Today is Tanabata (七夕, meaning “Evening of the seventh”), a Japanese festival celebrating the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi. According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. To commemorate the special day of stagazing, kirie artist Lito has carved 2 very special leaves.
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Something must have come over me, says Kohei Ohmori, reflecting on the 280 hours or roughly 5 months spent drawing a hyper realistic composition of a metallic bolt and nut using just pencils. The 30-year old artist, who has publicly discussed his struggles with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), has managed to overcome what is often perceived as a weakness and harness his incredibly capability for focus, which recently culminated in a solo exhibition at the Setouchi City Museum of Art.
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Komorebi (木漏れ日) is one of those uniquely untranslatable Japanese words. It means “sunlight filtering through the tree leaves” and embodies a poetic appreciation for nature and its changing seasons. Capturing that aesthetic, and embedding it into a beautiful handheld fan (uchiwa), is designer Kotoko Hirata, who created the Komorebi Uchiwa.
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Over the past three decades, Soichiro Fukutake, the former chairman of Tokyo-based education firm Benesse Holdings, and his family have spent $250 million of their fortune to transform Naoshima and roughly a dozen neighboring islands in the Seto Inland Sea into a global art destination. Their family home, situated along Okayama’s Handa Mountains and looking out over the city and inland sea, have recently been renovated and rebranded as Fukutake Tres.
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Over 50 pieces of traditional craftwork (dento kogei) are on display on the Asuka II cruise ship for a project organized by the Japan Kogei Association, a Tokyo-based group comprising artisans nationwide, and Anchor Ship Partners Co., a shareholder of the company that operates the leisure liner.
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Erasers are usually used to delete mistakes. And as they get worn down, they become dirty or harder to hold. By nature, they are not fun to use. But Japanese stationery fim PLUS is on a mission to reverse that mentality with erasers inspired by the iconic woodblock prints of Katsushika Hokusai.
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Edo-era painter Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) excelled at capturing the flora and fauna of the natural world, a skill that extended to remarkable depictions of birds. In particular, chickens were a common theme for the artist and it was said that Jakuchu owned many of them, and allowed them to roam freely in his yard as he observed and painted them. One enthusiast shares in Jakuchu’s obsession with chickens, as well as the work of Jakuchu itself, which has resulted in the wonderfully niche hobby of recreating the 18th century images through contemporary photography.
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Summer in Japan is not summer in Japan without festivals and watermelon. So if you’re looking to refresh your wardrobe with some playful pieces that celebrate the season, as well as festival-appropriate outfits, look no further than the watermelon kimono – a juicy take on a timeless garment. A unique blend of tradition and whimsy, the watermelon kimono is not just a fashion statement but the perfect embodiment of summer’s spirit.
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Japan’s numerous art festivals have proven to be an effective way of luring domestic and international tourists out of popular destinations and into rural parts of Japan they would have otherwise not visited. The poster child is perhaps the Setouchi Triennale, whose combination of art and island hopping has transformed an obscure region of Japan, into one of the country’s must-see destinations. Below, we present you with three lesser-known art festivals all kicking off later this year. If you have plans to visit Japan and are looking for destinations off the beaten path, consider this a sign.
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The 2024 Kei-Truck Gardening Contest took place over the weekend. In what is perhaps the most-Japanese contest, professional gardeners and landscapers compete to create a beautiful, seasonal, and unique landscape , all within the bed of their kei-trucks.
This contest originated in 2011 after a landscapers association came up with the idea to promote a renewed interest in gardening. It’s since spread around Japan. Read on for scenes of some of the contestants.
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Candidates Announced for Suica Penguin’s Successor. A Public Vote Will Decide the Outcome
Tokyo is Gearing Up for an Art-Filled Fall. And the Entire City is Here for It
Kawaii Buildings, as Seen Through the Lens of Urban Photographer Ken Ohyama
Artist Hiro Sugiyama Recreates Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave’ With 750,000 Dahlias
Minecraft Characters Emerge in the Fields for Gaming-Inspired Gyoda Rice Paddy Art
