I’m Gian and thought it was appropriate to re-introduce myself to the hundreds of new subscribers who have joined in the last few months (welcome and thank you!). When I started The Craftsman Newsletter in 2017 it was about recommending craft-related objects and people I encountered through my frequent travels. In time it evolved into original long-form…

MA-GO-WA-YA-SA-SHI-I (Grandchildren are kind) This acronym helps speakers of Japanese remember the names of food groups that support a healthy diet. Each of the seven sounds represents a food group, while the total spells out a lovely adage (lauding the kindness of grandchildren). MA refers to mamé (beans), GO refers to goma (sesame… and other…

JUNSAI (water shield; Brasenia schreberi) grows naturally in lakes, ponds and slow streams in many parts of the world but only Japan and China have a long history of cultivating the plant as a food. The Japanese especially love foods with a tsuru tsuru (slippery, slithery) texture and young, unfurled junsai sprouts covered in a…

Zoom-Zoom sent Japanophile Steve Beimel to meet some of the craftsmen and craftswomen in Mazda’s home city, Hiroshima. Words Steve Beimel / Images Eric Micotto Though fine craft traditions exist around the world, there may be no country that exceeds Japan in the sheer number and depth of master-level disciplines, truly rarefied expressions of the human…

This collective offers illustrators the chance to represent the Japanese capital by adapting the style of covers from ‘The New Yorker’. With regard to press illustration, the publication that has long been considered an international reference is The New Yorker, founded in 1925. Across the world, graphic designers have since paid homage to the American magazine,…

Like many foods the Japanese currently enjoy, its likely that miso originated in China and traveled by way of the Korean peninsula arriving in Japan in the 6th century,  In the Heian Period (794-1185 AD) miso was considered a precious medicine. By the 12th century, nutrient-dense miso became an important part of the samurai’s daily…

Kumquats are called kinkan 金柑 in Japanese, meaning “golden citrus.” The scientific name is Citrus japonica, though the fruit is native to south-east China where they have been cultivated for hundreds of years. There are dozens of varieties of kumquats. The round Marumi and Meiwa are the most popular in Japan while oval-shaped Nagami fruits are more…

Alongside the first-time English publication of his essays, an exhibition on the Mono-ha artist surveys his extensive work on the medium. Kishio Suga’s sculptures and installations are muted, simple in their elements. But after close observation, one may notice the hidden truths of our surroundings beginning to articulate themselves. An exhibition running from January 15…

Inherited from tales by Buddhist preachers and now secularised, this solo performance involves a storyteller making the audience laugh. Rakugo, which literally translates as ‘art of fallen words’, is making a comeback on Japanese stages. Dating back to the 17th century and originating from Buddhist tradition, rakugo experienced its heyday in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and particularly…

The white star is particularly celebrated in Japan and has inspired various artists, whose works are featured in this leporello. The moon occupies a special place in Japanese society, one that Anne Sefrioui’s book, La lune par les grands maîtres de l’estampe (‘The Moon by the Great Printing Masters’), seeks to examine. This set, made up of…