The initial impulse for the elaboration of this topic was the common phrases in modern architecture and design, which are preceded by the adjective "Japanese". The majority of the designs we overuse are not original designs or even made in Japan. This raises the question of what can be considered a reference to authenticity and what can be considered copying.

This whole project started with a search for literature that would outline or reveal how Japan influenced Europe and back again. From these texts and publications came the publication Discovery Book 1 - Texts, which is a curated selection of texts from several different publications in the author's own translation. It summarises the development of art and architecture of the two opposing influences, supplemented by his own notes in context with other literature. The publication is supplemented by the translation and meaning of the original Japanese words, otherwise irreplaceable in the text itself. The publication includes an outline of the period, the influences at work in architecture, visual arts, and cinematography, a Czech article in Volné směry (Free tions) that highlights the first perception of Japanese theatre by a Noh Czech architect and set designer, and excerpts from The Book of Tea, which introduces Westerners to the Japanese way of thinking and culture.

This publication is followed by Discovery Book 2 - Images, which contains photographs of buildings directly referenced or touched upon in some way in the publication of the texts. I further work with the images by interpreting two circles, with elements of "Japanese" architecture inscribed in the inner circle. If this circle is overlapped by the black filling, the element is more of a Western type.

The interpretive cardboard serves as a temporal and spatial interpretation of the data. The first cardboard highlights Japanese history, that is, the social, political, and economic context of Japanese historical periods. The second layer is the buildings from the Book of Images, arranged according to the years of construction, supplemented by books that dealt with Japanese architecture or the relationship between "the West" and Japan. The third layer is the architects who built these buildings and to which architectural movement they belong. These streams further intersect to form other, new...

These three layers of the cardboard overlap each other and form overlays intended for further interpretation in their own right.

The fourth part is the Book of Maps, which shows the approximate location of all the buildings. All buildings are numbered. This numbering is linked through all the publications.

The fifth and final part is the Balance Puzzle. In my search for Japanese identity and relations with the "West", I came across several elements that are distinctly different in the Western way of building (masugumi, hari, hanegi,...). These elements point to a certain balance that must be created in order for the construction not to collapse. In a figurative sense, this is what I am trying to achieve with my pre-diploma and diploma projects. I continue to work with these elements to create a simple jigsaw puzzle, complete with traditional Japanese joints without the need for additional fasteners (e.g., steel). The jigsaw will be further manipulated during the next semester.