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Citizen Kane and Sculptures at Hakone

Anyone here into sculpture appreciation? 🙂

The other day I finally got around to watching the film classic Citizen Kane starring Orson Welles. I’ve always wanted to watch it but somehow kept on forgetting to rent the DVD. Well, now that I saw it all I can say is that while the plot was so-so (basically the tragic story of a filthy rich newspaper magnate/megalomaniac who wanted to be loved by the public but was personally incapable of loving anyone but himself), I liked how it was narrated. I was also impressed by the movie sets. Even in B&W they were fantastic! (Continued after the Japanese summary)

市民ケーンと箱根彫刻の森

彫刻が好きな方いますか?

先日は、「市民ケーン」という古い映画を観ました。オーソン・ウェルズ主演の有名な作品で、傑作とも言われ、いつか見ようと思いましたなかなか手がまわりませんでした。やっと見た後の感想は、「・・・」でした。大富豪で権力欲のある、みんなに愛されたいけど愛することができない偉人の、悲劇的な物語でした。しかし、ストリーの流れと映画セットは素晴らしかったと思います。白黒の映画なのにインパクトがありました。

最も関心を持ったのは、主人公ケーンの彫刻コレクション。ギリシア神話に基づいた大理石の彫刻を好んだようですが、そこで自分との意外な共通点を見つけました。私は大富豪であれば、たぶん、ケーンのように彫刻を収集していたと思います^^

彫刻といえば、この間行ってきた「箱根彫刻の森」で撮ったブロンズ彫刻の写真をいくつかピックアップして投稿したいと思います♪

Also, Kane loved classic Grecian marble sculpture, as you can see below:

If there was one thing Kane and I had in common, it would have been the sculpture collection 🙂 I believe that if I had his vast resources I’d have built a collection myself 🙂

Don’t Forget Hakone

Anyway. The movie reminded me that I have tons of sculpture pics taken at the Hakone Open-Air Museum that I have yet to sift through and upload. Here’s a selected few: bronze sculptures photographed as “portraits”.

"Unidos", 1986 by Santiago de Santiago Hernandez (Spain) /「抱擁」、1986年、サンティアゴ・デ・サンティアゴ・エルナンデス(スペイン)

"Unidos", 1986 by Santiago de Santiago Hernandez (Spain) /「抱擁」、1986年、サンティアゴ・デ・サンティアゴ・エルナンデス(スペイン)

"Grandson of the General", 1918 by Kitamura Seibo (Japan) /「将軍の孫」、1918年、北村西望

"Grandson of the General", 1918 by Kitamura Seibo (Japan) /「将軍の孫」、1918年、北村西望

"Woman", 1970 by Asakura Kyoko (Japan) / 「女」、1970年、朝倉響子

"Woman", 1970 by Asakura Kyoko (Japan) / 「女」、1970年、朝倉響子

"Eva", 1949 by Francesco Messina (Italy) /「エヴァ」、1949年、フランチェスコ・メッシーナ(イタリア)

"Eva", 1949 by Francesco Messina (Italy) /「エヴァ」、1949年、フランチェスコ・メッシーナ(イタリア)

In Honor of Women

Well, not really. It just so happens that in this post there are more photos of female figures than males or abstracts. There were male statues, too, but for some reason I did not think of taking their photos up close…

Since there are a hundred more sculptures in the park I’ll try to write more about the place in the coming posts.

Here are the full body shots.

When to Go

The Hakone Open Air Museum is one of those places that anyone can go to anytime of the year. Even when it’s raining. Actually, it’s a bummer when it rains because the best (that is, my favorite) sculptures are the ones outside. Still, there are a couple of buildings with indoor exhibits.

One of the nice things about bronze sculptures is that you can see them regardless of the season. I personally like spring and autumn for outdoor exhibits because it’s not too hot nor cold, but I will happily go anytime!

How to Get There

By train:
From either JR Odawara Station or Odakyu Hakone Yumoto Station, take the Hakone Tozan Line to Chokoku-no-Mori Station. From there the museum is a 2-minute walk.

By bus:
From either JR Odawara Station or Odakyu Hakone Yumoto Station, take the Hakone Tozan bus or Izu-Hakone bus to Ninotaira Iriguchi Station. From there the museum is a 5-minute walk. Otherwise, take the Hakone Tour Bus to Chokoku-no-Mori Station.

電車: 小田原駅→箱根湯本駅→箱根登山鉄道「彫刻の森」駅下車、徒歩2分
バス: 小田原駅→箱根湯本駅→箱根登山バス、伊豆箱根バス「二の平入口」下車、徒歩5分
    箱根登山観光施設めぐりバス「彫刻の森美術館」下車

I Would Love to Hear from You!

So, what do you think of this article? Please share your thoughts and opinions in the Comments section below.

ご意見をお聞かせください!

この記事についてのご意見・ご感想を是非、お聞かせください!コメント欄↓に書きこんで頂けると幸いです!

External Links

箱根彫刻の森美術館 Hakone Open-Air Museum – official site, comes in five languages. 公式サイト。
箱根彫刻の森割引券 Hakone Open-Air Museum Discount Coupon – be sure to print this out and show it at the ticket counter to get a JPY 100/person discount!
Movie Screenshots – source of the Citizen Kane screencaps.

Books to Consider

関連書籍

Other Articles on BC Discoveries

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6 comments

  1. 「彫刻」つながりかぁ…
    オーソン・ウェルズといえば「髭のおっさん」のイメージが強いなあ…

    • beverlyclaire /

      はい、彫刻つながりです(笑)。映画のおかげで彫刻の森を思い出しましたよ^^
      確かにウェルズのイメージはヘミングウェイのような長いひげを生やす方ですね。
      それに、私にとっては「俳優」よりも「監督」のイメージが強いですね~

      • noritan /

        私にとっては「監督」というより、「声優」かな?
        ラジオドラマとか英語教材とか...

        • beverlyclaire /

          へええ、英語教材はあったのですか。面白いですね。確かに声は聞き取りやすいほうでしたね^^

  2. If I had Kane’s money I’d collect chocolate sculptures. I’d have Michelangelo’s works made from chocolate. I will eat them all! Hahaha!!!

    Seriously. Beautiful portraits in bronze! Fave’s “Woman” by Asakura. Reminds me of Phoebe Buffay in Friends 🙂

    • beverlyclaire /

      Hey Han! Hehe, thanks! Looking twice, the Asakura sculpture with her shift dress does look like Phoebe! 😀

      Naked sculptures are fine but the ones with clothes on are really interesting: the contrast between the soft cloth look and the hard marble or bronze that it is actually made of. I think that more than skin, it takes an enormous amount of skill to sculpt realistic cloth (I’m thinking of Michelangelo’s The Pieta as the best example).

      Chocolate David! I’ll take the head! 😀 😀 😀

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