Cosmology Of Kyoto

Barbados enters World Heritage List

The World Heritage Committee has inscribed three new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List so far today: the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany as an extension to the World Heritage site of Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (Slovakia, Ukraine), Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, the first heritage site of Barbados to enter the World Heritage List; and Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land (Japan). The Ancient Beech Forests of Germany, represent examples of on-going post-glacial biological and ecological evolution of terrestrial ecosystems and are indispensable to understanding the spread of the beech in the Northern Hemisphere across a variety of environments. The new inscription represents the addition of five forests totaling 4,391 hectares that are added to the 29,278 hectares of Slovakian and Ukranian beech forests inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2007. The tri-national property is now to be known as the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany (Slovakia, Ukraine, Germany). Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison (Barbados), an outstanding example of British colonial architecture consisting of a well-preserved old town built in the 17th , 18th and 19th centuries, which testifies to the spread of Great Britain’s Atlantic colonial empire. The property also includes a nearby military garrison which consists of numerous historic buildings. With its serpentine urban lay-out the property testifies to a different approach to colonial town-planning compared to the Spanish and Dutch colonial cities of the region which were built along a grid plan. Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land (Japan) comprises five sites, including the sacred Mount Kinkeisan. It features vestiges of government offices dating from the 11th and 12th centuries when Hiraizumi was the administrative centre of the northern realm of Japan and rivalled Kyoto. The realm was based on the cosmology of Pure Land Buddhism, which spread to Japan in the 8th century. It represented the pure land of Buddha that people aspire to after death, as well as peace of mind in this life. In combination with indigenous Japanese nature worship and Shintoism, Pure Land Buddhism developed a concept of planning and garden design that was unique to Japan. A total of 35 nominations, including natural, cultural and mixed properties are being reviewed by the Committee, which is holding its 35th session at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The session will end on 29 June.

globalmesh2011: Gnarly Glimpses of Old Japan - Cosmology of Kyoto ...

Writer Chris Hudak makes an extremely valid point. It is extremely difficult to qualify the idea of what is culture. For Americans it’s all in commercial means. Coke, McDonald’s, Nike, Hollywood, all of these corporations have shaped American culture. In reality, nobody - not even the average American - would qualify this as culture. These commercial things have no rich history, no deep-seeded or spiritual meaning. Instead they are shallow references that connect a relatively new consciousness of the modern era. This is a complete juxtaposition of the Japanese culture and Cosmology of Kyoto: Tales of the Heian Millennium does it’s best to offer a panoramic view. A key element of the game is it’s intuitive progression. Sequence in the game is based on exploration and personal selection. The game highlights historical themes such as Buddhist heaven and hell, Kyoto mythology, and even inter-gender relations. The game’s most important learning point is the exposure of the user to a rich culture that would be normally confined to books, through an experience rich medium that is the Super Nintendo. A simplified description of the game would be that it is a precursor to many of the role playing games we see today, such as WOW, Fable, Final Fantasy. The difference here is that the game is based on historical as well as mythical references that are specific to Kyoto. The game serves as a blueprint on how to integrate learning, interest, and personal preference to create a game that conveys an intangible theme into a tangible experience.

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