www.presentandcorrect.com

Location: Rochelle Canteen, London

---

Source: https://www.sophiehustwick.com

Location: Salton City, California

Noticed by : Sophie Hustwick

Website: https://www.sophiehustwick.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiehustwick/

Noticed by : herslowerlife

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herslowerlife/?hl=en

Source: https://www.instagram.com/herslowerlife

Location: Madeira

---

Sharing Your Cluster Letterbox Pics With Us:

We will definitely revisit cluster letterboxes in future blog posts, so if you do have any pics or words that you would like to share there are a few ways that you can get involved :

Instagram

#super_ordinarylife on Instagram. We’d love it if you shared your captures there. We will always credit and link back to you when we use your pics both here or on Instagram.

Email

Send your pictures and friendly words to : Yasumi @ superordinarylife (.) com

Pinterest:

We’ve dedicated a Pinterest board to cluster letterboxes. You can take a look here: Super Ordinary Life Cluster Letterbox Pinterest Board

Noticing More: Trailer Trashed

“I always see the absurdity in most situations. It's my experience of how life works.”

Natasha Lyonne

We used to live in one of London’s dumping grounds.

Before the Olympics of 2012. Before Hackney Wick found itself with a shiny new Overground station and a burgeoning population of residents to snatch up the fancy new waterside abodes, not many people lived in Fish Island. It was a community of live/work art spaces. Drafty, crumbling, time weathered, cavernous places originally intended for industrial use. Not especially quaint, the streets were makeshift galleries for street and guerrilla artists. Often strewn with litter and post-semi legal rave residue, the pavements were often lined with discarded N2O cartridges. Taking up the most space amongst the random “rubbish”, trailers (among other vehicles), were a common sight.

I took pics of quite a few during our time in the area. Here are some of my favourites:

I wonder what makes certain areas more prone to fly-tipping than others? From what I observed, it’s usually an area with fewer residents and less security monitoring. An area that seems on the fringes of somehow. Places where less people will complain or make an issue of it. It’s interesting that despite the usual deterrents, (fine warnings and clamping) this still happened in the area. Can’t say that it ever bothered us. I suppose we just accepted it as part of the personality of the area. We never really understood why local authorities bothered to clamp them or stick fines on them.

Noticing More: The Curious Appeal of Abandoned Doors

Dumped doors. Abandoned and propped up against a wall. Clearly leading no where, yet they never fail to capture our imagination.

It’s difficult to walk by one without a quick glance behind it, just to satisfy the niggling “what if” at the back of our minds.

All of these decommissioned doors were noticed in London. In the Eastend, to be more exact. I’m not if there is something in that snippet of info. I wonder if we will ever come across any abandoned doors here in Japan. I wonder….

Ways to See: Totanism

Something that gets our immediate attention when we are on one of our strolls, especially here in Japan, are “totan”.

Before we steam ahead in mad excitement about this “way to see”, we should tell you that “totan” is the Japanese word for corrugated galvanised iron or steel sheeting. Stick an “ism” at the end of that, and you have a made up word that implies the admiration of totan.

トタニズム

If there is one thing that we’ve learned about our many observational fixations is that you can bet that there are others out there who are also attracted to the same sight, be it traffic cones, fences or corrugated galvanised metal sheeting. So when we came across this book, (which is now out of print). we were less surprised than determined to have it on our bookshelf.

Totanism

by Fumiaki Ishiwata published in 2013.

The publication is slim on words but the writing that it does include is certainly inspiring even for people like us who’ve already made quite a pastime of gazing at its subject matter.

By now you might be wondering how this infatuation is actually a way to see?

The answer lies in Ishiwata’s imaginative categorisation of the various forms of Totan he’s encountered. They include groups such as the “barcode”, “graphic equaliser”, “patchwork” and “paranormal”. Although most of our own examples aren’t as clearly defined as the author’s, it’s certainly got us taking a second look and think about the totan we have previously and continue to come across.

The way we see it…….

Patchwork totan. Location: Fish Island, London"

Paranormal totan. Location: Kichijoji, Tokyo

Location: Lisbon

Location: Shimokita, Tokyo

Patchwork Totan. Stone Town, Zanzibar

Location: Matsuzaki, Shizuoka

Patchwork Totan. Location: Shimokita, Tokyo

Graphic equaliser Totan. Location: Daizawa, Tokyo

Location: Shimoda, Izu

patchwork totan. Location: Shimoda, Izu

Patchwork totan. Location: Shimokita, Tokyo

Patchwork totan. Location: Shimokita, Tokyo

Location: Higashi Kitazawa, Tokyo

Location: Daizawa, Tokyo

...each panel is quite unique, like accidental art. it just speaks to our hearts.

Corrugated galvanised metal sheeting is to us, strikingly beautiful. We get that it may not cater to everyone’s picturesque ideal but trust us, there’s something poetic about the robust, rough and ready material. From the way it ages to the way it is used in informal and industrial structures. it has to be one of the fastest and most versatile way to put up a wall or roof! Aside from the practicalities, totan is loaded with tactile sentiment and visual interest. We are enamoured by way the panels weather, rust, warp, peel and react to their specific environment, use and social context. The consequence is that each panel is quite unique, like accidental art. it just speaks to our hearts.

---

Totan from our friends...

We always feel so happy when people send us their photos with permission to not only share them on this blog but to also add them to our growing archive of observations. We could not, not ask style blogger JOHN JARRET for a few pictures for this first of our Totanism edition posts. He features such lovely examples in his work that it would have been rude not to get him involved somehow. We also received some observations of totan in Kyoto from the very talented and keen eye of JOE KEATING

JOE KEATING’S WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM: @iikkyu

Credit: Joe Keating.

Location: Kyoto

Credit: Joe Keating.

Location: Kyoto

JOHN JARRETT’S BLOG

INSTAGRAM: @_johnjarrett

Credit: John Jarrett

Location: Japan

---

If you would like to explore the hashtag in Japanese on Instagram, here it is ready for you to copy and paste: #トタニズム

Totanism is a subject we are already looking forward to revisiting with future blog posts, so if you do have any pics or words that you would like to share there are a few ways that you can get involved :

Instagram

#super_ordinarylife on Instagram. We’d love it if you shared your captures there. We will always credit and link back to you when we use your pics both here or on Instagram.

Email

Send your pictures and friendly words to : Yasumi @ superordinarylife (.) com