Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Openings in Tokyo Oct 2, 2013
'Kyoto from Inside and Outside: Scenes on Panels and Folding Screens'
by Jordan Sievers
Kyoto, the old capital of Japan, has harbored a rich traditional culture that has remained strong for generations. Focusing on large-scale works that present depictions of town life as well as seasonal views of the city, this exhibition reveals a detailed glimpse into the ...
Art Sep 25, 2013
Kansetsu Hashimoto's Chinese rebellion
by Matthew Larking
From the end of the Edo Period (1603-1867), Japanese art began to shift its fundamental cultural orientation from China to Europe. Kansetsu Hashimoto, however, (1883-1945) initially abjured, and this had much to do with his upbringing Born in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, his father was ...
Art Sep 18, 2013
Nihonga: without the hand over the eye
by C.B. Liddell
At its essential level, art is a battle between the eye and the hand; the first representing sensory input, the second artistic habit and convention. When the hand outweighs the eye, art can become over-stylized, clichéd, and eventually dead. Asian art has been particularly ...
Openings outside Tokyo Sep 11, 2013
'Hashimoto Kansetsu Retrospective'
by Jordan Sievers and Jordan C. Sievers
In honor of the 130th anniversary of nihonga (Japanese-style painting) artist Kansetsu Hashimoto’s birth, the Hyogo Museum presents around 70 of his most famous works. As a scholar of Chinese culture and history, Hashimoto’s artistic style mirrors that of traditional Chinese folklore, featuring elegantly ...
Openings in Tokyo Aug 28, 2013
'Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Relocation of the Mitsuo Aida Museum: Even One Simple Thing'
by Marie Omata
Poet and calligrapher Mitsuo Aida (1924-1991) is well-known in Japan for his tanka poetry and original style of handwriting. He spent his life developing and honing his craft, focusing on the preciousness of the life as a subject. The Mitsuo Aida Museum was originally ...
Openings outside Tokyo Aug 21, 2013
'Beauties of Nature: Rimpa, Jakuchu and Japanese Painting'
by Marie Omata
In Japanese, the term “kacho fugetsu” consists of the kanji for “flower,” “bird,” “wind” and “moon,” and it refers to “the beauties of nature” — that ever-popular subject of nihonga (Japanese-style painting). Known as “kacho,” flower-and-bird motifs came to symbolize life and were usually ...
Openings in Tokyo Aug 7, 2013
'Hayami Gyoshu and the Elite of the Japan Art Institute'
by Natasha Vik
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Japan Fine Arts Institute (Inten) the Yamatane Museum of Art’s new exhibition showcases the work of Hayami Gyoshu and and other important nihnonga (Japanese-style) painters. Through the work of a number of prominent Inten artists, ...
Openings outside Tokyo Jul 24, 2013
'Works by Soga Shoh-haku and the Flowers of Middle and Pre-Modern Age Art'
by Alisa Yamasaki
The 18th-century Japanese painter Soga Shohaku is particularly known for eerie images of demons and ghouls rendered in brushwork reminiscent of Muromachi Period (1338-1573) works. The Nara Prefectural Museum celebrates its 40th anniversary this summer by displaying its collection of middle and pre-modern Japanese ...
Art Jul 17, 2013
The different brush strokes of Tani Buncho
by Rhiannon Paget
The latest exhibition at the Suntory Museum of Art commemorates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Tani Buncho — a painter, connoisseur and art historian of formidable energy and with an insatiable drive for knowledge. Of samurai lineage, Buncho underwent foundational art training ...
Art Jun 27, 2013
Art that bloomed with the Feinbergs
by C.B. Liddell
As a simple matter of economic convenience, some of the best art collections in the world started out going against established taste. By avoiding what was already highly valued — and therefore expensive — collectors could build up impressive collections that could then help ...
Events In Tokyo Jun 7, 2013
Ginza galleries to cater to late-night art fans
by Edan Corkill
Businessmen and women will have an easier chance to peruse some of the best art galleries in Tokyo’s Ginza district this week, as 25 of the establishments extend their opening hours for an event dubbed “Garo no Yakai” (“Gallery Night Party”). Some of Ginza’s ...
Openings in Tokyo Jun 6, 2013
'Kawai Gyokudo: Depicting Japan, Heart and Hearth'
by Natasha Vik
Nihonga (Japanese-style) artist Kawai Gyokudo’s nostalgic imagery of nature and people made him a national favorite in Japan. Combining the teachings of the Kano and Maruyama-shijo schools of the late 19th century, Gyokudo (1873-1957) achieved a distinctive style that earned him the Order of ...