Of all possible Shiki translations, the most preferable, most applicable, relates to Japan's Edo Period, specifically, the era's design of promenade gardens. The artistic and architectural practices incorporated objectivity, perspective, illusion and control with such subtle precision that landscapes looked untouched, and not crafted.
There were 2 styles of promenades during this time: one which deliberately incorporated environmental elements on the periphery so as to alter the viewer's perception of reality, and the other, which incorporated pathways that led to the focal landscape element - a particular point in space, viewed from a particular position.
There are many ways in which Makoto's Shiki X Landscape series present as urban/modern applications of centuries' old promenade gardens. Almost inevitably, the bonsai is dwarfed by a looming, impersonal metropolis - at times disappearing entirely. Too, there are images where the odd little tree dominates, like a mountain rising from placid plains.
What is most interesting about these images - and promenade garden design in general (whether they're actually related remains unknown) - is how they trouble human assumptions of reality, importance and appearance. The bonsai is just one element in world of infinite elements. Makoto makes its presence known through repetition and foiling - and even at its most obscured - the viewer still finds it because we've been told to do so.
These instructions tell us what to see, what to value, and how to find it. Considering how many things there are in the world, and how ceaselessly they move and change in time, it's humbling to think of how little we actually notice. Reality is faceted and infinitely abundant... insofar as we flex to allow for alternate views.
