The global pandemic rages on. Military conflict in Europe is exacerbating. And we continue to walk towards a climate catastrophe. What to do when it feels like end of times? We’re going to mix up a batch of “Apocalypse,” a cocktail made from three popular beverages in Japan.
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Kei Endo is an accomplished architect and draughtswoman. And she also enjoys staying at hotels, which was the beginning of a wonderful side-hustle that brought together the best of both her worlds. Endo reports on the hotels she stays in through detailed, accurate and colorful survey drawings that capture everything from room measurements and layouts to color palettes and amenities.
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Art Fair Tokyo is the largest art fair in Japan and the oldest in Asia, bringing together a wide range of artists and exhibitors. Now in it’s 17th iteration, the excitement is taking place this weekend (March 11 – 13) at Tokyo International Forum. Although Japan is beginning to relax their border controls, the country still remains closed to most tourists so we’re bringing you just a small selection of highlights from the city’s premier art showcase.
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the researcher spent 24 nights sleeping in the location their pet cats chose
Due to physical and societal constraints, the typical sleep patterns of humans are largely fixated. For cats, however, there is a certain randomness to their sleep–sometimes under the bed, other times in the hallway–that is simply impractical for humans. But what if we as humans replicated the sleep habits of cats? What effect would that have on the quality of our sleep? That was the starting point of an intriguing dissertation, published recently by Yuri Nakahashi, a students of Japan’s Hosei University.
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photo by @Lily0727K (taken March 5, 2022)
Well, this is ominous. The Seshoseki (殺生石) killing stone, said to have sealed the spirit of a vengeful fox demon over 1000 years ago, split in half recently. It’s located in Nasu, Japan near a famous hot springs, and roped off due to dangerous sulphuric fumes, but can be viewed from a distance. Local officials also confirmed the split, noting that a small crack had naturally appeared over the years.
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Fans of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away were met with delight this week as the curtain rose on the theater adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s iconic animation. And even if you aren’t able to travel to Tokyo to see the production, we have some sneak peeks, courtesy of some of the creatives that were involved in what looks like an absolutely magical production.
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From Blue (2021) dir. Keisuke Yoshida
(this post is sponsored by ACA Cinema Project)
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (ACA) in collaboration with the IFC Center and Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO) is proud to present New Films from Japan, introducing U.S. audiences to the best of recent Japanese cinema with screenings of Yujiro Harumoto’s A Balance and Keisuke Yoshida’s Blue from March 11-17, 2022, at IFC Center, New York. This is the third installment in the ACA Cinema Project series.
Keisuke Yoshida’s Blue, is a gripping drama about boxing that stars Kenichi Matsuyama and Masahiro Higashide, appearing on-screen together for the first time since Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow. Earning the title of “The Master of Psychological Drama,” Yoshida was honored with a special Director in Focus program at 2021’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
“‘Blue’ is an idyllic love letter to the world of combative sports. A wonderfully crafted drama with strong performances.” –Asian Movie Pulse
Winner of the New Current Award at the Busan International Film Festival and an official selection at Berlinale, Yujiro Harumoto’s second feature film, A Balance, stars Kumi Takiuchi as a documentary director reporting on the true-life scandal of a student-teacher relationship with fraught societal consequences.
“Revealing… a bracingly unsentimental picture which asks knotty questions about the relationship between the media and the subjects at which it points its cameras.” –Screen International
Learn more and get tickets at ifccenter.com.
Do you need a leather bag specifically for carrying a snowpal? Of course you do. And what about a watermelon? And where exactly do you plan on keeping those perfectly shaped skipping stones you picked up? Well that’s where Japanese leather goods maker Tsuchiya Kaban’s series of ultra-specific leather bags come in. And they are touring Japan as part of an exhibition starting today in Tokyo.
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During the course of the global pandemic, from 2020 to 2021 there were roughly 1300 cancelled firework festivals throughout Japan. That’s according to Sayaka Shimada, a visual artist who often incorporates pyrotechnics as a means of interpreting culture and history. Her latest installation at Haneda Airport, a gateway to Japan, is a reconstruction of those festivals using time, location and visual data condensed into a visual and digital artwork.
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all renderings courtesy Shigeru Ban Architects
A lush site on Japan’s Awaji Island will soon welcome a new Zen wellness center designed by architect Shigeru Ban. On April 29, 2022, Zenbo Seinei will begin welcoming guests for a soul-nourishing retreat that includes meditation, food and rest, all under the roof of a narrow, elongated wooden structure.
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