Former journalist Ian McArthur's study of Henry Black, a Briton who became a professional rakugo-ka (storyteller) in Meiji Era (1868-1912) Japan, is a reminder that many colorful characters from that turbulent time — especially foreigners — remain little known to contemporary readers. "Henry Black: On ...
A picture is worth a thousand words. But, it seems, some settle for just 31 syllables. Or something like that. In this new exhibition, the Nezu Museum brings together works of art and craft that have been inspired by waka, the traditional Japanese form of ...
Appreciation in Japanese culture of that particular form of attractiveness now known as kawaii (cute) can be traced back in literature to the 10th-century collection of musings known as "Makura no Soshi" ("The Pillow Book"), in which author Sei Shonagan fetes the "beauty" of ...
A terrible eruption on Sakurajima, an island in Kagoshima Bay having an active volcano, occurred yesterday at 10 a.m. Up to that time, since the night of the 10th, more than 70 earthquakes had been experienced in Kagoshima. With thundering sounds, the eruption was ...
Strap yourselves in, you're in for a hair-raising ride. That is the message NHK is putting out about its 2014 Sunday evening drama series. Depicting the life of 16th century samurai and military tactician Kuroda Kanbei, "Gunshi Kanbei (Strategist Kanbei)" promises to lead viewers through ...
Although he started his career as a member of boy band V6, Junichi Okada has become more well-known in recent years for the macho roles he plays as an actor. "In all of my acting gigs over the past three years I've been either samurai ...
Tokyo department store Matsuya Ginza presents an exhibition of some 140 works spanning the four-decade career of one of Japan's most well-known embroidery artists, Shizuka Kusano. It was in 1969 that Kusano, seeking a hobby she could combine with her child-rearing duties, first took up ...
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Taisei Sato, one of the leading nihonga (Japanese-style painting) artists of the postwar period, the Museum of Kyoto brings together around 120 works, including some newly restored paintings. Born in 1913 in Kyoto, Sato moved at ...
Having invented a method for creating cultured pearls in 1893, Meiji Era entrepreneur Kokichi Mikimoto set about selling them to the world. Apparently not one for understatement, he once announced he hoped to "adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls." But ...
Since the establishment of the Living National Treasure designation system, by which practitioners of performing arts or crafts possessing particularly important or rare traditional techniques are feted, an exhibition showcasing recipients' works alongside that of others has taken place every year. To celebrate the ...
