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April 19, 2024
 

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CRAFTS

Adal’s Look into Nature brand, on show at Salon del Mobile 2024, rethinks "igusa" (Japanese rush grass), traditionally used for tatami, as a sustainable material for furniture.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Apr 13, 2024
Japan’s best and brightest designers set to shine in Milan
The Salone del Mobile trade fair and its accompanying SaloneSatellite exhibition of up-and-coming talent attracts a pool of talented Japanese designers.
The pair of Wajima-nuri wooden coffee cups presented to U.S. President Joe Biden from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2024
Kishida presents Noto's Wajima-nuri lacquerware to Biden
The Japanese and U.S. first ladies also exchanged gifts.
Koki Nagata (right) offers a Buddhist altar to a Noto Peninsula earthquake evacuee in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on March 29.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024
Kumamoto shop owner gives away free Buddhist altars to Noto quake victims
“I hope it will be a source of comfort for those who lost their loved ones and homes," said shop owner Koki Nagata.
Kenji Tanaka uses a method of paper stenciling called Ise katagami that began in the region more than 1,000 years ago.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 3, 2024
In Suzuka, artist hopes Formula One can revive ancient Japanese craft
Kenji Tanaka uses an ancient method of paper stenciling called Ise katagami to create model F1 cars.
Yuji Takahashi says there is a culture of passing down good furniture for generations in places like northern Europe. He wants such practice to be the norm in Japan as well.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 25, 2024
Craftsman’s works spreads nationwide through furniture with no nails
Yuji Takahashi uses a traditional technique called "sashimono," by which grooves are carved and joints fitted together.
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy when she became an adult.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2024
The bonsai master working to branch out an age-old craft
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy or otherwise end it.
Artisan Suzanne Ross says Japanese lacquerware is a "treasure that belongs to the world."
JAPAN / Society
Mar 20, 2024
Wajima artisan’s livelihood, four decades in the making, upended by disaster
Lacquerware artist Suzanne Ross' life was upended by a massive earthquake. Now, she's determined to keep her craft alive.
Zashikibina, an exhibit by a group organizing hina doll displays in Fukuoka Prefecture, depicts the era of "The Tale of Genji," in the Gyosho room at Hyakudan Kaidan in Tokyo.
CULTURE
Feb 18, 2024
Hina doll exhibition in Tokyo highlights Girls' Day tradition
The event is being held for the first time in four years, after it was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An in-house design by Yamagiwa, the Sui drop-shaped light uses traditional Japanese chōchin lantern techniques and is made with Mino washi paper.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Feb 17, 2024
Japan-made standouts from one of Paris' biggest design fairs
Maison & Objet is now such a popular event that it is often nicknamed the Paris Fashion Week of the interior design industry.
The Final Fantasy-inspired plate was supposed to arrive in Tokyo on Jan. 5, but the Noto craftsmen moved up the schedule to the day before the destructive Noto tremblor.
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 3, 2024
Spared from Noto quake, Final Fantasy lacquerware inspires hope
A group committed to preserving local lacquerware hopes that the decorative plate will help turn the region's dire disaster recovery situation around.
Takahiro Taya, the 10th-generation representative of lacquerware shop Taya Shikkiten in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, holds a lacquerware bowl discovered from a workshop destroyed by a quake on New Year's Day.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 22, 2024
Wajima-nuri shop resolved to protect craft after quake
When the shop started a crowdfunding campaign, donations — and many encouraging messages — came quickly from all over the country.
Foreign tourists take pictures in Tokyo's Asakusa district in November.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023
Japan’s post-pandemic tourists shift spending to crafts and jewelry
Average spending on traditional handicrafts per visitor was ¥13,338 ($92) in the July-September quarter, up 80% from the same period in 2019.
Kyoji’s Ma_do Fragments Wall Art collection of stainless steel frames, designed by Katsuyama Motonori, features off-cuts and other objects selected from Kyoji’s collaborating craftspeople.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 18, 2023
Off-the-wall designs to spruce up your home or office
On: Design looks at some products that can bring new life to bare walls.
Yosuke Ishikawa (left) and Celine Veaute gather mulberry leaves during an internship at a silkworm farm in Seiyo, Ehime Prefecture, on Aug. 28.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2023
Internships creating brighter future for Japanese silk farming
The industry has fallen on hard times due to a drastic decline in the number of people engaged in sericulture.
Origami enthusiast Ken Lin carefully arranges his artwork for display at a monthly gathering in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui area.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 1, 2023
Hong Kong's origami fans share their passion at regular meet-ups
To Ken Lin, and many other origami enthusiasts in Hong Kong, the Japanese art "feels like magic."
Mysteriously suspended on the water of the Fugan Canal in Kansui Park, Hiroko Kubo’s “Mountain Dogs” (2023) are made from materials that reflect the industries of Toyama.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 7, 2023
An introspective Go For Kogei turns its attention to Toyama
The craft-art festival focuses on the historically industrial city to explore the Hokuriku region's crafts in an urban setting.
Jessica Gerrity says kyūdō is for everyone. It's just a matter of finding a dojo that fits you best.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 30, 2023
‘Archery gives me a chance to decompress from a busy life’
Gerrity is trained in several forms of traditional Japanese martial arts and works to promote Japanese culture as a tourism ambassador.
Hiroyuki Fujii, a 78-year-old craftsman at Yamashita Kogyosho, explains the "3D sheet metal forming" method to create the noses of shinkansen trains, in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on June 7.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2023
'Faces' of shinkansen still mostly work of skilled craftsmen
Utilizing a technique known as "3D sheet metal forming," individual craftsmen create three-dimensional shapes with subtly curved surfaces by stretching and shrinking the metal sheets.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jun 17, 2023
Japan’s young creators go to the mat for the tatami industry
This month, On: Design looks at a few innovations designed to recycle tatami waste and help revitalize the waning industry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 17, 2023
Manga artists preserve drawings on washi for generations to come
Artists who helmed series such as 'Ashita no Joe' and 'Thermae Romae' launch an initiative to leave ink drawings of their work to posterity and ensure the future of 'gampi' paper-making.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
Sex differences could be key to the successful treatment of long COVID
A new study has found that women with long COVID had significantly lower levels of testosterone compared to those who had recovered from their infection.
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo
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