京都的清水寺已有超過1200年的歷史。寺的西門靠近入口，但略微有些難以到達，提醒遊客這裡本是祈禱的地方，並非入口通道。實際上，由於黃昏時從西門望去的京都過於美麗，令人聯想到佛教淨土，該空間曾被用作「日想觀（Nissoukan）」，一種佛教冥想方式。日想觀不僅流行於僧侶之間，也受到普通大眾的歡迎。通過以平靜之心注視夕陽西落，人們得以直面自己的內在，從而獲得啟發。然而，現在的遊客大多爬到階梯中段便停下腳步，不再進入這座大門。
▼裝置外觀，external view of the installation ©Takumi Ota
▼從廣場仰望裝置和西門，look up at the installation and the west gate ©Takumi Ota
The founding and history of Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera Temple stretch back over 1,200 years. Its sai-mon (west gate) stands near the entrance to the temple grounds but slightly off the approach, a fact that reminds visitors of its original intention as less a gated path than a prayer space. In fact, it is said the space was used for practicing Nissoukan (a Buddhist method of meditation) because the view of Kyoto at dusk from the west gate was so beautiful as to remind people of the Buddhist Paradise of the Pure Land. As a method of attaining enlightenment by confronting one’s inner self by gazing at the setting sun with a still mind, Nissoukan spread not only among monks but also among the general public. These days, however, visitors may no longer enter this gate and climb only as far as the middle of the stairs.
▼遠景鳥瞰，distanced aerial view ©Takumi Ota
▼夕陽映射在階梯上，setting sun reflected on the stairs ©Takumi Ota
▼引人冥想的景象，a view encourage visitors to think ©Takumi Ota
因此，nendo想到要設計一個裝置，讓遊客體會西門原始的意義。裝置在38級台階的每一級上覆蓋鏡面，鏡面的角度通過反覆數碼模擬確定，並在現場做了實地演示。通過內部的合作機制，裝置安裝時可以進行精細的角度調整，使得只有天空被反射在階梯上，不受遊客自身的想像和周邊建築的影響。
▼概念草圖，conceptual sketch ©nendo
The idea arose, therefore, to design an installation that would give visitors a sense of the original intention of the west gate, and each of the 38 stairs were covered with a mirror. The angle of the mirror on each step was determined through repeated digital simulations and on-site demonstrations. Due to the incorporation of an internal mechanism to allow fine adjustments to each mirror』 s angle during installation, the effect is that only the sky is reflected on the stairs with little interference from the visitor』 s own image or that of surrounding buildings.
▼日景鳥瞰，通向寺廟的階梯，aerial view in the day, stairs towards the temple ©Takumi Ota
▼階梯上的鏡面反射天空，sky reflected on the mirrors covering the stairs ©Takumi Ota
▼從廣場看向裝置，view to the installation from the plaza ©Takumi Ota
▼近景，鏡面僅反射了天空，closer view, only sky is reflected by the mirrors ©Takumi Ota
▼反射不受周邊環境的影響
the reflected would not be effected by the surroundings ©Takumi Ota
▼細部，details ©Takumi Ota
▼鏡面角度經過精細調整，全部反射天空，fine adjusted mirrors all reflecting the sky ©Takumi Ota
儘管西門依舊不對公眾開放，它依然實現了其原本的目的，在台階底部展現了只有從大門處才能看到的景色。階梯的名字日想段取自它所反射的景象，其中的「段」即是日語裡的台階。
Despite being still inaccessible to the public, the west gate now conversely fulfills its original intention and reveals from the bottom of the stairs the view heretofore only visible from the gate. The stairs are named after that which they reflect: Nissoudan. (For the curious soul: steps are called dan in Japanese.)
▼注視台階上的景象，stare at the view on the stairs ©Takumi Ota