February 05, 2013
Designer Oki Sato loves routine: the same kinds of clothes every day, the same tempura-and-soba dish at his favorite restaurant, and the same order of cappuccino whenever he visits Starbucks.
February 04, 2013
Kabuki legend Ichikawa Danjuro XII died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital Feb. 3 after a long battle with leukemia. He was 66.
February 03, 2013
For one tall father attending a raucous bean-throwing festival on Feb. 3, cleansing one’s spirit of a year’s worth of bad deeds begins on Day One.
January 31, 2013
The world's most famous cat has finally cracked a smile.
January 28, 2013
LONDON--Daido Moriyama, known for his groundbreaking, unsettling photographs from the streets of postwar Japan, was showcased this month at Tate Modern, Britain's national gallery of international modern art.
January 26, 2013
YOKOHAMA--Homegrown superhero Starjyan is shining brightly in this port city thanks to the efforts of a local production company.
January 25, 2013
MITO--Though it's not an association most people would make, Tadasu Takamine's latest exhibition links anime with atomic energy as examples of the "systematic oppression lurking in Japanese society."
January 24, 2013
YOKOHAMA--While searching through archive materials last November for an exhibition, workers uncovered something completely unexpected: cutout illustrations used for the production of the 1934 animated film "Norakuro Gocho."
January 22, 2013
A once-obscure sleeper train for businessmen with a hotel-like feel now is making its nightly runs loaded with female tourists in its overnight compartments, who are seeking a final destination of love and healthy skin.
January 21, 2013
Nobuko Takaishi likes to get the year off to a bracing start. At 10 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 20, the 42-year old mother of one joined her own mother in a frigid pool on the grounds of Kashima-jingu shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture. The temperature was barely above the freezing point.
January 20, 2013
ASUKA, Nara Prefecture--Badly damaged murals removed from two ancient burial mounds went on public view here Jan. 19, although admission was only by reservation.
January 19, 2013
Nara, the graceful eighth-century capital of Japan, is almost bursting at the seams with ancient rites and rituals. Among them is the Kasuga Wakamiya Onmatsuri festival in December. What makes this event extra special is that it incorporates performing arts that originated in the Nara Period (710-784) up to the Edo Period (1603-1867), providing a continuous living history, if you will.
January 17, 2013
KURASHIKI, Okayama Prefecture--Known for its scenic canals, the historical city of Kurashiki prospered as a busy trade center under the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo Period.
January 16, 2013
ARITA, Saga Prefecture--A 50-year-old potter is using cutting-edge digital technology to breathe fresh life into Arita porcelain ware, a traditional craft with 400 years of history.
January 16, 2013
Kaori Sakurai's business goes bananas twice a year. The cafe owner is one of nearly 700 dealers and vendors that make up one of Tokyo’s longest-running outdoor markets--the Setagaya Boro-ichi (rag market) held Dec. 15 and 16 and Jan. 15 and 16 of every year in Tokyo’s western Setagaya Ward.
January 14, 2013
For Asami Nakano, Jan. 14 is a day that she’s waited for half her life. She wasn't about to let the freezing cold and rare major snowstorm in the Tokyo metropolitan region put a damper on it.
January 14, 2013
SENDAI--Decorated with images of waterfalls and Chinese lions, Sendai tansu were originally built to serve the samurai class of the Sendai domain.
January 12, 2013
In the "snow country" up north, just about every community has its own festival and ritual. In the winter months in Akita Prefecture, this typically involves "namahage," men wearing straw capes and masks depicting fearsome expressions. Posing as demons, they visit the homes of townsfolk to warn children on New Year's Eve to be good. The namahage are treated with tasty snacks and warm drinks, much like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.