July 4, 2020
Gao Yan is an up-and-coming illustrator and manga artist from Taiwan who created art for a recent collection of essays by Haruki Murakami, titled “Neko o Suteru: Chichioya ni tsuite Kataru Toki” (...
Cool paintings are greeting hot travelers this summer at two train stations in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, known as the hottest city in Japan. The artwork, with the theme of coolness, is pasted onto...
Tokyo Sinfonietta, a contemporary music ensemble, will hold a concert featuring new work by composer Eric Montalbetti at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan in Ueno, Tokyo, on July 9.
“Performing new works can be ...
Shochiku Co. announced kabuki performances will resume at Kabukiza Theatre in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on Aug.1 after shows were suspended because of the spread of the coronavirus in March, on Monday.
“...
YUBARI, Hokkaido — Famed animator Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, who designed the characters for the Mobile Suit Gundam series, has completed the promotional artwork for this year’s Yubari International Fant...
Moves have begun to resume performances of classical music, which have been delayed or canceled due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Various experiments are being conducted to determine how to ...
Moves to resume noh performances have grown gradually. The Nohgaku Performers’ Association and the Japan Nohgaku Organization have decided to jointly hold the Nohgaku Festival at the National Noh T...
Japanese kimono was at its most resplendent from the Azuchi-Momoyama period (late 16th century) through to the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867). During this time, Kyoto was the origin of the newe...
A large-scale solo exhibition by renowned architect Shigeru Ban, 62, is being held at a museum in Oita City until July 5.
While working on large-scale public buildings around the world — including ...
Many art museums have no choice but to stay closed to stop the novel coronavirus from spreading. Under the circumstances, museums are making various attempts to let people at home experience fascinati...
Casual, candid chats with the performers after watching a fascinating play is always a big reason for going to small theaters. If you’re looking forward to doing that again in the post-pandemic days...
SHIMANTO, Kochi — A local painter who does Western-style paintings has been drawing kannon bodhisattva, a Buddhist being known for compassion and mercy, on pebbles and stones, transforming them into...
Mizuhiki is a classic Japanese decorative string made of paper that is a reminder of the beauty in Japan. Traditionally, it is used to add a pop of color to gift wrapping and to envelopes, which are u...
The future remains uncertain as the coronavirus continues to spread. It has seriously impacted the service sector, including retailers and restaurants, and the fashion industry is no exception. Online...
Generally referred to as Kyo-yaki or Kyo ware, ceramics were first produced in Kyoto in the latter half of the 16th century and are still made there today. Kyoto may be a rare place in the world in th...
A seriously energetic superhero TV show has exploded onto screens in the Kyushu region. “Dogengers,” a tokusatsu sci-fi superhero drama shown on KBC (Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting Co.) and other servi...
Ezra F. Vogel, a professor emeritus at Harvard University, is well known for his classic 1979 work “Japan as Number One,” which described Japan’s high economic growth. When I was living in the U...
Theater and music circles are no exception to the damages caused by the spread of the new coronavirus. There have been a series of cancellations and postponements of performances and concerts followi...
As seven prefectures are under a state of emergency because of the spread of the coronavirus, museums are expected to remain closed for an extended period of time. In an effort to allow people to con...
KOCHI — I had assumed ghosts usually appeared by themselves, but in the Shikoku and Chugoku regions it is believed that bands of seven ghosts roam around together. Various areas have differing stori...
Ceramics produced in Kyoto are generally referred to as Kyo-yaki or Kyo ware. Originated in the latter half of the 16th century, Kyo ware has continued to be produced in the present day. An ancient ca...
The Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (YNSO)’s 2020-2021 season will be led by Sebastian Weigle, his second season at the helm as the orchestra’s principal conductor.
This season will have 46 co...
As Sebastian Weigle winds up his first year as the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra’s principal conductor, the Yomiuri Shimbun has decided to ask him how his first season has been and what his expe...
At this point, more and more stage performances and live concerts have been canceled following the government’s request to exercise self-restraint on holding events. With that in mind, livestreaming...
Restoration work on richly colored murals in a tomb that dates back some 13 centuries has finally been completed after more than a decade, the Cultural Affairs Agency announced Thursday. The agency r...
KYOTO — In Japan, there are things that Japanese people believe only the Japanese can understand. One of these is the value of tea bowls.
There is an expression indicating the best three tea bowls...
The establishment of Rekishi Shiryo Network (Shiryo Net) organizations, designed to rescue cultural property at times of disaster, has been spreading nationwide. The movement gathered momentum in the...
Like kabuki, the traditional art of rakugo storytelling developed in the densely populated regions of Edo (present day Tokyo) and Kamigata (encompassing Kyoto and Osaka). Each became a distinctive sty...
The UNESCO World Heritage sites of Angkor in Cambodia and Bagan in Myanmar are among the huge ancient remains symbolizing the history of Southeast Asia that have experienced crises such as deteriorati...
BERLIN (AFP-Jiji) — Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof on Saturday won the top prize at the Berlin film festival for “There Is No Evil,” a searingly critical work about the death pena...
An exhibition featuring works by contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama is being held at Niigata City Art Museum in Chuo Ward, Niigata.
In the exhibition “The collection of Yayoi Kusama + Artists who we...
The famous Eleven-Headed Kannon, a national treasure, will be shown in Tokyo for the first time at a forthcoming exhibition of Buddhist art that opens in June at Tokyo National Museum.
The Buddhist...
KYOTO — Masatsugu Suga wears two hats. He runs an apparel shop while also serving as the secretary-general of a committee organizing a biannual art festival at temples and other venues around the Ni...
Why not enjoy flowers in your daily life by choosing vases that suit your taste? Vases highlight the charms of flowers and accentuate interiors. They can also add color to a space like pieces of art....
Jidaigeki (period drama) is a traditional genre in Japanese movies, TV programs and theater. Broadly speaking, these dramas are set in Japanese society before the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Many movi...
In my previous column, I wrote, “Noh and kyogen are said to be twin performing arts.” A similar thing can be said of kabuki and bunraku puppet theater. This is so even though kabuki is said to hav...
“There is a good chance some FBI agents aren’t reading that bestselling book series or watching that popular show depicting the FBI. They can be difficult to engage in without hurling the book acr...
From sportswear to children’s clothes, outfits equipped with the latest wearable technology are transforming the fundamental functions of clothing.
Imagine a baseball player gets three hits one da...
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) has recently announced that admission fees for regular exhibitions at three national museums — Tokyo National Museum (TNM) in Ueno, Tokyo; Kyoto...
The International Music Festival Nippon will be held in Tokyo, Nagoya and Iwate Prefecture from February to March, with violinist Akiko Suwanai serving as artistic director of the event.
Suwanai, w...
If there’s such a thing as normal, Vivian is far from it. She has no job, and she hasn’t looked at herself in a mirror or showered in ages. Her quirkiness baffles almost everyone she encounters. M...
What would you do if you had to choose either putting your life at risk for a righteous deed or becoming a part of horrible atrocities to survive? Lale Sokolov chose to survive — while knowing that ...
Noh and kyogen are said to be twin performing arts. While noh plays are mainly tragedies, Kyogen plays are comedic in style. Performances of the two traditionally alternate on the same noh stage. Th...
BANGKOK (Reuters) — In geography and in culture, the rice paddies of northeastern Thailand are thousands of miles away from the birthplace of hip-hop in New York City’s Bronx, but for Thai rapper ...
Benten Kozo, a thief, disguised himself as a beautiful daughter of a samurai family and entered a shop to steal a large sum of money by tricking its operator. On the verge of taking away the money, ho...
The Tokunaga Brothers stand out in many respects. Despite their young ages, Kentaro, 28, and younger brother Kojiro, 26, are already accomplished flamenco guitarists, improvising freely and showcasin...
Italian chef Luca Fantin offers creative Italian fine cuisine at Bvlgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin, on a corner in Ginza, Tokyo — a special spot, as all four corners of the intersection are occupied...
Celebrity is a hall of mirrors, and Rikio can’t escape. But then again, maybe he doesn’t want to. He’s been disconnected from reality so long that the surreal world of movie sets and screaming ...
KYOTO — The Imperial court in Kyoto was deprived of its real power in politics and military affairs for a period of about 700 years, from the 12th to 19th centuries, by samurai warrior rulers who we...
Wild plants are something usually admired in the mountains, fields or roadsides where they are found. Known as sanyaso, these plants have of late been gaining popularity and can be found at more flowe...
Tuesday in Roppongi and my colleague and I are looking at a line forming in front of our eyes. This district in Tokyo once known for its disco halls is still popular for its clubs and bars, but it isn...
Over the next few days, your eyes will create enough tears to fill a wine bottle — even if you’re not feeling sad. According to “The Body: A Guide for Occupants” by best-selling nonfiction aut...
Unusual new kabuki plays based on world-famous stories are currently being performed at Tokyo’s three major theaters, adapted respectively from a fairy tale, a manga and a comedy film. Each is a nov...
Now that Japan has moved from the Heisei era to the current Reiwa, the Showa era (1926-1989) feels even longer ago. I recently visited some places in Tokyo that evoke nostalgia for that time.
As I e...
A special exhibition titled “Man, God & Nature in the Ancient World: Masterpieces from The Al Thani Collection,” which aims to evoke the ancient world through 117 items from the collection assembl...
When journalist Shiori Ito told police in Tokyo of her claim she was raped by a TV reporter in April 2015, police issued an arrest warrant, but they suspended it in June that year, according to media ...
KYOTO — Although different clans held power at different times, buke military aristocrats controlled policy in Japan for about 700 years, starting in the late 12th century. Members of the buke famil...
LOS ANGELES — Three Japanese animated feature films were nominated in the independent film category of the Annie Awards, the International Animated Film Association said Monday. The awards are of...
CHIBA — Amid a solid increase in both foreign tourists and foreign residents in Japan, greater attention is being paid to smooth and accurate communication between them and locals. Advanced translat...
A unique show combining kabuki and “Star Wars” was presented in Tokyo on Thursday.
“Star Wars Kabuki: Rennosuke Kojin Sanbon” featured characters from the “Star Wars” series, whose names...
Kabuki, a Japanese traditional performing art, can be roughly sorted into two categories: Edo kabuki and Kamigata kabuki. Edo is present-day Tokyo, while Kamigata is an area that includes Kyoto and ...
Images from the popular “Captain Tsubasa” soccer manga series cover Keisei Electric Railway Co.’s Yotsugi Station in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, from floor to ceiling. The station is much talked abo...
When denim lovers think quality, they think Japan. So it should come as no surprise that a small Kyoto-based label has won a luxury lifestyle award for Best Artisan Denim Design Specialists 2019 from ...
A seven-day solo program by popular rakugo storyteller Shunputei Ichinosuke was held at the Yomiuri Otemachi Hall in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, from Oct. 21 to 27. I went to all the performances — three e...
Tara Westover, born to a Mormon fundamentalist family in 1986, received no formal schooling but taught herself enough to enter college, eventually earning her PhD in history at the University of Cambr...
Matsumoto Hakuo II is the rare actor who can perform at a high level both in Japanese traditional kabuki and Western musicals. He has played the lead role in “Man Of La Mancha” since it premiered ...
The Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony was held at two venues in Tokyo in October. Aimed at allowing more people to casually experience the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, the annual event was organized by t...
KYOTO — Aristocrats serving in the Imperial court in Kyoto were called kuge (court nobles). Unfortunately, the kuge lost political and military power in the Middle Ages. (I’m not a descendant of a...
When we look into the future, we only see imaginary events that could happen. But when we look into the past, we see real events that did happen. It might be said that memory is the closest thing we h...
Next summer, the air above Ariake, a waterfront area in Koto Ward, Tokyo, is going to be filled with bicycles. Airake is to be the scene of many 2020 Olympic and Paralympic events, including BMX races...
What comes to mind when you think of Finland? Perhaps you associate the country with Santa Claus or the Moomin characters. Far more ancient than either of these is the sauna, which is also gaining fan...
One of the best things about kyogen — the comic interludes to Noh plays — is the sheer number of lines delivered with unique intonation. When someone appears on stage, they describe themselves ...
Upon darting into an exhibition room at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Koto Ward, Tokyo, two boys were caught by surprise and took a step backward. “Ugh! What on earth is this?” one of...
If the world’s endless wars are getting you down, a dose of Mohammed Hanif’s dark humor might be the medicine you need. After all, how better to demonstrate the absurdity of war than by telling an...
“I wish people wouldn’t say things like, ‘It’s elaborate and high in quality’ when discussing animation.” I was startled by this remark from animation director Mamoru Hosoda during an Au...
KYOTO — The Reizei family of Kyoto has transmitted the style of waka poems since Japan’s medieval age. Not only the Reizei family but also most of the other aristocratic families that served the ...
The last of a series of exhibitions of photographic portraits by Kishin Shinoyama, 78, who has for decades taken photos of people in the spotlight, is being held at Gallery AaMo at Tokyo Dome City in ...
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi — The Reborn-Art Festival will run through Sept. 29 in Ishinomaki and nearby municipalities in Miyagi Prefecture, to support reconstruction from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthqua...
When American travel writer Porter Fox decided to explore the approximately 6,400-kilometer length of the border between Canada and the continental United States, he started at the eastern end, aboard...
KYOTO — Amid the decline in the number of jikata — the geiko specializing in shamisen and nagauta (long epic songs) — in Kyoto’s entertainment districts, women in their 20s and 30s who have c...
KYOTO — An international conference on museums wrapped up on Saturday with a resolution stating that museums around the world should play a central role as “cultural hubs” for exchanges that tr...
MASHIKO, Tochigi — Utilizing part of the living national treasure potter’s residence, the Shoji Hamada Memorial Mashiko Sankokan Museum exhibits his works as well as handicrafts that he collected...
Ueno Station, the “Gateway to the North,” was where men from Japan’s northern Tohoku region used to arrive in Tokyo by overnight train, looking for work during the high economic growth period, i...
How does a woman find the courage to have a child? In Jessie Greengrass’ intelligent debut novel, “Sight,” she immerses herself in medical history, reading about Wilhelm Rontgen’s discovery of...
The various props used for kabuki plays include swords, smoking pipes, Japanese umbrellas and folding fans, and prop masters must prepare items appropriate to the specific time period depicted in each...
Avid classical music fans know how special the BBC Proms is. Held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the music festival with a history of more than 120 years has a mission to bring class...
About 40 movie- and video-related companies are active in the city of Chofu, Tokyo, which was once known as “the Hollywood of the Orient.” Clean water for use in film developing was one factor...
Large sparks flying, a welder in a protective mask joins together iron parts using thousands of degrees of heat. This is a familiar scene at construction sites and factories, but it’s rare to experi...
The hotter it gets, the more I use my air conditioner. The more everyone uses their air conditioners, the hotter the world gets, thanks to the CO2 from the coal, oil and natural gas burned to generate...
To get anywhere, you need to know where you’re headed. But simply having a compass does not guarantee you’ll reach your destination. There are always pitfalls to avoid on the way, and it takes com...
A festival of events introducing Japanese culture to the culturally diverse United States is being held in Washington and other cities this year. Shinto, animals and “The Tale of Genji” are all ke...
The triumph of the film “Bohemian Rhapsody” has created yet another Queen craze all over the world. Japan is no exception. According to Twentieth Century Fox Japan, the film had been watched by ov...
