Meet Japan's Lego Master

Subscribers to my blog might be wondering, "Lego again?" What can I say, but my last Lego Ninjago post has sent the visitor stats skyrocketing, so who am I to avoid the attention? Still, I'm not one for frivolous blog posts, so I promise there will be some value added here.

This link will self destruct in thirty days.

Yesterday, I read an interesting article in the Mainichi Daily News about Junpei Mitsui, a Lego artist who believes he can create anything out of Lego. Based on his successful attempts to create famous buildings, battleships, and cartoon characters, it would be hard to argue with him. Mitsui also claims to own over a million Lego bricks, weighing more than a metric tonne. The unanswered question in the article is where does he store all of these bricks? One would imagine that his house would need reinforced floors to bear the extra weight.

Logistics aside, the article also provides a link to Mitsui's website, which displays galleries of his creations. Before leaving here to check out his site, I should mention that it is in Japanese. If you don't read Japanese yourself, read the notes below for a guided tour of his website in English.

Mitsui's website address is http://www.geocities.jp/jun_brick/

The first thing to look for in the left hand column are the characters 作品, which means "works." Click on this menu and you will be directed to all the Lego galleries.

For the most part, his creations can be identified visually without need of translation. There are a few, however, for which you might be able to use my help.

Scroll down and click on "五重塔" to see a re-creation of the five story pagoda that used to stand at Todaiji Temple in Nara. When I first saw the colour scheme of the pagoda, I mistakenly assumed it was the Horyuji pagoda.

Kinkakuji, one of Mitsui's Lego designs.

Immediately underneath the 五重塔 link is one for "金閣寺" Kinkakuji, the famed Golden Pavilion of Kyoto. Until yesterday, I never knew that one could order shiny gold Lego pieces. Does anyone happen to know if they were custom made?

Finally, scroll a little further down to the red and white building marked "東大寺." This is Todaiji, the largest wooden building in the world. It's worth checking out this gallery, because a look inside the temple doesn't reveal a Lego Daibutsu, but a Japanese-Danish friendship project that displays scenes from both countries.

I won't detain you any longer. Get on over to Mitsui's site and check out his amazing Lego sculptures. If you have any questions about the Japanese on his site, leave a question in the comments section here or try cutting and pasting the text into the translation engine at www.rikai.com

Note to Lego fans. I'm working on lining up a nice surprise for you early in the new year. Consider subscribing to my RSS feed or becoming a Google Follower so that you don't miss out on it. [Edit: Jan. 22 - My lead on the promised "surprise" has gone cold. If it warms again, I will hold a giveaway, but can't guarantee anything at this time.]