Spoon & Tamago

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Illustrator Ryosuke Otomo Memorializes the Small, Relatable Moments of Life

that moment when the bag of cereal no longer fits in the skinny box

As we go about our daily lives there are moments along the way that make us pause, if ever so slightly. Sometimes they disappoint us, other times they make us smile. But they’re always so small that we quickly forget about them and go on with the task at hand. Japanese illustrator Ryosuke Otomo has made it a point to dwell on these moments and, on a daily basis, memorialize them in the form of simple, graphic illustrations.

Fireworks in Japan were Originally Meant to Ward Off Epidemics

May 28, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Today, May 28th, is Fireworks Day in Japan. This day in 1733, over 280 years ago, marked the beginning of Japan’s oldest fireworks festival along the Sumidagawa River. Although it was later moved to mid-July, the festival was originally organized by Shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa as a way of warding off bad luck and epidemics. Japan had endured great suffering that year from starvation, largely due to an epidemic of cholera. And it’s believed that the fireworks festival was intended to memorialize victims and pray for an end to the epidemic.

Yukata Zero: Inclusivity in Traditional Japanese Garments

May 27, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Yamato, a maker of traditional Japanese garments, has released a new line of summer clothing called Yukata Zero. As the name implies, the concept behind the new initiative is inclusivity: reducing the number of people who can’t wear yukata, to zero.

A Zoo in Japan is Using Stuffed Animal Capybaras to Maintain Social Distancing

May 21, 2020 / Johnny / 6 Comments

photos by twitter user @chacha0rca

The restaurant at Izu Shabonten Zoo in Shizuoka, Japan is crowded! But those seats aren’t occupied by people. They’re occupied by stuffed animal Capybaras that have been strategically placed throughout the restaurant to maintain appropriate social distancing.

No Two Rooms are Alike at this Boutique Hotel in Kyoto

May 21, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

The Screen is a small hotel in Kyoto located near the Kyoto Imperial Park. As part of a recent renovation, the hotel enlisted 13 artists and designers to treat each of their 13 rooms as a canvas, transforming them into comfortable yet original works of art. From a room dedicated to the different phases of the moon, to a room inspired by the tatami tea house, no two rooms are alike and each will leave visitors with a different experience.

Japanese Fried Shrimp Umbrella is our Must-Have Rainy Season Accessory

May 18, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Succulent shrimp coated with Panko breadcrumbs and fried till golden brown. Yum! Ebi-Fry, or Japanese fried shrimp, is one of our favorite foods. And with the approaching rainy season in Japan, we can’t think of a better way to pay homage to this yoshiku dish than with a fried shrimp umbrella.

WFH Jammies are the Perfect Pandemic Uniform

May 8, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

The global pandemic has forced many workers to adapt to a new working environment. Namely, WFH, short for Work From Home. With many of us now conducting practically all of our meetings and interactions through video conferencing, which exposes less than half of our body, the old joke of dressing up on the top and dressing down on the bottom is becoming an acceptable reality. In fact, there’s no reason why half business, half relaxation can’t be the new uniform for remote workers.

A Japanese Newspaper’s Secret Social Distancing Message

May 6, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

On May 6, Gifu City in central Japan recorded their 4th consecutive day of no newly reported cases of coronavirus. On that same day, local newspaper Gifu Shimbun ran a full page editorial encouraging their readers to stay home. Artfully executed, the graphic ad is only legible from a distance.

Online Japanese Art & Culture Resources You Can Enjoy From Home

May 4, 2020 / Johnny / 3 Comments

Generally speaking, Japan has always been slow in adapting to online technology. But with the country’s state of emergency now extended until the end of May, we’ve been seeing more and more venues and companies putting their content online so that users can enjoy them safely, from home. So we’ve decided to put together a curated list of resources we think many of our readers will enjoy. The list is by no-means exhaustive and we’ll continue to update it, but if you have any ideas feel free to add them in the comments section!

Powerful Photo of Japan’s Religious Leaders Praying Together to End the Pandemic

May 1, 2020 / Johnny / 5 Comments

Last month, Todai-ji temple, a Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan, unveiled a powerful initiative. They called on religious leaders and believers of all faiths across Japan to come together — not physically, but spiritually — for a daily prayer to end the global pandemic.

The powerful photo above is from one of those sessions, taking place at exactly high noon, in which religious leaders from many different faiths across Japan have gathered in front of Todai-ji Temple (maintaining social-distancing rules, we might add) to offer a prayer. The daily prayer will occur at 12 noon through May 31, 2020.

The photo strikes us as having all the elements of that iconic anime or movie scene when the truly powerful ones have finally taken the stage and things are about to get crazy. If COVID-19 were a movie, this is when the the tables turn.