Tag Archives: Asia

The diverse cultures and complex history of Asia continue to inspire LEGO builders all over the world. China, Japan, and Korea also have large and active LEGO fan communities that contribute to the global conversation through their LEGO models. This page features LEGO models inspired by Asia, coverage of events that happen in Asia, and background about models by Asian builders.

Piece of Peace: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in LEGO Part 2

Almost exactly two years ago, we highlighted the Piece of Peace exhibit in Japan, featuring UNESCO World Heritage sites built from LEGO by Japanese Master Builder Kazuyoshi Naoe (photo by SkylineGTR).

Now, a second exhibit (complete with an official blog) has been opened at the Parco shopping complex in Shibuya (an area of Tokyo), and photos of the amazing models have been turning up everywhere since the exhibit first opened in Shibuya on February 1st (the exhibit is now in Nagoya, until March 24).

Check out some of the World Heritage sites featured in the exhibit.

St. Basil’s Cathedral (photo by SkylineGTR) and Horyu-ji Pagoda (photo by Hirotaka Hatayama):

Shirakawa Village (photo by Yuki Koga)

The Acropolis (photo by Koji Hachisu):

Mont St. Michelle (photo by Hirotaka Hatayama):

And what a difference two years makes! I had to dig all over the ‘net to find the handful of pictures I used in my post, but here are just a few of the places where this event has been covered so far:

(Photo of Sagrada Familia by Hirotaka Hatayama.)

For more information on UNESCO World Heritage sites, you can peruse the complete list on UNESCO.org.

Finally, I leave you with the tag-line: “Pieces of piece — the more the better.” Indeed.

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Winners of the 6th annual clickbrick Original Model Contest

Japanese LEGO store clickbrick holds an annual contest, in which creations are limited to 16 cm x 16 cm x 30 cm. We covered last year’s contest here, and winners have just been announced for this year’s contest.

Like last year, Sachiko Akinaga of Let’s LEGO has complete coverage of the contest in Tokyo in her Brickshelf gallery. Here are the winners:

First place: “Catbus on the Roof” by Pisatake:

Second place: “Mally’s Cafe” by sidewinder9r:

Third place: “Jumbo Parfait” by Sachiko Akinaga:

Fourth place: “That Trembling Feeling” by Azumu (previously on TBB):

Fifth place: “The LEGO Trains museum is under construction” by TN Factory (more pictures):

Be sure to check out all the pictures of the entries in Sachiko’s gallery

Wheeling around Hong Kong with Horace Cheng

I’m sorry to say that I really only look for LEGO pictures on Brickshelf and Flickr, so it was wonderful to find Horace Cheng on Flickr earlier today. (Remember his awesome Flappters?)

Anyway, Horace doesn’t live in Hong Kong, but he’s captured a couple iconic vehicles I remember from my visit there in 1989 — a natural gas delivery-man (above) and rickshaw (below).

Happy New Year 2008 from The Brothers Brick!

I look forward to New Years every year for all the great New Years-themed creations from Japanese LEGO fans. Many of the creations are in the form of New Years cards, or nengajou, which I wrote about back in 2006 (check out the 2007 roundup as well).

For 2008 — the Year of the Rat — our fellow builders across the Pacific have graced us with another batch of wonderful nengajou. Since the word for “rat” and “mouse” is the same in Japanese (ネズミ, pronounced “nezumi”), many of these feature mice.

We’ll get things going with Mumu’s best wishes for 2008:

Izzo presents a rideable mouse:

Kwi Chang uses a line art version of one of his mecha:

Mashikuf gets deliciously cheesy:

Ayucow puts mice in a pizzeria kitchen:

Finally, Maciek Drwięga (who I suspect isn’t Japanese) joins the celebrations with a bit of a bang (via Klocki):

Updates: And one more from suu:

MisaQa joins the fun (a bit belatedly, but worth the wait) with a batch of adorable mice (via Klocki):

Hikone Castle by Takeshi Itou

Takeshi Itou may not be the most prolific builder, but his creations are always worth the wait. His latest creation is Hikone Castle. Today, the castle is a National Treasure because it’s one of the rare castles from the feudal era that wasn’t torn down or destroyed and then rebuilt in modern times as a tourist attraction.

But enough about the real thing. What makes Takeshi’s version special is the technique he used for the base of the castle; the three-dimensional rock wall is amazing, built from bricks, slopes, and tiles. The scale of the castle seems pretty close to MINILAND (as compared to the smaller minifig scale Takeshi normally builds in), which has enabled Takeshi to use plates for the roof rather beautifully.

Read more about the real Hikone Castle on Wikipedia (in English) or the 400th anniversary site (in Japanese).

(Via Klocki.)

Miyamoto Musashi vs. Sasaki Kojiro

Aaron Andrews depicts the epic duel between 17th-century Japanese swordsmen Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, complete with rolling surf and cherry blossoms.

Sushi + Wasabi = Delicious!

Did you know that the wasabi you usually eat with your sushi probably isn’t actually wasabi? It’s a combination of horseradish, mustard, and green food coloring. Real wasabi comes from a root — like the green one in this very delicious-looking platter of sushi by Turbo.

Tsubo Niwa (Courtyard Garden) by mumu

Space is at a premium in Japan, but many city residents still find ways to bring greenery into their lives through their courtyard gardens (or tsubo niwa).

Mumu‘s tsubo niwa vignette includes many elements common in Japanese gardening: a shoji screen on the porch, a stone lantern, a kokeshi doll, various rocks and stones, and a shishi odoshi (“deer chaser”).

Historical Personages by Morgan19

I’ve admired Morgan19‘s minifigs ever since I noticed his great Firefly minifigs. The latest batch is a group of historical minifigs, entries for the Fine Clonier Historical Minifig Contest.

I might quibble with the “historical” nature of some of these, but it’s a great collection of minifigs, presented beautifully.

Micro Star Ferry Terminal by Chiukeung

Chiukeung presents the Star Ferry terminal in Hong Kong.

(In addition to eating a lot of great food and following my mom around while she shopped, I rode a Star Ferry when I visited Hong Kong in 1989.)

Via MicroBricks.

Hotel in Japanese is ホテル

Lettering in LEGO is a challenge. Although the possibilities of lettering in Roman/Latin lettering have been explored rather well, especially by LEGO train fans, it’s rare to see lettering in other scripts, such as Japanese.

Brickshelfer Sonix has changed the “HOTEL” sign in 10182 Cafe Corner to ホテル, which is how you write “Hotel” in Japanese (via Brick Town Talk):

While we’re at it, Sugegasa spells out “Nitro” (ニトロ) — a fitting name for his grill:

棚ダウンロードソフト一覧

おそらく日本のレゴファンの皆様は既にご存知ですが、 Brickshelf.com （通常「棚」）が７月３１日後利用できなくなります。大変遅れてしまいましたが、このブログの日本の読者様にも一応情報を伝えておきたいと思いました。

「棚がなくなる！」ことは明らかに大問題ですが、問題を解決する三つのソフトウェアがあります。

はくしゃくさんのトコでご覧になられたかもしれませんが、ダウンロードツールの日本語版が発行されました。ダウンロードはこちらです。

Bob Kojima さんの英語版に挑戦してみたい方は、こちらからダウンロード。izzoさんの記事をお勧め致します。

マックをご利用の皆様は Jim DeVona さんからのターミナル（Mac OS X のみ）で走らせるコマンドライン・ユーティリテイが使えます。

（日本語は最近あまり書いていませんので、言語能力が落ちているような気がします。下手な日本語で申し訳ありません。）