Stained glass window at the Kitakyushu City Literature Museum - Japan
The striking, large circular stained glass window at the Kitakyushu City Literature Museum in Japan, designed by the world-renowned architect Arata Isozaki.
The vibrant blue, red, and yellow geometric pattern interprets the cosmological views of the Edo-period philosopher Miura Baien.
Baien (1723–1789) created a unique cosmology called Jorigaku (the study of natural principles). Outlined in his masterwork Gengo (Deep Words), his system argues that the universe is an interconnected web of opposites. Everything in nature arises from paired concepts that merge into a unified whole.
Core Concepts of JorigakuJōri: The fundamental, organizing pattern or principle of nature.
Hankan Goitsu: A dialectical movement meaning "observing opposites to achieve unity".
Baien believed two opposing forces join to make a single reality.
Paired Binary Structure: All things exist as "one and one". Realizing truth requires looking past single-sided habits of thought.
Visualizing the Universe
Circular Diagrams: Baien mapped his ideas using over 200 circular and symmetrical diagrams (Gengo-zu).
New Lexicon: He invented over 200 paired Chinese characters (kanji) to describe physical and metaphysical relationships precisely.
Rationalism: He rejected blind obedience to old Chinese classics. He embraced realistic observation, influenced early Dutch learning, and studied medicine and astronomy.
The window serves as a central artistic feature within the facility, which shares a dynamic structural complex with the Kitakyushu Central Public Library.
Stained glass window at the Kitakyushu City Literature Museum - Japan
The striking, large circular stained glass window at the Kitakyushu City Literature Museum in Japan, designed by the world-renowned architect Arata Isozaki.
The vibrant blue, red, and yellow geometric pattern interprets the cosmological views of the Edo-period philosopher Miura Baien.
Baien (1723–1789) created a unique cosmology called Jorigaku (the study of natural principles). Outlined in his masterwork Gengo (Deep Words), his system argues that the universe is an interconnected web of opposites. Everything in nature arises from paired concepts that merge into a unified whole.
Core Concepts of JorigakuJōri: The fundamental, organizing pattern or principle of nature.
Hankan Goitsu: A dialectical movement meaning "observing opposites to achieve unity".
Baien believed two opposing forces join to make a single reality.
Paired Binary Structure: All things exist as "one and one". Realizing truth requires looking past single-sided habits of thought.
Visualizing the Universe
Circular Diagrams: Baien mapped his ideas using over 200 circular and symmetrical diagrams (Gengo-zu).
New Lexicon: He invented over 200 paired Chinese characters (kanji) to describe physical and metaphysical relationships precisely.
Rationalism: He rejected blind obedience to old Chinese classics. He embraced realistic observation, influenced early Dutch learning, and studied medicine and astronomy.
The window serves as a central artistic feature within the facility, which shares a dynamic structural complex with the Kitakyushu Central Public Library.