You may think it is strange to see people take pictures of this seemingly ordinary place. But this gazebo is actually from a scene in the movie “The Garden of Words”.
Due to this one work of art, this spot came to have a new context, and to the people who have seen the movie, the place has a newfound story. In addition, the film has shown a new way to gaze upon this scene. As a result of seeing the movie, this mere gazebo is now a landscape that people view as beautiful and special.
A similar example of this phenomenon is from the famous woodblock prints “Fifty Three Stations of Tokaido”. This collection of works was created while the artist was on a journey. When others take the same journey they remember the “Fifty Three Stations of Tokaido” and may come to see the landscapes from these angles as beautiful. It was probably like this the first time people laid their eyes on high quality photography.
Through paintings and pictures, human beings learn the differing viewpoints of the landscape. With this background knowledge landscapes can come to be seen as even more beautiful. For people who have not seen “The Garden of Words”, we highly recommend you see it. The scenery of Shinjuku Gyoen will surely change after you watch the movie.
For some people who have seen an anime film cannot help but overlay what they see on the screen into the real world. But there are times when reality is not as ideal as the animation. One of the reasons is due to the “subtraction of landscape.” For example, take the ashtray you can see in the central gazebo. In “The Garden of Words” this does not exist. For the anime it is not necessary to have in the scene.
By removing the excess things it is possible to draw a scene that’s even more beautiful than the real thing. In a photograph you cannot do this. Another place where you can remove unneeded visuals is in your mental scenery. You don’t have to try to see everything in front of you. You can erase the things you don’t need, and just look at what you like. In any case, scenery from your memory can not be remembered perfectly like a picture, but because of this, it may be better than the real thing.