Art Sep 24, 2020
Japanese POW art in Australasia analyzed for first time
by Anna Watanabe
Academics say the previously ignored works illustrate the 'isolating and traumatic experience of internment.'
National Jul 7, 2020
Tokyo home of ‘Astro Boy’ creator and other manga legends opens as museum
A museum replicating the Tokyo apartment building that was home to the late Osamu Tezuka and other legendary manga artists opened Tuesday, 38 years after the original wooden building was dismantled in 1982.
Art Apr 1, 2020
Japan’s art institutions struggle to cope with the COVID-19 crisis
by John L. Tran
Since the quarantine of the Diamond Princess, Japan has gone from being one of the world’s most at-risk countries to lucky outlier, to being again fearful of COVID-19 getting out of control. At the time of writing, the last 24 hours saw the postponement of ...
Books Mar 11, 2020
'Children of the Mist' delves deep into the spiritual allure of Shikoku's Iya Valley
by Haruna Furuhashi
Inspired by the comments of Japanologist Alex Kerr, Shintaro Miyawaki photographs not just the natural beauty of Iya Valley, but people's past and present interaction with it.
Art Mar 9, 2020
A sea change for Japanese sculptors
by Matthew Larking
"Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2020" in Western Australia, brings together eight Japanese sculptural works, including Harayuki Uchida's new 2.5-ton stainless-steel kinetic "Merry Gate."
Art Feb 26, 2020
Bamboo crafts: Woven into Japan's art history
by Matthew Larking
The Abbey Collection takes viewers through a modern history of bamboo crafting, from its late recognition as fine art in the 19th century to the elaborate artistic creations of today.
Art Feb 12, 2020
Japan's postwar aesthetics: compelling if not confusing
by Matthew Larking
The NMAO attempts the difficult task of discerning the "underlying presence of Japanese aesthetics in postwar art.
Art Feb 3, 2020
The battle of ukiyo-e: Hokusai vs. his pupils
by Martin Laflamme
Refusing to be bound by tradition or convention, Hokusai bent rules and sought inspiration from all corners — but how did such audacity influence his own students and followers?
Art Jan 8, 2020
'Dumb Type': When actions speak the loudest
by Jeff Michael Hammond
Dumb Type's thought-provoking performances and installations explore the influence of technology on humankind.
Art Jan 2, 2020
Art from the silver lining of life's dark clouds
by Matthew Larking
Threatening the precarious peace of everyday life are unforeseen incidents, disease and emotional turbulence. Such are the narrative threads running through "Song to Life, Struggles of the Soul" at Wacoal Studyhall Kyoto.
Art | 2019 in Review Dec 17, 2019
Creative expression stifled by 'safety concerns' in Japan
by John L. Tran
As the taboo-busting comic Joan Rivers used to say after pressing her audience's buttons, "Can we talk?" On the evidence of this year's Aichi Triennale, if it's about World War II atrocities, the answer seems to be "no."
Art Dec 4, 2019
Nakamura Hochu: The Osakan Rinpa pioneer
by Matthew Larking
The Rinpa school of painting's initial phase was formed by the superlative talents of Honami Koetsu (1558-1637) and Tawaraya Sotatsu (c. 1570-c. 1630) in late 16th-century Kyoto. The aesthetics resonated with the grand and powerful ornamental inclinations of the Momoyama Period (1573-1603) — gold ...