Matthew J. Holland

HYOJI project

Follow the signs...

Signs are everywhere in Japan. I am not talking about abstract signs, but literal signs made of wood and stone, which convery some message to those paying attention. At face value, the message embedded in each sign seems very simple: "go this way to get to [next sign]", "here is where you can see [some relic]", "this park was built by [some wealthy fellow]", and so forth. However, I've found that most signs tells a story that goes way beyond the obvious explicit message.

Turning that deeper, more subtle, and much more interesting message into written form is something I hope to do in the near future. For now, please enjoy some interesting sign collections I have documented below.

Osaka's Green Top 100 (大阪みどりの百選)

This series of signs is what really started this whole HYOJI project, really. Some people might not agree with my translation of the official name (Osaka midori no hyaku-sen), but I think it works and am rather fond of it. At face value, this is a collection of a hundred spots in Osaka (the prefecture, not just the city) selected for their natural beauty, preservation of plant and animal life, or simply public parks that play an important role in the local community. With the passage of time, I think that visiting these signs and observing their current surroundings can tell us a lot more about how people spend their time, money, and attention, but I leave that interpretation to you.

Nature in Kyoto... the Top 200 (京都の自然200選)

Our next big-scale endeavor after Osaka has been Kyoto. While the "K200" signs themselves are not nearly as pleasing as the beautiful stone counterparts in Osaka, the hunt for the signs is extremely rewarding, since many of the signs are extremely difficult to find, and some of the spots are very remote and even quite dangerous to get to, adding a bit of thrill to the chase. We're making progress, but there is still a long way to go!

Preservation sites in Kyoto (京都府歴史的自然環境保全地域)

It should be clear that I really like finding well-designed, high-quality signage in very remote locations, and the signage (what I would call a 銘板) placed in each of the areas designated for special preservation (given the mouthful of a name 京都府歴史的自然環境保全地域) provides a perfect example of this. Some of them are quite easy to access, and others are unbelievably remote. The sheer number of these superior signs in some locations is amazing. My collection of signs is not comprehensive, but I've done the best I can. Enjoy.

"Views of..." series

There are so many different lists of "[number] Views of [place]" they really need to be bundled together.

Some are very local and obscure, some are spread across major municipalities, tons of variety. Please enjoy this diverse collection. I sure enjoyed visiting!

Works in progress