Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including Ancient Pottery, Sculpture, Ink painting and Calligraphy on silk and paper, Ukiyo-e paintings and woodblock prints, Kiri-e, Kirigami, Origami, and more recently Manga. Japan also has performance arts such as Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku .
Tag: Art
Travelling Hiroshige’s “The 53 Stations of Tokaido” Road
The modern Tokaido route (from Jrailpass.com) Travelling around Japan is always an adventure, with the efficiency and ease of the various shinkansen bullet trains. Perhaps the most well-known shinkansen route is the Tokaido Shinkansen line which connects Tokyo to Kyoto. The history behind the namesake…
Tobe Ceramics and Sake – A Craft Experience
Already on our way to Tobe we discover the flagship craft of the city – Tobe ceramics! Japanese ceramics are popular worldwide, but the city of Tobe, Ehime on Shikoku, expresses its love for ceramic production on a whole new level. Whether on the streets,…
How to Wear a Kimono – With Step-by-Step Pictures and Video
Kimono are a traditional Japanese form of clothing worn by both men and women. Kimono is a garment that is uniquely Japanese; no other people group has a style of dress like it. Today, it is a common sight to see Japanese and foreign visitors…
Traditional Japanese Craft of Kurotani Washi Paper in Kyoto
Ohhhh, hand-made paper. I remember going through and feeling my mother’s old collection of Japanese washi papers as a kid, loving the texture of the delicate veins of natural fibres weaved into a smooth layer. I even went through a phase of making my own…
Japanese Pottery Craft Culture in Hyogo’s Tamba Ware
When I was a kid, my mother thought it was best to keep my brother and I occupied with a myriad of craft-making camps and workshops that filled our summer vacations. What probably started as a crafty (cough, cough pun intended) idea to keep a…
Shigaraki Village: Ceramic Tanuki and An Integration Project for Disabled People
Shigaraki (信楽町) is a village in Shiga Prefecture (滋賀県), east of Kyoto. The Prefecture is not only home to the biggest lake in Japan, Lake Biwako, but the Japanese also associate Shigaraki with a surprising speciality. Clay racoons (known as tanuki in Japanese) are produced…
Culinary and Artistic Traditions in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture
Matsudo in Chiba Prefecture is a link between cities and times. It connects to its neighbors Noda, Kashiwa, and Nagareyama, and along with them, forms a network of history and traditions that include all manner of Japanese craftwork, arts, architecture, religious customs, and the richness…
Exploring Mt. Daisen – The Mt. Fuji of Western Japan
With steady rain already falling outside of our hotel in Yonago, we thought it best to try to alter our plans for the day. This morning, we were riding a chartered taxi van up the slopes of Mt. Daisen, on our way to Daisenji, the…
Miyoshi City – A Day Trip from Hiroshima by Bus
A 90 minute morning bus ride, as it turns out, is a great time to think about monsters. Well, not monsters, exactly. The Japanese call them yokai, but when you try to translate it to English, it becomes a bit messy, as Japanese-to-English translations sometimes are.…
Sekikawa’s Neko-chigura “Cat Houses” Sustain Tradition and Cats Alike
Sponsored by Sekikawa Village Its no secret that people here in Japan absolutely love cats. At almost every port, downtown area, and even on multiple islands that locals refer to “cat islands,” you can see many friendly stray cats that are very well cared for…