Bizen: Pottery that rose from the ashes
Of all the ancient high-fired unglazed stoneware styles in Japan, none is as popular as Bizen pottery, with its vareid colors and textures all the results of melting ash from the kiln.
Embassies in Japan using mascots as 'cultural ambassadors'
With the Japanese public smitten with adorable or bizarre costumed characters created to promote localities or events, some foreign embassies are not missing out on the chance to catch a ride on the massive mascot boom. Collectively called "yuru-chara," which translates as "loose or soft ...
